TJ: AC drain

[brokenujoint]

97 TJ SPORT
Ive had my jeep FOREVER and hardly ever use the ac. As we know, this summer is a scorcher. I remember yrs past that when I'd turn the ac on it would put a little bit of a drain on my jeep. Sort of felt like i just hit a 20 mph headwind. AC output is nice and cold and it's been refilled about a yr ago. Is it common for the ac system when on to heavily drain/strain my drivetrain.. ?

[1 Bad F N Z]

Oh yeah. with all those mighty horses under the hood. Its normal. Est. at least 15hp to operate. And don't forget to turn it off while pulling a long grade, cause the condenser is in front of the radiator, and it gets hot, Kevin.

[Lumpy Grits]

YES.
Price you pay to be comfy.
LG

[1 Bad F N Z]

Time to empty the bank account, refiance the house, and hold a sign on the corner saying I'll work for food, And get that upgraded LS6 450 hp engine. Then you'll hardly be able to tell the difference.

[dktool]

It's all relative to how much available power you have under the hood.

I have a 3 cyl. Metro, 2) 6 cyl. Jeeps and a 10 cyl. Ford.

The metro runs like a 2 cyl. with the a/c on and 4 cylinder with it off.
The Jeeps I can feel it pull down a little and the Ford doesn't even know it's on.

It's not just the compressor that takes power, the alternator robs some too driving the blower fan and condenser fan if so equipped.

[Jason]

Real Jeeps don't have A/C ?????:hide:

[GP4Play]

real jeeps don't have a/c ?????:hide:

x2 lol

[brokenujoint]

yadee yadaaa. I expected the jeeps dont have ac's comment. But seriously. What if I stepped up to a 136 amp? I mean, driving around Lakeside, CA at 101 F w/o the ac is retarded....

And btw, a 5.7L is in the works.

[Zoobi]

Basically restating Bad FNZ on the HP drain, small modern compressors draw 5-7 hp, larger modern can go into the 20's and the compressor on my 84 dually can draw up to 45hp on a hot day. The hotter the outside temp, the higher the draw. Alternator wise, I'm always in favor of alternator overkill. I reworked my alternator to 150 amps. The h/p drain from your alternator wont change with a higher output but it recharges your battery faster if you use your winch alot.