Hi, Thanks for reading this. O.K. I have a problem in my 1993 subaru impreza L wagon 5-speed that I recently bought. When I turn on my A/C OR the Heater and I'm driving down the road, Every 15 seconds I hear a "click" noise from the left part of the dashboard. And when it "clicks", the car jerks just a little and looses power, then it will "click" again and gain back the power. Also, when it loses power, I can see the headlights dim just a little along with the interior dash lights, but when it "clicks" back, the headlights and interior dash lights get brighter again. It does this every 15 seconds only when I have the A/C or heater on. I have the vent (outside air) on, it won't do it.

SOMEONE PLEASE, PLEASE help me. Any ideas on what might be wrong? I know there are alot of smart people here who maybe no whats going on. My e-mail is johnss464@yahoo.com. Many thanks for your time!

 

thanks for your input! the relay? please forgive my ignorance, but is that all you call it? a relay? is it expensive to repair? I hate to go to the dealer, but it is a real annoying problem. Thanks for your time.

 

Just wanna say thanks to all who took the time to read and reply to my problem.
I talked to the dealer (bastards) and they say it might be a realay, but not sure. $86 diagnostics to check and see! Screw them! I hate electrical problems! too hard to find and fix! Damn, I keep on losing power, ....like I have any to spare....(1.8 litre)

 

Just ditch the A/C, man.

If you're into performance enough to really care, just take the belt off and maybe eventually even the whole unit (compressor, piping, etc.) to drop a good 50lbs off the already overweight front end. I just took mine off this weekend and got a good 5-8 HP under WOT and more like 10-15 on highway at speed (passing/pickup). Not a worthwhile piece of equipment IMO for how efficient it is when actually used.


Be a BADA$$ and put a roof scoop on then cut a small hole with a variable gate to open or close it and then you got natural A/C and looks cool too... I'm doin it for my next major mod.

 

No, I never paid $86 to the dealer. I just talked to them over the phone and they told me that it might be a relay that is causing the problem. They wanted me to bring my car in and pay an $86 diagnostic fee. So I said, SCREW THAT! I don't have $86 to give away to just find out the problem! I go to college, and money is tight! It can't be the compressor, cause it was replaced a year ago, (or so I was told when I bought it). I'm thinkin I'll go to a Honda dealer where my friend works and maybe he could help me out a little.........I'll post back when I find out something new. Any more suggestions? Keep them comming.

Oh, and the "roof scoop" idea sounds cool.

 

Yea go check them out- I think SPOmotorsports sells them for like $150 unpainted. Pretty sure ISRperformance sells them too. Very cool concept if you actually go through with the whole thing...

 

I'm pretty new to my '94 Legacy, but what you are describing sounds like your AC needs recharging.

The clicking on and off is 99% likely the AC cycling on and off, especially as you notice the power coming on and off with it. This is not normal, and probably means you are low on refrigarent in the AC system.

Not sure if yours uses R12 or R134, but if you take it to any old AC shop (forget the dealer!) they should be able to tell you how much to top it up. If its R134 then its dirt cheap.

I am not sure how big the power loss is, but in my 1.6l Miata I can feel the AC kick in too. You might have a fault, but it could be that your AC will always put that load on the motor.

 

thanks for your help.... I see what your saying, but can you tell me why i have the same problem even when i Turn the HEATER on? I hear a click to the left side of my dash and get a good loss of accerlation and power and my headlights and interior dash lights dim a little. Then 15 seconds later, I hear the click again and everything goes back to normal, then 15 sec. later, I hear the click, i get loss of power again and my lights dim....... and so on.
Like i said, it even does it when i have the heater on, not just the A/C. But if i have the vent on (just outside air) it won't ever do it.
By the way, i don't know if it makes a difference or worth mentioning, by my A/C blows quite cold when I use it.
so what do you think?
thanx!!!!!!!

 

Hi there!

I am not sure if you have your owners manual handy, but depending on what particular setting you use, the AC is actually on for some "heater" settings too.

In my '94 Legacy (from memory) AC is only off for "Vent" and "Heat".

For all other settings the AC is on, because it helps to dry the air and clear the windshield faster.

The AC will cycle if it is low on refridgerant, but it will still work while it is in the 'on' cycle. The problem is that when the refridgerant level is low, it gets to its minimum allowable temperature too quickly, and then the compressor has to cycle off (or it would freeze the refridgerant).

It might still blow cold if the ambient temperature is quite low (my Miata does too - too lazy to fix it), but on a hot summer day I bet its another story, as the 'on' cycles won't be long enough to fight the warm air .

I was in Kragens yesterday and saw that cans of R134 are like $10. I would try and fix it, because running it low on refridgerant could burn out the compressor, and then you are looking at big bucks to fix it.

 

Hey "dgknight", Damn, you are right.....the A/C does indeed kick in if it is on certain heat positions. Last night while I was driving, I switched the setting to just "heat', like you said and Holy ****, I never lost acceleration!!!!!! (I even beat a newer chevy impala with the V6, he, he,) I did not hear the "clicking noise" and my lights never dimmed!! Thanks alot for your help, from now on i will just put it on heat. I'll go to a shop to see if it's low on refridgerant. Damn, thanks alot for the help