Is it normal for the AC compressor to make a ticking sound when it kicks in? I can also feel a vibration in the gas pedal when it's running. Should I bring it into the shop?
Thanks.

 

as for the Ticking sound...that doesnt sound good...but the Gas pedal vibration....well, remember, when your AC compressor is on, it boggs down the engine considerably....especially smaller engines....thats why they say on a really hot day, sitting in traffic, its not good to run your AC as your car will overheat...Plus you may have heard about ppl that say the AC "robs too much power from the engine" which is very true.....so when the AC is on, your engine is doing alot more work.....try this.....sit inside your car with it idling (AC off), then turn on your AC....and you will hear/feel the engine bog down to a bit slower Idle when the compressor kicks in, and the engine will feel as though its running a little bit rough, this is normal...unless your car feels like its gonna die....then there may be a problem.

either way, it would not hurt to have it checked out...., but unless your car wants to die when the AC is on....I personally would not make a special trip to the dealership for it. Besides its winter, you dont need the AC at the moment.

hope this helps......GL

-Ted

 

here's a trick i learned. only works on *** cars since we have two fans as opposed to the american cars who have 1 big fan. Instead of turning on the ac, just turn the air to cold, and have it shoot up towards your windshield. AC IS OFF. After a couple of minutes, u will start feeling the cold air and that's without the ac on. try it, i was skeptical at first, but then i tried it and it really worked.

 

if it's a slight noise difference when the ac is on and when it is off, that's normal because the engine becomes more "stressful" when the ac is on, and the rpms drop a bit because you have more strain on it And yes, the car will sound a little louder because it is "working" harder.

 

Ok, so it sounds like the vibration is normal, but the noise I'm hearing is not just the engine working harder becaue of the increased load.

What I'm hearing is a loud, repeating ticking noise. If I open up the hood, then it's easily the loudest sound coming from the engine bay. And it's definatly localized to the compressor. I was figuring that the compressor clutch was going out or something.

Does the a/c compressor usually have a loud, repeating ticking sound when it's running? If the clutch does go out before I get it into the shop, can that do any major damage to the engine since it's all conected with belts?

Thanks.