How do I disable auto a/c defrost?

[SnowDrifter]

I don't necessarily want my a/c trying to dry out the air for defrost. My last car was a subaru and it had this little actuation lever I could remove inside the HVAC controls. Mechanical control, easy easy.

I have auto climate control in my rig now. Not really that simple. I'm loathe to snip wires and try to install a manual switch. Having switches to control my a/c just feels janky as hell.

So... I mean... Is there something I can program? Flash? Solder? What I want, is for the a/c compressor to stay off, independent of anything else, until press the button to flip it on

 

[Tonyrodz]

I don't necessarily want my a/c trying to dry out the air for defrost. My last car was a subaru and it had this little actuation lever I could remove inside the HVAC controls. Mechanical control, easy easy.

I have auto climate control in my rig now. Not really that simple. I'm loathe to snip wires and try to install a manual switch. Having switches to control my a/c just feels janky as hell.

So... I mean... Is there something I can program? Flash? Solder? What I want, is for the a/c compressor to stay off, independent of anything else, until press the button to flip it on

Back in the simpler days of GM, I would just unplug the ac compressor in the winter, for this exact ssme issue. I never understood why GM did that, until someone told me it takes the humidity out of the air.

 

[Doubeleive]

ya the auto systems act as a dehumidifier

 

[SnowDrifter]

Yeah I know what it does but I don't necessarily want that functionality all the time. There are a lot of times it works against me TBH

 

[mikeyss]

I think... If you mode select to defrost and floor, it will light up the A/C button. Just press it and it turns the A/C off but it'll still blow on the windshield and floor. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's worth a try, haha. My 09 Tahoe has auto climate, I'm gonna try it in the morning.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I think... If you mode select to defrost and floor, it will light up the A/C button. Just press it and it turns the A/C off but it'll still blow on the windshield and floor. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's worth a try, haha. My 09 Tahoe has auto climate, I'm gonna try it in the morning.

Correct, when you press defrost it defaults to the AC compressor being on, you have to manually toggle it back off. The OP is asking if there is a way to "tune out" the auto-on feature so he doesn't have to manually toggle it back off.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Wasn't aware I could do that. Will give it a try later today.


Having it default to off would be ideal but I can live with toggling it

 

[Justinj360]

So does this mean when you manually turn off the AC it's not actually off? I've always suspected that because even in the hottest months in the summer I almost never have to hit the snowflake to turn it on. It gets plenty cool without it.

 

[SnowDrifter]

I think... If you mode select to defrost and floor, it will light up the A/C button. Just press it and it turns the A/C off but it'll still blow on the windshield and floor. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's worth a try, haha. My 09 Tahoe has auto climate, I'm gonna try it in the morning.

Verified it works. That's a neat trick!

Wonder what other hidden gems these vehicles have

 

[Fless]

I have heard that the A/C compressor cycles from time to time to keep the seals intact.

If you won't use it all winter, removing the A/C drive belt might be something to consider.

 

[SnowDrifter]

I have heard that the A/C compressor cycles from time to time to keep the seals intact.

If you won't use it all winter, removing the A/C drive belt might be something to consider.

Oh I still want it, I just want to control when I use it


Full story. Hopefully this clarifies why I want to control when the stuff turns on and off

- I have some temp swings. Including snow/ice on the windshield with air temperature being high enough to allow the compressor to be on. I don't want to be blasting cool air at it until my car warms up

- On the same note, a cool windshield attracts condensation from the outside. Again, I don't want to be cooling something basically until my coolant warms up. Same issue if I'm wearing a jacket and heavy pants - just comfortable with cool air. But I don't want the windshield sub ambient because more condensation

- My vehicle sits for a while. There are times, particularly in the fall/spring when I need defrost but I want to dry out the condenser before its parked. In the winter, I don't want water in there