Idling for ~15 minutes with A/C on

[oilpsi2high]

Today and tomorrow I have a few appointments to make, and sometimes I might arrive a little early. Today it's in the 80's outside and humid. The car is a well maintained GM Ecotec with 110k. I've always kept it up with fresh fluids, and both fans work. I've been sitting here for 10 minutes and my coolant temp hasn't gone over 187 on the digital gauge.

Thoughts? I think it's harmless if the car has good topped off fluids and the fans/thermostat work.

 

[Dave Hess]

My wife slept in a Honda Accord for 7 hours with the A/C on when we lost power at 11 PM one summer night.

No problem(s) at all. Engine temps never went past the half way line between C and H.

 

[SatinSilver]

You could always pop the hood for extra ventilation if you feel like it. I've seen some cop cars do that but only about a foot open.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Unless there's something very wrong, it sholdn't be a problem.

 

[raytseng]

It's fine.
Imagine the taxi drivers in Las Vegas or actual hot cities. They just sit idling their cars in the taxi lines often.


Don't pop the hood, that's a sign that you need help.

 

[friendly_jacek]

i've heard older ecotecs have problem oiling timing chains while idling. this is (one of the reasons) timing chains would strech and brake in those engines.

granted, it's not going happen in 15 minutes.

 

[scurvy]

The car is meant to serve you, not the other way around. You could sit in it all day with the AC on if you wanted. Not the best thing to do day after day, but 15 minutes (heck, even a few hours) is absolutely inconsequential as far as wear or maintenance goes.

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: raytseng

Don't pop the hood, that's a sign that you need help.


Also doesn't help in many cases, and may make things worse by letting hot air wrap right back over the top and into the front of the radiator again.

For the OP:

- 80s? Why are you even running the air?

- Extended idling with the air on (occasionally) is harmless, especially with electric fans. Every car on the road SHOULD be able to do this- older vehicles sometimes can't because the cooling system may have deteriorated. With engine-driven fans, sometimes fans were sized so they wouldn't draw too much engine power at high speed and that resulted in not quite enough flow at idle, combined with the fact that fan clutches get looser with age. I've never had a problem with a car overheating at idle (even 60's cars and one 40's car) when the components were in good shape.

 

[Eddie]

Don't pop the hood as the hood seals are part of the cooling system. People leave their auto AC on for hours at idle without any issues. ed

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Just watch out for CO poisoning. Lost 3 cops sleeping in a cruiser in North Andover on an off shift.

 

[JHZR2]

No issues assuming that the temperatures in the cooling system don't creep up. 80 isn't that hot... cooling systems operate on two principles:

1) mass flow - make sure your fans are moving full CFM across clean condensors and radiators; and,

2) Delta in temperature between the cooling media and the coolant. The reality is that the difference between 60F, 80F and 100F when the hot side is 190, isn't that great given #1 and the oversized nature of the radiators...

 

[Drew99GT]

On most GMs, they will run COOLER with the A/C on while idling/stop and go traffic, because it will turn on both radiator fans to high speed. The ECUs are programmed to not turn on the fans on low speed unless coolant temps get to about 225 degrees F with the A/C off.

 

[Kawiguy454]

Having lived in Miami and now Arizona. When police are stopped and directing traffic they have the hood popped but not fully open.

Heat rises rapidly with the hood open it will convect the heat up and out of the engine bay. If hood were closed and sealed where does the heat go? down under the car ...the car you're trying to cool. hmmmm

 

[BubbaFL]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

- 80s? Why are you even running the air?


That.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high

Thoughts? I think it's harmless if the car has good topped off fluids and the fans/thermostat work.


My wife always sits in her Lexus with the ac or heat on in both summer and winter. Which is why I use Pennzoil Platinum synthetic.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Today and tomorrow I have a few appointments to make, and sometimes I might arrive a little early. Today it's in the 80's outside and humid. The car is a well maintained GM Ecotec with 110k. I've always kept it up with fresh fluids, and both fans work. I've been sitting here for 10 minutes and my coolant temp hasn't gone over 187 on the digital gauge.

Thoughts? I think it's harmless if the car has good topped off fluids and the fans/thermostat work.
So no one you have ever heard has been stuck in traffic in Miami the summer for 10 minutes or more.....every work day from June to October?

 

[The_Jeff]

I did parade duty with wife's ecotec HHR with a borrowed float as heavy as the car. It was fine. At 2 mph I had plenty of time to fiddle with the driver information center and watch the temp.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Sounds good, thanks everyone. And for the guy asking why am I using A/C when it's 80 - I wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt with a tie for work, and sometimes a suit jacket/sport coat. I'll use the A/C down to 60 degrees. lol

 

[CBR.worm]

Yeah, I am in south florida. It is not uncommon to be idling in traffic or out for sometimes hours at a time with the A/C at full blast.

I know it's not the best practice, but I have a 6 stops a day between my house and my job, 3 each way. At each stop I leave the car on with the A/C on, lock the doors and go inside for 5-15 minutes, come back out, unlock the doors and carry on. I figure I am saving 6 starts a day and keeping temps stable. More importantly the car is not 140 degrees each time I get into it.

I wouldn't worry about it unless your engine fans are not working. I wouldn't even open the hood.

 

[SteveSRT8]

My wife routinely sits on the side of the road, in parking lots, etc., filing her reports on a tablet. She has done it in everything we have owned for the last ten years or so, trucks, cars, rentals.

Never an issue, even at triple digit temps (102 the other day!). As long as your car is operating correctly you should have no problems...