Very interesting theory, with one or two minor problems. One, the car is a
manual tranny. Any increase in engine speed would increase car speed, that
doesn't happen. Don't mean to say that it does not happen in an auto tranny
car tho. Two, currently there is no belt squeal. Also it is intermittent,
not constant. I would guess that if it was the rack it would happen more
often. (the rack was suggested by others, not by chuck)
The more we have talked about the times when we see this happening the more
we see it directly correlated to the when the air conditioning pump is on.
Had big problems on the way to Cleveland last year in the downpour, defrost
on. When the belt broke on her a while back, defrost on because of fog.
Recently AC on because it was very warm here.
Everything seems to point to the AC compressor.
Thanks for the input everybody. The car is off to a Ford place for a
computer diagnosis and probably a new compressor.
Larry
On 5/6/01 4:02 PM, "Charles Christ" <cfchrist@earthlink.net> wrote:
> ok so it does some funny stuff. initially , i'd guess thatthere is a
> defective rack. a bad power rack attimes gets stiff like it looses it's
> power assist. usually when cold or in extreme ends of it's operation like
> paralell parking. but! in the age of computerised automobiles there are
> sensors for evrything! now there are sensors that increase the engine speed
> when a power steering rack requires aditional boost from the pump to
> compensate for the drag of the pump working. in adition there are also
> sensors that monitor the airconditioning compressor and increase engine
> speed when it is engauged to compensate for the drag of the compressor's
> doing it's job. now these are generalised statements about these 2 systems.
> but my suspicions are the 2 systems sensors are not working together and the
> added drag on the engine is not being electronically compensated for
> therefore causing the hard steering and belt squeeling. somewhere a sensor
> that monitors a change in pressure either in the airconditioning or power
> steering is not properly reporting a system status to the computer and the
> engine management system is not compensating for that systems demands.
>
> sort of like a lean condition created by a vaccume leak. so you richen up
> the fuel delivery and all is well with the world.....then the vaccume leak
> gets fixed and it runs rich.....because the the problem was not the mixture
> of the carb but an air leak somewhere else.
>
> so, the culprit is not the belt or it's tension. now it could be a
> defective driven component but i think it's in the electronics sensing what
> is being operated and when . due to the fact that most power steering
> pumps and airconditioning compressors either function (properly or noisy) or
> they sieze solid. i'm banking on modern technology's failure in this one!
> could be a bad engine management computer too? not processing sensor's
> input. needs to be hooked up to a diagnostic computer and have it's little
> elexctronic brain picked to see what's going on ...or not going on?
>
> chuck.
> hey ! i've been thrown out of classier places than this before!
> lol!......c :)
> (caution: for your own safety ....do not take me out drinking......)
Larry Macy
78 Midget
Keep your top down and your chin up.
Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
System Manager/Administrator
Neuropsychiatry Section
Department of Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce St. - 10 Gates
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a question
and you're a fool for the rest of your life.
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