If you’re driving and noticed that your car’s AC has suddenly gone off due to high engine temp. it may cause you some silent panic and wondering what might go wrong with your vehicle. In that case, this article is your best choice to fix it.
I will be discussing all issues relating to your car AC suddenly going off and how to fix it and stop its future occurrences. Let’s get started!
What Does AC off Due to High Engine Temp Mean?
The message “AC off due to High Engine Temp”, indicates that your car’s engine (PCM) is receiving too much heat or the fan is not producing much coolant to cool the engine. The coolant is responsible to distribute gaseous airs that stimulate and cools the components of your car’s engine when it’s in motion or turned ON.
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Without the coolant, the car’s engine temperature will be high which might cause further damage to the components of the engine or force your engine to knock when the heat becomes excessive.
So, to reduce the components run by your car, the engine turns off the AC automatically. This is one of the latest engine safety measures seen in cars recently and they’re programmed into the car’s engine control unit (ECU). The ECU is responsible for shutting down the AC when the vehicle’s engine temperature is too high.
If your car has an AC compressor, then, the wheels and the engine at the same time drive the compressor which means once you turn OFF your engine, the compressor will shut down.
So, if the reading goes wrong or the wrong signal is sent to the ECU that the engine temp is high, this would trigger the message and put off the AC to try fixing errors that are automated to fix.
Also, when your car radiator cap does not seal properly or can’t seal at all, the engine will not receive enough coolant to propel and circulate the radiator to ensure proper cooling of the engine.
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When your cooling fan is operating below average, that’s a sign of a defective air temperature sensor and this will cause the ECU to deactivate the vehicle AC automatically.
The air fan will always be available as far as the air conditioner is working. At first, it will need to propel clean airflow through the condenser which’s responsibility is to cool the car interior.
Secondly, the air fan maintains the maximum temperature rate inside the engine components and helps prevent the faulty components from overheating. When the air fan is defective, the engine temperature will rise, and driving your car at this time will cause the AC to turn off.
What to Do When Your Car Says AC off Due to High Engine Temp
The first step to tackling the above signal is to inspect the temperature of your car to prevent any damage to your engine. Also, the signal can come to inform of a light that reads ECO or AC nearer to the speedometer, and that indicates faults with your car’s engine.
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At this point, if you’re driving, you should pull over and observe your car engine fans as they might have stopped functioning.
Most times, when our car is parked and the engine starts to overheat, the engine’s idle speed will automatically increase in trying to regulate the temperature, which is called ‘overcooling’. So, next time you see this message, check your car radiator and cooling fans if there is any fault with them.
While observing, if there’s any leak from the hose, you should contact a mechanic to change it or fix it. Also, when the air vents are not functioning properly, it will cause overcooling or severe wear.
After checking the options above and if you couldn’t identify the issue, you should consult a mechanic for further diagnosis of your car’s engine to find the cause.
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Is It Safe To Drive When AC Is Off Due To High Engine Temp?
It is not mechanically advisable to drive a car if it reports High Engine Temp or AC off due to high engine temp. Driving an overheating car will cause severe damage to your car engine.
You should pull over by the side and do your routine checks if it’s the coolant or the air fan, and you drive your car to a nearby mechanic for a quick fix if you’re traveling a long distance.
AC off Due to High Engine Temp; Quick Fix
These quick tricks can help you continue your journey if your car reports AC off due to high engine temp.
- Ensure the coolant is not leaking.
- You should change the Radiator cap.
- Changing the coolant temperature sensor might fix this.
- Disconnecting your battery for like 10 minutes and fixing it back might get your car back to normal.