[james]

I bought my Insight used, with no owner's manual. Got one coming, but until snail mail gets it here, there are a few things I can't figure out.

The most annoying one right now is that I can't figure out how to turn the darned heat and AC off. This morning it was a pretty comfortable 60 degrees or so out, and the heater comes on. Tonight, even though the temperature won't be high enough for me to want AC, it will probably try to turn it on.

As far as I can tell, it should be off. I pressed the big button that says "OFF", and the LCD display turns off, but I still get the unwanted heating & cooling. Would someone tell me, please?

Thanks,
James

 

[Rick]

Sounds like your using full auto mode. If you hit the econ button once it will go to ac on econ, if you hit it twice it will to go ac off econ. This will force the compressor to not come on. If you just want to vent some outside air use ac off econ 60 degrees and you can control the fan speed. Burrying the dial at 60 or 90 degrees will the over ride for full heat of cooling. The air will still be slightly warmer than outside as the air, but it's something. When you have it off completely I think the car still vents a little bit of air through so you don't suffocate inside your car, adjusting the temperature knob will control the temperature of this incomming air though.

 

[james]

Hummm... so the big OFF button doesn't actually turn things off? I wonder what it does do?

I guess my bet bet for now is to set the AC to off/econ mode, then crank the temp way down. I tend to drive with windows open most of the time anyway, since I like the natural air blowing through, but it would be nice to have some sort of airflow from the vents for those times when a Harley or boom car sticks in the adjacent lane.

 

[SeanW]

James,
I was baffled when I first got my 2002 CR-V (my first Honda). To completely stop the air venting thru the car you have to push the "recirculation" button causing the light to come on. My mind had a hard time adjusting to the fact that the light was ON when the air flow was OFF!

 

[Armin]

OFF button

Hi, James,

congratulations on your purchase!

Hummm... so the big OFF button doesn't actually turn things off? I wonder what it does do?

Well, the OFF button turns the fan off, but the thermostat keeps working. To turn the thermostat off, as Rick says, you have to turn the temperature dial all the way to the left (display reads 60 if you didn't turn it off). This turns the heat off entirely. Make sure you hit the off button or the ECON button until the display reads "ECON A/C OFF" So that the AC is turned off, too. Now you are just venting outside air.

To eliminate that, too, hit OFF and the recirculation button. Now you are sealed in a bubble

Just as Rick, I also noticed that the air out of the vents seems to be slightly warmer than outside, even with the temperature set to 60. Maybe the flap that controls the hot air from the heater core doesn't seal properly?

 

[Rick]

I think it's just engine heat. All cars do that which bugs me because on a nice day where straight vented air would be good you have to run the air. Then again all air passes by the heater core. So it would be very difficult to isolate any heat from getting to that coolant anyways.

 

[Will M]

Well, the heat ducts themselves heat up when the car sits in the sunlight. My experience is that the air is hot until you run it long enough for the outside air to cool down the heat ducts, then you get outside air pretty much at outside air temperature.

 

[ucffool]

Yeah, I think 1/2 of you are hitting on the right point.

He was getting venting of outside air, not actual heater/AC... if the LCD is not on (after you push the big 'OFF'), then it IS off. Yes, air coming through your vents is usually warmer than outside, which can be inconvenient when you want to just cruise with windows up, venting in air, without windows down.

Pressing the recirculation button will fix the air flow issue for you.

There is no need to adjust the TEMP knob at all if the unit is off.

TIP: If you want stronger airflow, crack your passenger window a little (some noise, but...) air flow will be magnified through the vents depending on your speed.

 

[james]

"He was getting venting of outside air, not actual heater/AC... if the LCD is not on (after you push the big 'OFF'), then it IS off."

I don't think that's actually the case. Even though the LCD display was off, the air from the vents would be much hotter or cooler than outside. Also, the air temp would change if I twisted the dial...

I tried the suggestion above, and put the display on with AC off showing, and that seems to work.