Started this morning

[Doc_Overkill]

Hey everyone, I hope you have some ideas for me... My 89 2.3 runs great usually. this morning however i noticed that my voltmeter is dropping when the ac compressor kicks in and idle drops way low. I can accelerate and the volts come back up. seems to me the ac pumps is causing this mischief. This occurs when headlights on and defroster running above medium. I am not familiar with how often the clutch should cycle but it seems like alot. In the past I could run everything and the voltmeter barely would budge. Thanks in advance for any help ya"ll can provide.

 

[MAKG]

The compressor is an additional load, but it's just about the last thing I'd suspect as a cause. Unless it's noisy.

Your engine is supposed to idle up when the compressor kicks on. If it isn't, run the engine self tests, and test and/or clean the air bypass. You can remove the solenoid and manipulate the valve plunger with your finger. It should move very smoothly and easily, and strongly affect the idle. The electrical input should be less than 100% and more than 0% duty cycle.

 

[shadetree]

With the electrical load you have on the system at idle, the alternator cannot keep up, this is normal. If it doesn't recover, then you have a problem.shady