1998 CRV AC only works when accelerating

I have a 1998 Honda CRV EX, and about a month ago, I noticed the AC only pumps cool air when the accelerator is depressed. Not sure what’s up with it whether I’m low on coolant or something. Also, the cables that attach to the battery are loose (have to reattach every few times I drive, which is rarely( and the conductors need to be cleaned, but not sure if that’s related. Any thoughts?

Thoughts?

OK, my thoughts are:

Why the heck don’t you clean the terminals and tighten the battery cables if you know they’re loose?

The battery cables might be related to the AC problem, but you’ll have to tell us more about when the AC “pumps cool air.”

Does the blower (AC fan) continue to work all the time, or does it only only work when you accelerate?

Well, I only drive the thing once or twice a month since I travel a lot. I live in Washington, DC and bike everywhere and it’s been 100+ degrees the last week or so, so I haven’t really been motivated to sit out in the heat and do any car work. I tried tightening the cables at one point when I first noticed they were loose, but they won’t get tight enough to stay connected 100% of the time, so I think I need to replace the screws there.

Aside from that, the fans always run, so it’ll blow air, but the air cools when I accelerate, but then warms back up when I am stopped at a light or in traffic. I’ll try to tighten the cables again tonight and see if that solves the problem. The AC problem did start around the time the cables came loose.