I have a 2004 mazda 3, 90k miles. recently i have had problems with the a/c turning itself on and off while driving, no change in fan blowing, but i have noticed the a/c light off and wont blow cold air for about a minute or two, sometimes as little as ten seconds. After short time period a/c will kick back on. Happens when i am going 70mph or 0 mph, happens at any RPM and speed. Temperature outside has been in the 100s but i also noticed this problem when it was 79 degrees F at night outside one time as well. has happened more when i start the car first, but happens also after miles of driving, highway, city does not matter.
seperate problem who knows???.. i also have been having problems with the car not starting from time to time, about once a week or so. battery problem??? i will start no problem with jumper cables, also will push start no problem.
this car is a standard transmission, not automatic. sometimes it seems if i push harder on the clutch when starting it will start after it cranked??? don’t think this is the problem cause i have not had to push it down all the way to start the car every time.
Check the AC compressor and make sure it is turning on as it should be when using the AC. Make sure the clutch is working correctly and the drive belt isn’t slipping.
The starting problem could be as simple as dirty battery connections. I recommend you clean them as a start.
Starting problem, is the starter engaging? If so, is it cranking at the normal speed or is it slower than normal? If it is not cranking, is there a click sound or clicks when you turn the key to crank.
When you say you push harder on the clutch, do you mean that you turn the ket to the start position and nothing happens, so you push harder and then the starter begins to crank normally or do you mean it is cranking away, you push harder and the engine then starts?
Does the engine seem to be running ok otherwise? Is the idle speed what it is supposed to be, around 750-850 rpm? Do you hear an occasional whistle coming from under the dash or under the hood?
I was trying to determine if you had one problem or two. Looks like two. If you had normal cranking, but no start, I could see where a vacuum leak could cause both problems. But since you have a no crank situation, but when it does crank, it cranks good, I’m leaning to a bad starter solenoid.
If you have a slow crank when it is cranking, then you could have a battery problem. If the charging system is having problems too, maybe the voltage is dropping low enough on occasion to cut off the clutch solenoid on the compressor, but that is a real stretch.
That means the AC is a different issue. Could be due to low refrigerant.
You’re probably low on AC refrigerant. You’ll need an automotive AC shop to find & fix your leak & recharge the system.
Pull, clean & retighten your battery connections. Then have someone test your battery & charging system. Many auto parts stores will do this for free. Don’t wait. A dying battery will kill your alternator.