# Why the ac shuts the car off

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-the-ac-shuts-the-car-off/48989>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** caravan, dodge\
**Created:** [May 17, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-the-ac-shuts-the-car-off/48989 "2010-05-17T18:43:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![puggfaces](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@puggfaces](https://community.cartalk.com/u/puggfaces)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-the-ac-shuts-the-car-off/48989/1 "2010-05-17T18:43:22Z")

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Recently we were having issues with our 2003 Dogde Grand Caravan not starting. I noticed some corrosion on battery so I cleaned it off and now the van starts just fine, but when the ac or defrost is turned on a growl noise can be heard and then the van will shut off. What is mostly like the problem?

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**Author:** ![ken\_green](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/ken_green/32/816_2.png) [@ken\_green](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken_green)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-the-ac-shuts-the-car-off/48989/2 "2010-05-17T18:46:15Z")

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Bad a/c compressor.  
The belt can’t turn it to the point of dragging the rpms down to stall.

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**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-the-ac-shuts-the-car-off/48989/3 "2010-05-17T19:35:03Z")

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…either that or the idle speed is so low, the added pressure from the compressor is too much for it to handle at idle.

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**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-the-ac-shuts-the-car-off/48989/4 "2010-05-17T19:55:14Z")

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Check for a faulty Idle Air Control valve. The IAC valve is supposed bump the engine idle speed up to compensate for the extra load the compressor imposses on the engine. If that doesn’t happen, the engine will stall.

Tester