When I put my Clubman into Auto Climate control mode to attempt to keep warm, The Air Conditioning LED always comes on and I have to turn it OFF.
Is this Normal?
Is there a way to put it in Auto and Not turn the Air on?
Just wondering in Indiana?

 

My current car (not a Mini) does that when it's set on defrost when I turn it on.

 

No, it's not normal.

 

I think it could be normal, as that was my experience with auto climate previously (93 Altima GLE). The concept (imo) of "full auto" includes humidity control, which indicates A/C would be active. I do turn the AC off if it's a dry day (no big deal, and you still get temp control), and also run fully manual heat often. It took me awhile to realize I had to run the system with no AC and the temp control lower than outside in order to simply get fresh air through the vents... those days are gone for a few months around here.

 

To the extent others are like you its normal. My car has done this since day one and my Volvo did it as well.

 

My Mini does this as well. Auto mode always turns on the A/C. Turning off the A/C by pressing the snowflake doesn't shut off the auto function. Same thing for a Camry my family has with auto climate control.

Seems normal to me.

 

I would not be surprised if it is normal.

If the control system is designed 'correctly' it would sense the humidity and then turn on the A/C as needed to control humidity. Then it would use the heater, if needed, to control the temperature.

Honestly, I haven't paid any attention to how ours works.

charlie

 

Yes.
No.

What it appears to me is this: Auto, as the OP says, includes both humidity control and the setting of the system to heat or cool to achieve the desired temperature. I always turn the AC off as well; but that lets the system direct the air through the vents that it "wants" for the temperature you're trying to achieve.

That's MINI climate control according to me.

 

Yes, in fact it was a feature requested by us Arizonans...

 

I've resigned myself to not think of it as A/C, it's actually just running the compressor, dehumidifying the cabin. Despite the light always being on, the compressor isn't necessarily running constantly, and I assume the management system cycles it as needed, just as it would for actual A/C.

 

I think of it as "dehumidifier standing by for orders, SIR!"

 

Yes - Auto (short for automatic) Climate Control means that it will keep the temperature in the cabin at the temperature you set. So if you go to the mountains where it is 20 degrees out the heat will come on and then when you decend the mountain and the out side temp is 85 then it will cool the cabin. But once yo turn off the air conditioning it is no longer going to work so it is not in the "Auto Climate Control" Setting. Thus to actually be "Auto Climate Control" it must turn on the A/C at times so this means that the A/C switch needs to be on, i.e. the light is on.

Also as others have stated it also helps keep the fog off the windows when the interior of the car gets humid, i.e. when you are breathing.

No All my cars since 2000 have been this way. Some of my earlier cars did nto even have air conditioning so it did nto work that way on those.

 

It is normal for me ('08 MCS) as I have the same experience. It was also normal for my 04 Maxima. What I did was hit the Auto button, then press the snowflake to turn off the A/C. The climate control system still regulates the air temp, just without the A/C running. I can tell this because the fan speed will change as the temperature in the cabin normalizes, hence it is still regulating the temp in Auto mode. The only thing is that, if the temp gets high enough on the outside to where it can not keep the cabin cool, the fan will stay on high, trying to lower the temp, only blowing hot air. When that happens, I just push the snowflake again to kick the A/C on. But most of the time, now that it is cool outside, I can keep the A/C off. The MINI remembers this so I don't have to turn off the A/C every time I start the car.

 

My Auto climate control is always set to "AUTO", and it never, ever turns on the A/C in cold weather.

 

Okay, try sumpin' for us...

Tomorrow, when it's already on "Auto," switch it out of auto by pushing one of the vent selection buttons on the right. Then push Auto again, and see if the light on the AC button comes on.

 

Hoonu, you are absolutely correct! My apologies for my earlier post about this feature. I also checked the manual, which states that the A/C default setting is "on", and it's working regardless of the outside temperature when you select "Auto". Since this is completely unnecessary for me in cold weather, I turn the A/C off. The "Auto" button stays lit, and the A/C wll not come on again unless the A/C button is pressed, or the "Auto" cycle is reset.
I rarely do anything with the Auto climate control other than adjust the temperature, so I guess the last time I saw the A/C light on was a couple of months ago when I last used the A/C.
It seems pretty wasteful to have the A/C compressor running regardless of the outside temperature, which is what the manual says happens when "Auto" is selected. For me, a better choice is to select the A/C only whren needed, so it's not running all the time for no reason.

 

That's why I rarely use the Auto setting. I just set the temp and let it go.

I have not figured out why there is an Auto setting. I can set a temp and the system will maintain that temp. The only differences (that I can tell) are that in Auto it will change the fan speed and kick on the AC compressor, neither of which I want to happen.

charlie

 

I start my commute in a notoriously humid environment, and end it in a notoriously dry environment. AUTO does exactly what it should along the way, causes no perceptible drag (compressor cycling) at highway speeds, and in my own tests does not impact mileage sufficiently to exclude it's use. I have to wonder if Sport Mode also suspends the compressor during heavy acceleration...I'll have to test this out.
It is amazing to me that I can go from 50 degrees to 100+ degrees in an hour, and never notice it until I exit my Clubbie. /loves his Auto CC.

 

Well in reality the A/C is ON, or a better explination is that the switch to it is ON but just like the A/C a house the switch may be on but the compressor is not always on. So what we have here is the A/C is ON but the compressor only runs when it needs to to cool the air in the cabin or reduce the humidity in the cabin.

This may be true in your instance but i can tell you in my area where we get a lot of humidity on very cold days the windows fog up. Well with the A/C in the ON position if the humidity gets to high then it will cause the compressor to come on and dehumidify the cabin and remove the fog from the windows.
As the compressor is not actually running why not leave the A/C in the ON position so that all you ever have to do is adjust the temperature.

Again the compressor will ONLY run when it is needed. This is how it work s on all cars with auto climate control. And also in real word test just this morning it checked tha compressor to see if it was running, and it was not when the temperature was down to 19F. Again the compressor only runs when it is needed, so there is no reason to have to turn it off.

If you do not have the auto setting and drive as i do sometimes from a very hot area to a very cold area with in a few hours then the car WILL NOT maintain the correct temperature.

For instance if I drive from the base of Mount Wahsington N.H. on a summer day where the temp is 85 degrees i want the temp in the car at 70 degrees. by the time I get to the top of Mount Washington (a 7 mile drive) will need the heat on to keep the temp up to 70 degrees as it is now only 35-40 degrees outside. Now as i come back down the mountain the temp goes back up to 85 degrees and the auto climate control is now cooling the air rather than heating it. This function keeps me and my passangers comfotable to 70 degrees because it is "Auto Climate Control"

Exactly, It does exactly what it is meant to do. keep the temperature and humidity just where you want them. with out having to turn the A/C on and off manually. Just as the Climate control in the office building i work in does the same thing. During the spring and fall we need heat in the building first thing in the morning and cooling in the afternoon, and it is done via "Auto Climate Control".

 

I agree with you guys. I just don't see a need for it. When I want AC I turn it on, when I don't it stays off.

I guess it's one of those things that is automatic and doesn't need to be. I like manual controls on most things.

What I would rather have is a control for the floor vents where I can turn mine down and turn the passenger one up.

charlie

 

I have that in my 03 BMW and it is great. That would be a great feature.

 

Sweet !!!
So now I know that my Little Red Wagon is Normal.
After all the details of Humidity control it does make since.
Man ya gotta love the way everyone helps out with a question!
Thank you !!

 

I agree with every thing you posted above, except I wasn't sure if the compressor would be off when not needed. Can you tell me how you verified that the compressor was not running?

 

The 'light' only signifies the compressor circuit is charged..the compressor cycles on and off when needed to maintain the system-set humidity. When at idle, you can listen carefully, and hear the compressor click on for 5-10 seconds, then cycle back off. Obviously, it's on full-time when conditions occur that dictate it. That's why I was curious if it was programmed to suspend cycling during hard acceleration, as there is a potential to interrupt performance (I merge on the highway up a steep hill in Sport Mode, for example), if the compressor remains running in sub-optimal conditions. Needless to say, when hard-accelerating up a steep hill, it's a tad difficult to notice the compressor 'clicks'.

Edit: I noticed that despite the heater being turned on (it got chilly here Friday, first time running the heater!), the glove box stayed refrigerated...I was surprised...and this is likely a benefit of leaving the compressor running in ACC mode, as I can't think of any other way to chill that space otherwise.

 

Ok, that makes sense. I can hear it going on and off at idle. I also think you are correct about the compressor going off under heavy acceleration. What you said jogged my memory. My 97 Saturn SC2 would shut off the compressor if I hit the gas hard. You could actually feel the acceleration improve when it did this. I would think (hope) that the MINI would be at least as smart as my old Saturn.