Ac switch and flickering question

shortgrain

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Mazda, Protege5,2003
Ok kinda gonna be a multi layered question here... Ive read all the write ups on how various people have addressed the flickering and on/off compressor thing and I bought some stuff to do the resistor fix but havent really had time to so Ive basically just been grumpily crimping the contacts and thats been not working very well. Ive thought about the soldering thing but well the issue for me now is Ive lost the back of the switch behind the dash somewhere! [emoji2357]. So grabbed some spare wire from a spare light switch for my house and rigged up this little thing with some spade? connectors etc. I am perfectly ready to be flamed for this but with a bit of wiggling it has seems to work ok so far? Long winded but my question is .. am I going to start a fire? The wires dont seem to be hot right now but during the hot day (Tucson) 104 today, they were pretty hot even connected before I lost the switch. Im kinda close to actually considering trying to rig up the light switch thing I see posted here cuz basically idgaf at this point? Also second side question is it normal for say 104 today my ac literally will not cool below 55 to 65 fluctuating , even while driving until almost 15 to 25 minutes of driving and if I stop even in the shade it will not get below 57 or so. Seems fully charged? No compressor cycling or anything. Is this normal for this car or do I have a problem ( expansion valve, evaporator, clog somewhere? Im getting from a recharge can gauge about 40 psi ~ when the internet tells me I should be around 50+ for an ambient temp of 105? 57 degrees at the vent is just not cool for this type of heat outside? I have other vehicles and past cars and they seem to get to about 45 within a few minutes most of the time? Apologize for the rant and long post! I really suck at this stuff and most of my fixes are super ghetto but just always appreciate and real knowledge about these things. Thank you!


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I would fix the melting stuff first before it causes bigger, more expensive problems. I understand idgaf but sometimes idgaf makes things worse when that stops working and you realize you have more stuff to fix to make it work now than you did before idgaf.

As for the AC Cooling... the AC pretty much sucks in these cars. It's a little 4 cylinder, 130hp, 17-18 year old economy car built to compete with the corolla/matrix, pontiac vibe, etc. With an original price of around $15k-16k it was a cheap commuter car without a lot of bells and whistles. With the 626, millenia, etc. all being higher models, the protege was their entry level vehicle. I live in GA where it's quite hot, and have been a mechanic for many years. The AC just doesn't work well in really hot climates, not much you can do about it. You can pull out the blower resistor and look into the evaporator case, if there's a lot of leaves and crap in there clean it out. You may get better AC performance if you clean out the evaporator fins if they're nasty and full of stuff, but it sounds to me like it's working about as well as you can ever expect it to.
 
Thanks for the response! Yeah I really should. That plastic is toast on the inside. Alright nice to know that the ac has its limitations. Someday Ill own a car that has good ac in this heat...
 
I think a new fan switch may help out a lot.

I believe the heat that melts the connector comes from the switch.
There is up to 12 Amps running through a tiny little contact point inside the switch.

Apparently late model P5's had a new and improved fan switch that is more reliable.

I'm pretty sure a new fan switch would be the improved design.
 
The contacts on the harness are so messed up do you think it would be advisable to source a new one and splice it on or just throw a new fan switch in there and call it a day? Would I just order that through a dealer or like any auto parts store or online parts place? Could I just use some cheapo toggle switches?
 
Also if I put a new switch on would that be in addition to the resistor fix or would that not be needed after a new style switch was installed?
 
Also if I put a new switch on would that be in addition to the resistor fix or would that not be needed after a new style switch was installed?

Doing both is your best bet.

The resistor fix does nothing to address the heat issue. It just allows the system to stay on even when it's all melty.

A new fan switch should help with the heat issue.
Don't get a used one, they're gonna be crapped out too.

Rock Auto doesn't appear to have it available so you'll need to try something like OEM Mazda parts on line.

A dealership may double the price to sell it to you.
 
You'll want to replace that connector too. I've seen a part number on here somewhere in the past, but don't recall where exactly it was. But if it looks like it does, I would replace the connector and the terminals inside of it. Nothing like melting a new switch because of high resistance due to the corrosion and melted plastic in the old terminals...
 
You can also delete the plastic connector.
Just cut the wires and install new spade connectors on each wire.
It's best to solder them on. It makes a better connection with less heat.

Then plug each wire onto the new fan switch.
You don't need the hot glue. That's just something to melt and the connections breathe better and stay cooler without it.

You don't have to worry about blowing fuses if any wires touch. The blower just turns on. It's not a dead short.
 
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