Air Conditioning and Loss of Power

C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
Is it normal for the air conditioner to zap the engine power?! Turned it on the other day (94 and high humidity) and there is a little bit of a hill coming back from the mailbox. Machine almost died!!!

Is that normal? I mean I had the choice of shut the A/C off or go to the low gear. I've never had a/c in any of these but I have a/c in all the big tractors and there is no loss of power when I am running the a/c. Not that you can notice.

This is obvious. Goes from almost stalling out to normal when I switch the a/c off on a hill.
 
DwRam

DwRam

Junior Member
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Could be your A/C compressor bearings are going bad and dragging causing power loss when the clutch turns on when calling for cooling. What model and how old is your RTV?
 
C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
I forgot it doesn't show with my ID what I own! Sorry.

2 month old X1100. First time I ran the A/C other than sitting in the driveway and flipping it on to see if cold air came out.

So I doubt it's bearings.
 
bordercollie

bordercollie

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I would check and make sure the parking brake wasn't engaged.. seriously doubt that is it but would check...New machine... hummm.. fuel comes to mind .. new machine or not an encounter with dirty fuel can make her "bog" down.. how's the temperature gauge looking? air intake? collie
 
C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
ah, collie, thanks but I went through all those things mentally immediately. And I've gone back and repeated the situation with the same results. Loss of power. Hill to the hay barn is even worse, so I guess I will call the dealer tomorrow.

the machine is new, but I've now got over 400 miles on it. I farm a good size property by east coast standards.

It runs fine until I turn the A/C on which I only did for fun the other day since I am still driving it with one door!!!
 
bordercollie

bordercollie

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Oh darn, I was hoping it would be something easy.. lol . Sometimes even new machines have a "not right" part.. It may need the compressor replaced etc.. so glad you have the warranty. :tiphat: Good Luck, collie
 
C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
71sschevelle said:
I bet it is a clogged spark arrestor
Click to expand...

Wouldn't I have loss of power other times? Not just with the A/C? I drive this thing every day. This is a working machine and travels steep hills which can only be done in low gear with no problem. And no difference from my old machine which was a 900.
 
bordercollie

bordercollie

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A clogged spark arrestor will sure rob power. If you haven't had a look at yours, you will be amazed at how clogged it is. It is like you trying to run fast with your nose covered up. There are several threads on the arrestors and how folks dealt with them- including me. Just don't alter the length if you go in that direction... think screen altering unless you are working on a tinderbox where a rare spark may cause problems. Good luck, collie
 
71sschevelle

71sschevelle

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A clogged spark arrestor will show up first when machine is under a load, such as a hill or a/c on. Cheap fix if that's the problem.
 
C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
alter the length? The think is a 'spiral' according to the manual and to clean it I remove the plug on the bottom side of the muffler and run the engine and beat on the muffler with a rubber mallet. Rev the engine and beat on the muffler at the same time isn't going to happen without two people! LOL

Wonder if I could train the dog. Collie, your XT has a plug?
 
bordercollie

bordercollie

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No plug on my 2011 xt model, My spark arrestor is part of the tailpipe and can be accessed by removing the 2 bolts holding it on. It just pulls out on this one of mine. Doc has a thread in his sticky column on these things- . http://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14605
Yes, it would be hard to do all that your manual says if you are only one there- Belle's legs are too short to help much so what I have done in other circumstances is make certain the machine is in neutral and use a 2x4 a certain length to reach the pedal etc. while I did what I needed done. I work by myself 95% of the time so have to improvise. That spark arrestor of yours.. sounds hard to clean at any rate.... good luck with it.. collie
 
71sschevelle

71sschevelle

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When I looked at the new x models I noticed the spark arrestor wasn't remove able like the old models. I wondered how that little clean out plug would work. If you search the forum for spark arrestor you will see how dirty they get. Don't know what's inside that muffler, but if spark arrestor has a screen on it I think it would take a wire brush or something to clean it. Let us know if the procedure in the owners manual works
 
Keifer

Keifer

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
i have a 2012 1100. no engine power difference with a/c on. no problems going up hill in high with a/c on either. not sure what your rtv problem might be.

by the way, the other day i was out on a paved road and going down a slight grade and the speedometer was past 30 mph. felt like it could almost rotate if i bolted on some wings... lol
 
C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
Keifer said:
i have a 2012 1100. no engine power difference with a/c on. no problems going up hill in high with a/c on either. not sure what your rtv problem might be.

by the way, the other day i was out on a paved road and going down a slight grade and the speedometer was past 30 mph. felt like it could almost rotate if i bolted on some wings... lol
Click to expand...

That's what I needed, confirmation that there is no power loss because of the a/c on other RTVs. Thanks!
 
C

CornerstoneFarm

Member
Well dealer was here today because the machine wouldn't start and we got it running. Looks like the starter is going bad.

So while we had it running I ran it up the hill and then I came back down and I ran it up the hill and at a certain point told him to turn on the A/C. Machine died! He was startled.

Nope it's not suppose to do that. We did it on a smaller hill with same results. In the mean time, he isn't even sure the starter is the problem. They first thought that it wasn't in gear right but that wasn't the case.

I ask for my 900 back but they've already sold it.
 
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