Hey scotty, i have a 2019 honda civic lx cvt 2.0 liter with 50,000 miles on it. I am the otihinal owner. I am aware that it is still cold outside but decided to test my ac to see if it still works. When i turned the AC on and i turned the digital temperature dial down to 60 degrees, the air coming from the vent was cool but not ice cold but as soon as i turnned the digital temperature dial down to the "Lo" setting or 3 degrees less then 60, the air coming from the vents got ice cold like it should be. Is this normal for modern cars to do because of outside car temperature?
Air conditioning is computer controlled to prevent the evaporator from freezing up. Try using the air conditioner when it's cold and humid. Put the heat on, and hit the defrost. The air conditioner runs to dry the air before getting into the cabin so it can more effectively defrost the windshield.
It may be extraneous, but the concept of an air "conditioner" is kind of a misnomer. Heat is always involved, and there must be a "wall" isolating the two. Refrigerant that is cool liquid turns into gas in the evaporator, absorbing heat from inside the cabin. It comes back out of the evaporator into the outside air, warmed up, and still a gas before it enters the compressor to be recompressed, further generating heat. It enters a condenser to cool the hot liquid back down before the cycle repeats. All an air conditioner is is a heat pump in reverse.
It's actually the exact same concept with your refrigerator. There's always a barrier between the two, and if the fridge is left open, work in done, even though the the refrigerator is open to the ambient air, so the temperature increases.
That's normal. When it's cold outside you can't analyze AC systems. They have switches to turn them off if they get too cold and they won't work right really unless it's 70° or warmer outside
