stumbling during acceleration w/ac on

Nathanael Rusciolelli

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
118
Location
North Carolina, United States
I know it's only February, but spring comes early here in NC. I got my A/C going the other day for the first time since I've owned my TJ and I was pleased to find it is nice and cold. But I've noticed that while the A/C is on, I've been feeling this stumbling during acceleration mostly in lower gears. It's very inconsistent, sometimes it feels completely normal, but when it does occur, it almost feels like a gust of wind is pulling on the jeep. Only happens when AC is on. Anybody experienced this before? Is it just one of those "jeep things?"
 
I would get someone to help you, pop the hood and watch the compressor at idle speed and as they accelerate the engine. See if you are getting a lot of drag as the compressor kicks on and off.
 
I had that last summer after URE. Shortly after that trip I threw a p0303 code. I thought maybe it was the typical overheating but replaced the coilpack and had a shop up the road reset the OBD. Haven't had that issue since

If you know a shop with a good (snap-on...etc) full OBD reader, stop by and have them run your ecm to see if there's any issues that may be there that haven't thrown a check engine light code yet. Your typical Advance or auto zone OBD readers aren't that detailed and can only give general codes
 
I had that last summer after URE. Shortly after that trip I threw a p0303 code. I thought maybe it was the typical overheating but replaced the coilpack and had a shop up the road reset the OBD. Haven't had that issue since

If you know a shop with a good (snap-on...etc) full OBD reader, stop by and have them run your ecm to see if there's any issues that may be there that haven't thrown a check engine light code yet. Your typical Advance or auto zone OBD readers aren't that detailed and can only give general codes

X2

If there is indeed a problem, you're probably throwing a code, or are going to throw one any moment now. The code will hold the key.

In the meantime though, follow @JP98 advice.

I will say that often times when driving a manual you can sort of feel the engine get a tad bit sluggish when turning on the AC, but that's normal. If this is something new to your vehicle and it's never happened before, then chances are there is something wrong.