Falcon

Hi guys,

I'm very happy to see that there is a forum for CL owners... I have a 1998 Acura 2.3CL and I'm noticing that when the engine is on but I'm stopped, every time I turn the air on, open/close the windows, the engine gets affected in a very clear way. I notice a slowdown in the regime and the RPM goes down... I also feel the engine vibrating more as if it's trying to compensate for this need for extra electrical power.. I took the car to the dealer but (since it's still under warranty) they said that it's normal.... I can't believe that the passengers should feel the engine vibrating and a loss of power every time the fans turn on or i close the window. My cousin has a civic and you don't feel it....

I don't know what to fix... It's a shame, i like this car but this is really annoying...

Does anyone know how to fix this ? or has anyone experienced it too?

Thanks for your help!

Zoot

welcome to the forums. i am sure you will soon find yourself addicted! Anyway, there is a first gen. forum so check that out, but i see know reason why the friendly folks here won't help you out. (Sorry i can't)

beestea

I think its normal to a certain extent. What you are experiencing (in my non car expert words) is the additional draw that the power functions of your car are putting on the alternator and since the engine is what turns the alternator via a belt its rotations per minute are slowed down.

A few things can cause different cars to react differently to the addition drawl... the type and rating of the alternator (Amperage output), engine horsepower/torque (more power from the engine means the RPM's wont be as easily affected when the Alternator starts stealing power), and even things suchs as pulley radius, belt slippage.

On my CL-S I don't notice many instances when the alternator is obviously affecting the RPM's of the engine... mainly because the engine puts out 260hp and we have a pretty good alternator.

I used to have a 97' accord SE 4 banger... and I constantly noticed exactly what you are describing. I could even notice engine RPM dropping (ever so slightly) when I put on the blinker!

So.. if your car has been like this all along you are probably out of luck. If it just started doing this recently I would have things like the alternator, pulleys and belts checked out. Also keep in mind that the more electronic things you have running at onces (ac, stereo, head lights, etc...) the more you are probably going to notice this.