Well, I bit the bullett and did the A/C mod. Normally, the A/C on 2001+ Protege's is on whenever the mode selector is in the Floor, Floor/Defrost or Defrost positions. Although helpful in de-humidifying the car as well as keeping the A/C system lubed and ready, it can also cause poor fuel economy and a dry nose!

I wrote up a tutorial with pics on how to do it, which can be found here.

Let me know what you think! All in all it took about an hour and a half, and it's well worth it IMO.

 

is this for real?...brain surgery to shut off the a/c in defrost mode!

good god mazda ...my 2k1 civic took a whole 15 seconds to deactivate the a/c automatically on in defrost and floor only mode by just holding down a couple buttons until you heard a beep

 

Yo, that's tight man! I wish!

 

Could you highlight the 2 microswitchs in the picture? I'm not sure where they are! Thank You for the info

 

Here you go!

 

Thanks again

 

So, are you going to try it?

 

Ya, when I get some free time from work. I went to school in Missoula, Mt for electronics but now I'm a Locksmith. I haven't used my de-solder in a long time it sounds like Fun. I can pull all my **** out from a box in the garage. hell ya!
Who is the picture of? It makes me laugh everytime I see it!

 

This mod makes your car have the same layout as the cars of the 80's and that isn't all to the good.

Chances are most people, including me, don't think to run the AC during the colder months, either to lube the compressor or to defrost the windsheild. So, the next best thing is to ALWAYS start the AC at idle rpm (750) and let it run for 1-2 minutes before driving away. (Waiting at a stoplight works best for me.) Afterwards, the compressor will cycle off and on and you may be at 3500+ rpm but no harm will be done. I've done this with my other two cars--'86 and '87 Toyotas--and the AC still works like new in both. Just as you know not to race a cold engine, remember not to race a "cold" AC compressor.

This mod will probably void your AC-system warranty as Mazda will assume you either messed something up when you were taking things apart, or you never even briefly ran the compressor for several months straight and then turned it on at a high rpm.

RH