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by m3galinux 562 days ago
Whoever bought my old Honda Fit is asking the same question right now; I installed a button in about the same place. They'll have fun figuring that one out. Honda Fit's AC is designed a lot more for fuel efficiency than effectiveness. So I added a resistor parallel to AC temperature sensor (and the switch inline) which makes the system think it's warmer than it really is, so it cools more. But with the risk of allowing the coil to freeze up. I called it the "AC Boost Switch".
2 comments

I'm not doubting your solution but at the same time would turning down the desired temperature in the car achieve the same goal?
Most automotive A/C compressors are either on or off, with the engine ECU commanding an overriding “off” under hard acceleration or when fuel economy or other situations require an interruption in cooling.

Some older temperature dials actually mixed the cold A/C air with the hot air from the heater core to make those in-between temperatures.

Most automotive A/C compressors are either on or off

All AC compressors are either on or off. The compressed gas is gradually released by the TXV. The drop in pressure as the gas exits the TXV is what makes it cold.

Some older temperature dials actually mixed the cold A/C air with the hot air from the heater

What vehicles don't do this?

Didn't help. With AC on maximum it'd still "turn off" early. Honda claimed working as designed.
As a former Fit owner, I wish I had thought of this! The AC was really bad. We did a lot of road trips and it really struggled out on the long desert highway stretches.