[edshupe]

My 1997 Dodge Intrepid Sport overheats when I accelerate hard with the A/C on. Is this a known problem ? The A/C does seem to shutoff when I accelerate hard, but it still overheats. My temp is normally slightly above half-way and goes all the way to red. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Wildcat]

If you have a 3.5, I would guess your water pump may be on the way out, they are a pretty common replacement...

 

[Si]

Maybe a blockage also....

 

[jnutz]

Is it instantaneous overheating or is it if you are running it hard for a while. If you get on it and as soon as you do it jumps to the red, I would look into an electrical short somewhere. If it slowly goes up, I would lean toward water pump. I had mine go going through Chicago.

 

[Mopar4U]

I don't know what the problem is but I wouldn't use your A/C until you get the problem fixed. You get the car too hot and the motor will be smoked! When you turn on the A/C do the fans kick in? They should right away. Have you checked your thermostat. Check your self diagnostic codes (there are A/C codes that may come up, happened to me). BE CAREFUL!

 

[MxPx]

I would be able to drive my car about a mile, and then it would just overheat no matter if the a/c was on or not. We thought it was the thermostat, but when we replaced it, it still happened. So we knowticed it was smoking real badly out of the tail pipe, but I wasn't losing any oil, so it was the head gasket. The car is in the shop right now.