Q: Air conditioning on high caused radio turn off, gas gauge to empty,warning lights on

asked by on June 13, 2016

I was sitting in a hot grocery store parking lot and turned the air conditioning on high. The radio went off, the gas gauge went down to empty and some of the warning lights came on! I turned off the AC and the lights turned off. What could be the cause of this?

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The most likely cause of this is a battery with a failed cell, alternator, battery cable or the AC compressor itself. If the charging system has a fault, it will not be able to support all of the car’s systems, such as the radio and the AC. The AC could also be the cause itself, as it could have caused a drag on the system, which can cause faults as well. A qualified technician, such as one from YourMechanic, will have little trouble performing any diagnose your electrical issues and perform any repairs that are needed.

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