So I'm driving along, it'* about 85 degrees F out.. Climate control is on 70 and it is real comfy in the car. About 30 minutes into the drive, the A/C turns to hot air....Wow :o it got hot....but since I was alone, I decided to see what was happening so I left it on and opened the windows.....I couldn't stand it, so I turned it down to 67 and waited, it eventually started cooling down again, but it took its own sweet time....It appears the compressor just shut down....Is the climate control working correctly for a 98 SSEi, or should I expect it to stay on and fluctuate only slightly?
Is it the compressor that should be running more frequently? I power cycled the A/C, but it didnt seem to help.
This isn't the first time this has happened, but it'* the perverbial straw and camel thing..

Check the electrical connection that plugs into the compressor. It may be loose or coroded causing the compressor to kick off and on.

Sounds like the connection at the clutch on the AC for sure, id check that one first and foremost, secondly, start the car, press the AC button and see if your fans come on..if they dont..then you may have an issue at your ECC unit.;

You may also want to check the pins inside the connector. some times they get pushed back out of position and don't make good contact. That was my problem when I experienced a similar problem.

I'll go out on a limb here, instead of thinking about the usual mechanical fixes...

Let'* ask the really good question.

Did you put the throttle to the floor right before this issue happened? I'm betting on this

Our cars turn the AC off when you are at Wide Open Throttle to harness all the possible power available. When (I mean "IF I ever did ) I go WOT the AC shuts off..I get nice hot and humid air, then a little further down the road the system catches back up.

I'd have to check a service manual for my 98 to see if there'* a relay in the compressor circuit at all with auto air--does the ssei have auto temperature control type air conditioning?

This sounds like the relay on my 93 which was a cycling compressor IIRC. The relay would occasionally not snap on and make contact through the burnt contacts. The air would go warm and after a half minute or more the compressor came back on. I didn't figure it out until sitting idling in a hot mall parking lot it just quit air altogether. When I got home I found the relay wasn't making contact. Switched it for the horn relay (same part number) and it worked. But this was the manual, cycling unit which cycled on and off all the time-it got lots of wear.

The next time it happens, you should try turning it all the way down it 60* to see if you get cold air. Your climate control might be mixing the air improperly when you have it set for anything but full cold.