Hi
My in-laws have recently bought a 2008 eleganza with air-con

I've only driven it once , back from the dealer & the CC seemed to be OK but in the recent hot weather they have reported the air - con not working.

They report it made a noise like a flap closing & just blew hot air.

My first response would be to have it gassed (I don't know when it was last done) but i thought I'd check theres not a simpler (less expensive) answer?

Cheers
Gareth

When you say 'hot air' came out, was it hot-hot or just warm (room temperature)?

Unfortunately with climate control, there isn't really anything that is easy to remedy. There are, however, a few things you can try in order to narrow down the issue.

If you set the temperature to 'LO', does the air coming out begin to get cold? If so, it may be the CC temperature sensor that is not functioning correctly. Further to this, when set to HI does the air become hot? If not this may indicate that the blend doors are not aligned (I'm not sure whether that's the technical term, but they control the mix of hot/cold air).

If when on LO the air coming out is still warm/ambient temperature it would suggest that the A/C system itself is not functioning. I'm assuming the 'flap closing' noise may be the shunt of the compressor clutch engaging, but that'd be the first thing to check.

Hopefully this is somewhat helpful.

There have been a few issues documented on here whereby the plastic control parts fail. Thus, the motor/rod which opens/closes the heater fails to operate, giving the car permanently cold or hot air intake.


Notoriously difficult fix sadly but search the form - not THIS forum though the 'Panda' one.

gareth111278 said:

My first response would be to have it gassed (I don't know when it was last done) but i thought I'd check theres not a simpler (less expensive) answer?

Click to expand...

If it just needs a regas, that's the cheap option.

Without being alarmist, there is a nasty failure mode on climate-equipped Pandas & 500's whereby a plastic part fails deep inside the heater control mechanism; individual parts are not available, the complete mechanism costs many hundreds of pounds if bought new and the repair is a full day's work for an experienced mechanic. This thread is from the 500 section, but the system is similar. There is another relevant thread, with pictures, here.

Checking correct function of the climate system is an essential pre-purchase check on any climate equipped 500 or Panda.

I'd advise you get this diagnosed by someone familiar with these cars. If it is the mechanism and the car has been recently purchased, I'd be thinking along the lines of returning the car - a franchised dealer repair will likely cost more than it's worth.

Fingers crossed that it's something simpler and easier.

Thanks for the advice.

I'll have to get hold of the car on a hot day & have a play.

Second hand descriptions from your mother in law don't often make for an accurate diagnosis!!

In the centre of the dash, above the gear lever is a small round grille. This is the air intake for the cabin air temperature sensor. It can get clogged with dust/fluff. With the system off, pop the fluffy hoover brush across it a few times, gently. When I got mine the temp control was erratic. First hoover out, been fine ever since.

However, your symptoms suggest a regas is necessary.

Hello
An update on the climate control problem my in-laws have on their 2008 Eleganza 1.2 Auto.

I took it for along drive & was able to figure out that the hot/cold flap would pop over to hot if the fan was on anything over half. It also was NOT cooling.

I gassed it up at my mates garage & it cools lovely but the flap would still pop over to hot just as before.
We discovered the fault seems to be with the motor pack pictured. its up next to the clutch pedal , you can just see it with the kick plate in place.

We are trying to source one. i'll update this thread when we do.

Have a search for similar threads. It may not be the motor that you pictured. Behind that is a gear drive, which can also be replaced separately, but there have been reported problems of the lever on the end of the air distribution flap breaking off. To repair that requires the unit to come out, meaning dash out, so a big job. There is a thread showing how.

With your head up under the dash, operate the temp control and watch whether anything moves. That will help diagnose motor, gear, or flap.

The motor for the distribution flap looks like 77365916. (Was 46723328)

I too am suffering the deep freeze! It either blows ice cold or red hot air. You can hear the "flap" sound. The fan works and adjusts its own speed.

Hi
I've got to the bottom of it.
As Portland-Bill says its the drive lug broken off the flap so its a heater box out job to fix it!

I've found that its kind of controllable by using the fan on full speed to flip the flap up to hot, as long as we keep the fan speed over about 1/3 it stays on hot.
to get cold air not running the fan at more than half means the flap stays on cold.

If anyone wants it have a new solenoid unit , i got it from Fiat but obviously don,t need it !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292234252815?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I'll also add it to the adverts on here.