Ragazzo's...

I have new glow plugs (Bosch @ £7 each so bought the whole set) to get rid of my "Preheater" fault..

My clocks are away for repair to get rid of the "nothing works except a lot of flashing lights" fault(s)..

I have blanking plates for the EGR...

And I'm homing in on a random EML fault (possibly the turbo vacuum solenoid doodah under the battery, or it could be the EGR or the MAF.. ).

So.. to one of the few other remaining issues; I have an Active Air.. whose one USP over an Active would appear to be "Air".

On mine, I press the button and the light comes on but whilst there is "air" it is normal air, not refrigerated to an inch of freezing cold air, which I will want soon in a few months.

I could re-gas it.. but on the other hand, I'll do that once I know it "works". At the moment I'm not sure it does anything.. no "clunk" or extra load detected when I press the button etc. so I think my compressor (which may or may not have gas in it) is probably not being engaged.

Someone wrote that there was a solenoid/switch or sender that could be the culprit. I found something that looks like a sender behind the bumper (ahead of the offside wheel). Is that the beast in question?

How can I know that my a/c is "working"? Should the fan come on with a/c. or does something else visible happen? I can go and look before (switch on) and after to see what it does, if I know what to look for.


Ralf S.

The air con compressor magnetic clutch will only engage if there is sufficient gas pressure in the system, and the outside air temperature is above 3° C.

The 3 stage pressure switch located close to the bottom right corner of the engine cooling radiator monitors the gas pressure. It will not allow the compressor to engage if the pressure is to low, and will disengage it if the pressure is too high.

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So I need to put gas in it to make sure it has enough gas to engage..? Can I measure the pressure with a tyre pressure gauge? What pressure should I have?

Then I presume it should just start working, if there's nothing else wrong... but if it doesn't then is there another switch or sender.. or just the one by the radiator?


Ralf S.

The lower front aircon pipes are prone to cracking so I would inspect that before wasting any gas on it. You can measure the voltage at the pressure switch to determine if there is any pressure at all in the system.

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/279268-stilo-mw-1-9-jtd-air-con.html?p=2839619