Edtheted said:

......he charged £78 to vac the system refill the lub/oil, dye and re-gas. Whilst I had the bumper off I lined the inside with a mesh to reduce stone damage to the new condenser.

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Whilst I am pleased for you than you now have a new condenser and all is working ok, the price you paid for the aircon service was too much. I paid £50 just six weeks ago at an aircon only specialist place here in the East Midlands for a vac, leak test, lub oil, dye and regas and that was on a very large diesel car.

As for the mesh, nice idea, but to be honest, the Zunsport grille will do an excellent job and is a lot less messing about, though probably your mesh idea is a lot cheaper lol!. Am I daft, or have is your car something other than a 500?

Yes, but you would have been charged more if it included fitting a new condenser...... He's had a good deal.

306maxi said:

Yes, but you would have been charged more if it included fitting a new condenser...... He's had a good deal.

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I disagree. Notwithstanding the cost of the new condenser which was a given, the fitting of it didn't cost him anything except his time. The actual cost of the vac/regas etc is I am afraid, expensive for what he paid, that is all I am saying. You may think it was a good deal, I don't.

I don't know if you're aware, but some people have been known to charge for their time?

306maxi said:

I don't know if you're aware, but some people have been known to charge for their time?

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Yes maxi, I am aware of that. And I'll actually suck back a bit on my earlier post. What I was driving at was that the actual cost of the regas service is in my very humble opinion, over inflated if it was carried out on a 500. I can't actually tell what Edtheted's car is because from the photo, it doesn't look like the front end is off a 500? The size of the car will have a bearing on the cost of the regas, my own car for instance takes 685 grams of refrigerant and I'm hedging my bets the 500 is significantly less. If Edtheted's car takes over 750g of gas, then the money he paid is spot on.

Notwithstanding the above, I should of course take into account price variations throughout the country and I do accept that the equipment used to carry out the service isn't exactly cheap and to be honest, neither is refrigerant, lub oil etc. Still, replacement condensers aside, it is still well worth having an aircon service every couple of years though I accept for many people, spending money on their car comes way down the list of priorities.

I have just bought a new aircon condenser from Advanced Radiators for £110 as for my JTD Multipla. Fair enough. But does anyone have a quick guide as to how to replace the rotten one?

tjmoder8 said:

I have just bought a new aircon condenser from Advanced Radiators for £110 as for my JTD Multipla. Fair enough. But does anyone have a quick guide as to how to replace the rotten one?

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Hi, forgive me, but a little confused as to why you've posted this in the 500 section of the forum? https://www.fiatforum.com/multipla/

In any case, you'd be best off having the job done by someone who knows what they are doing seeing as you are asking guidance on how to do a job which requires any refrigerant remaining in the old condenser to be removed. This should be done by having the system properly evacuated by a garage licensed to remove old refrigerant. Once that has been done, the condenser can be removed. I should point out, you should really replace the drier at the same time as the condenser. Once the condenser has been replaced, it will need leak testing, regassing with the addition of PAG oil and UV dye. Cost, about £50 to £80 depending on how much refrigerant your system takes.

Upshot is, not really worth the hassle of doing it yourself unless you know what you are doing. Oh, and I'd absolutely forget trying to regas the system yourself with some of the kits you can buy. Just my opinion. Hope that helps.

As frupi has already said, legally the system needs to be vacuumed even if the gas has leaked out, as it's illegal to knowingly vent the gas into the atmosphere.

Once empty you need to remove the condenser and replace any and all O-rings and seals between the condenser and pipe work (don't do this and the gas will very likely leak out again) fit the new condenser, usually best to do this as quickly as possible to prevent any moist air getting into the pipe work. And again as frupi says best to change the reciver/dryer as well. Put everything back together and head down the garage to have the system filled. First a 30 min vacuum test to make sure their are no leaks and boil off any moisture that got in the system, then fill with gas, oil and dye. Then test the system.

You can do some bits yourself at home but as mentioned you need a garage to vac and fill the system as you need to hold various certificates to do it. Refill kits won't get rid of the moisture leading to compressor damage and will never fill the system to the correct level.

Max you should have to pay is £50 for a refil but may cost more if having the system evacuated first then going away to come back after the work is done

Agree entirely with all of the above.

Actually, I have my own car booked in on Wednesday for an annual A/C service. I use my aircon every single day on every journey winter and summer and as I had a brand new condenser/drier just last year, I want my A/C system in the best working order it can be.

Most car owners will never bother having their A/C system looked at thinking it is not worthwhile doing and of course there is the cost element. This year my A/C service will cost just £29.95, that includes removal/recovery of the old refrigerant, deep vacuum, pressure test and recharge. I'm not bothering with anti-bacterial treatment or UV dye this year because my system is still relatively new.

frupi said:

Agree entirely with all of the above.

Actually, I have my own car booked in on Wednesday for an annual A/C service. I use my aircon every single day on every journey winter and summer and as I had a brand new condenser/drier just last year, I want my A/C system in the best working order it can be.

Most car owners will never bother having their A/C system looked at thinking it is not worthwhile doing and of course there is the cost element. This year my A/C service will cost just £29.95, that includes removal/recovery of the old refrigerant, deep vacuum, pressure test and recharge. I'm not bothering with anti-bacterial treatment or UV dye this year because my system is still relatively new.

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I also use it every day always have since i was lucky enough to get air-con in my cars ,my last three Fiats all have had climate control and at 530am you need it ,its either misty ,damp,frosty or humid and any condensation in my cars windscreen diminishes faster than hot cakes and i too get mine serviced at the equivalent of 8p per day its worth it cost (£30 service).

rkt2003 said:

..... I too get mine serviced at the equivalent of 8p per day its worth it cost (£30 service).

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Yep, peanuts really over the year.

A lot of people won't use their A/C system though in the mistaken belief it uses loads of extra fuel. Simply untrue. Yes a small amount of extra fuel is used, but hardly anything to warrant not using it. You'll use more fuel banging along at 50mph with the windows wide open!

frupi said:

Yep, peanuts really over the year.

A lot of people won't use their A/C system though in the mistaken belief it uses loads of extra fuel. Simply untrue. Yes a small amount of extra fuel is used, but hardly anything to warrant not using it. You'll use more fuel banging along at 50mph with the windows wide open!

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Yep i hardly notice any extra fuel used its there so i use it ,why would you not ? god i remember my old Uno,s sweating in summer,freezing in the winter,(with the windows open)to demist etc, oops **** a wasp is in the car!!!! boll###s to that lark now

Apologies in advance for this not being about our 500 TA A/C system, but I thought it was relevant. Just had the A/C system on my Saab 9-3 serviced this morning and bearing in mind it had a full A/C service last year because of the new condenser and drier that was fitted, the system still lost nearly 30 percent of its refrigerant over the last 12 months. I use the A/C on my car every day, all year round. I would like to add, my A/C system passed the leak test with no issues. I used the same Company who used the same or identical refrigerant recovery/refill machine as last year.

This rather proves the point, that failing to look after the A/C system on your car, will undoubtedly result in gradual loss of performance over time. Refrigerant leaks out through hose joints naturally.

My own system has returned to near polar ice cap conditions on the coldest setting (ok, slight exageration, but still very very cold!). Our 500 will be done this year by the same Company for the first time since it was built 3 years ago. The cost of my A/C service today? £29.95. Job done.

Does anybody know how much it costs these days (2017) to have the air con condenser replaced? I first noticed mine looking dodgy in July, thought the garage (not a Fiat garage) had maybe damaged it when putting in my new radiator but when I asked a Fiat garage if this was likely, they said probably not , these things happen.

Basically the bars across mine are all bowed downwards and a lot of the fins are missing completely or hanging off.

Didn't think too much about it as air con still works, but the other garage I had my car at for MOT this week mentioned it and that it's probably not got much longer left. Also, is there a possibility this was caused by the garage when fitting radiator, the bowed down parts, or not? It's every bar bowes at the same part.

Would like air con fully functional for summer but don't fancy paying extreme costs x

Get some quotes from any searches you can do for your area and try mobile fitting people who come to you, £200 for the job probably ,condenser about £60 re gassed and fitting. A place I asked said if it's still works satisfactorily leave it alone for one of our cars with damaged/missing fins.

If the condenser currently fitted to your car is in such bad shape and you really want to have it swapped out, you must first ensure that the A/C system is evacuated of any remaining refrigerant. This must be done by a garage certified to handle/dispose of refrigerant. It really shouldn't cost any more than a tenner simply to have the system evacuated. Once this has been done, you could take the car to any competent garage to have a brand new condenser (with drier) fitted, then have the system refilled at a qualified A/C competent garage.

To give you an idea about how much a brand new condenser will cost:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-...533316?hash=item2a550cdf04:g:iNAAAOxy0x1TRVcm

I don't know what the labour time is for swapping out a condenser on a 500, but it was 1.5 hours on my Saab. I provided a brand new condenser with drier. It then cost me £50 to have the A/C system recommissioned, U/V dye, oil, bacterial agent, refrigerant and fully leak tested. This can only be done by certified garages.

I suspect that you wouldn't get much change out of around £200 for the swap on a 500 and that is at the lower end of the estimate. I paid £250 all in to have my Saab done and that was using a genuine GM/Valeo condenser and drier which I bought off ebay from a GM dealer. I sourced my labour elsewhere! Don't forget, you could have the system evacuated, buy the condenser yourself, and get a mobile mechanic to fit a new condenser and then have the A/C refilled elsewhere.

I have no idea where you live, but to give you an idea of what prices a specialst A/C only place would do the job for, see the following link. If you look at the table of vehicles listed, although the 500 isn't there, I suspect you'd be looking at a minimum of £375, but as I say, you might find somewhere cheaper.

http://www.autokool.co.uk/fixed-price-servicing

Clearly, you need to do some research and get some quotes, don't just plumb for the first quote given. Use the goodgaragescheme website to find a reputable garage in your area that is certified to work on A/C systems.

JNAnderson said:

Basically the bars across mine are all bowed downwards and a lot of the fins are missing completely or hanging off.

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This is caused by corrosion from driving on wet salty roads in our typical UK winters. If you look at other 500's (and Pandas) of similar age, you'll likely find they are the same. There's not much you can do to prevent this happening.

It's unlikely to have been caused directly by the fitting of the radiator, but doing so may have loosened any fins already weakened by corrosion. This isn't a criticism of the mechanic doing the job, just an inevitable consequence of working close to a component with rotting fins.

The loss of fins will reduce the cooling capacity of the condenser a little, but probably not enough to stop the A/C operating satisfactorily. Eventually, the corrosion will perforate one of the main refrigerant pipes in the condensor, and then it will either have to be replaced, or you could instead just run it as a car without A/C.

Until then, it's probably best left alone. It might even last the life of the car in its current condition; the fins are much weaker than the main pipework.

Even if you replace it, its replacement will likely go the same way in a relatively short time. Another example of Fiat parts quality.

Anyone suffering a perforated radiator due to external corrosion (as opposed to internal corrosion caused by running without the correctly inhibited coolant) will likely find their A/C condenser is in a similar state. They're made of the same materials, and located in much the same place, so equally vulnerable to the effects of salt spray.

Thank you. I'm in Dumfries and Galloway so there should be a few places. My warranty (used car with Warrantywise) says air con is included, but I don't know of what parts, if it has to wait until it fails completely before they'll cover it, or because it's looking knackered would they cover. My warranty expires next month so keen to either do it before then, or hold off and renew my warranty anyway if they'll cover it at a later day. Just for info.. this is my condenser through the grill... I hope the first gRage didn't do this.

I don't know if it's the photo making the condenser look really bad, but it looks bad? Whether it is affecting the performance of the A/C system, well you won't know unless you take the vehicle for an A/C service, but something is telling me here that it isn't in the best of health. A leak test will definitively tell you.

If it were my car, I'd get it done, but then I use my A/C every day. In fact, I had it serviced just two weeks ago, 20 months from the last service. What I discovered on this service, was that my A/C system had lost no refrigerant at all, which surprised me a little. Anyway, based on that last service, I'm not going to bother getting it done now for at least 3 years.

When we had our TA, I bought one of these to clip onto the existing grilled to prevent further damage. It's a good bit of kit:

https://www.zunsport.com/en/fiat-500-lower-grille

JNAnderson said:

Thank you. I'm in Dumfries and Galloway so there should be a few places. My warranty (used car with Warrantywise) says air con is included, but I don't know of what parts, if it has to wait until it fails completely before they'll cover it, or because it's looking knackered would they cover. My warranty expires next month so keen to either do it before then, or hold off and renew my warranty anyway if they'll cover it at a later day. Just for info.. this is my condenser through the grill... I hope the first gRage didn't do this.

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Wow what does the top of it look like? a big dent downwards? ADRAD comes in at £65 for a new one but may find cheaper, I doubt the warranty would cover what looks like physical damage. Example check spec for your car
http://www.adrad.co.uk/prices/airco...at=Condensers&from=2007&to=9999&rowid=1278037