Technical AC problems

[Commander]

Hi,

I drive Fiat Stilo 1.4 3 door which I have for 20 months now. I've covered more than 42,000 km and in general I'm very pleased with the car. The only problem I have is concerning the air conditioning. It doesn't release the water it creates through the condensation process while the car is running. It keeps it in the system and after an hour or so it gets cloget up and the result is no air in the cabin. Once I stop the car it starts leaking from underneath the car and after a while the AC is functional again. The car has been to service 6 times now and they don't know what to do. The car is still under waranty but the dealer doesn't seem to care. Any sugestions?

 

[Mickey2002]

Go back to dealer and complain ? If do nothing then report them back to Fiat.

 

[dan-the-man]

The car is still under waranty but the dealer doesn't seem to care. Any sugestions?

make them care, at the end of the day it's a fault so they should look into it, or find another dealer.

 

[Deckchair5]

Has it always been like that?
Has it steadily gotten worse?
When was the pollen filter last changed?
Is the air flow through the vents poor anyway?

"It doesn't release the water it creates through the condensation process while the car is running"
How do you know? Do you mean when car is stationary and engine and a/c going?

I'd whip out the pollen filter and check it isn't clogged, run the a/c without the pollen filter and see if it works properly. (See Stilo Guides) Sounds like it might even be icing up if it stops draining completely and then starts draining again after it warms up

Tha a/c should still work even if there is no drain happening at all, it'll just overflow onto your carpets

 

[Deckchair5]

Is your compressor cycling on and off properly during normal operation?

Click to enlarge
If the frost sensor (shown as K86 here) is working properly then it should turn off the compressor for a while when the system gets cold enough otherwise your a/c sysgtem may ice up. If it isn't working then you may get your symptoms of a/c not working after a while of operation until you turn it all off and the ice melts

Try simulating what the frost sensor does and turn your a/c off say every 10mins and see if the fault disappears

 

[Commander]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

It's been like this from the day one. I collected the car in March and went on a longer trip three months later when I noticed the problem and no, it's not getting any worse. I still have to make 20-min breaks every 200 km to let it drain. :bang: The pollen filter has been changed 3 times in 20 months and the air flow is generally poor. It realy struggles to cool down the cabin on a hot summer day. I was told by the diller that it is common problem with Stilo's (?!) because it has an AC compressor from Punto MK II and hense the reduced capacity. Makes sence, in a way...

The idea of AC icing up sounds good and I'll talk to the dealer but does it take so little time to warm up? It starts draining the moment I stop the car even with the engine and AC running.

Thanks again!

 

[Commander]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

It's been like this from the day one. I collected the car in March and went on a longer trip three months later when I noticed the problem and no, it's not getting any worse. I still have to make 20-min breaks every 200 km to let it drain. :bang: The pollen filter has been changed 3 times in 20 months and the air flow is generally poor. It really struggles to cool down the cabin on a hot summer day. I was told by the dealer that it is common problem with Stilo's (?!) because it has an AC compressor from Punto MK II and hence the reduced capacity. Makes sense, in a way...

The idea of AC icing up sounds good and I'll talk to the dealer but does it take so little time to warm up? It starts draining the moment I stop the car even with the engine and AC running.

Thanks again!

 

[a1ant]

have you tried clening the outlet pipe and make sure its pointing downwards?

Alan