Technical Air con not working

[Besty77]

Hotest day of the year so far and i go to turn the aircon on and im getting nothing but warm air

I saw in the handbook that it recommends you turn the air con on once a month throughout the winter, i only got the car in jan/feb so i doubt its been on for 7-8 months. (i tried it when i purchased the car and it seemed fine but then it was bloody cold anyway) ive checked the fuses and ive run it with the aircon on for ages but no luck. I also saw on fiatboo that sometimes the conectors by the temp controls come loose so you have to give em a bash....done that, whats next?

its only done 48,000 on a V plate so surely it doesnt need a recharge already?

any help would be greatly appreciated!

(a very sweaty) Besty77

 

[jug]

i used to live in dubai, thats a very hot place. i once left my car for 12 weeks while i came back to the UK on holiday, by the time i returned to dubai the A/C had stopped working. this was on a daewoo lanos with less than 10k. i bled and then recharged the system with refridgerant (freon) and then everything was back to normal. if less than 3 months did that to mine who knows how long it is since your A/C was last used regularly or recharged. its an easy job to do, so it has to be worth a try. if you had been using the A/C and then it stopped working suddenly i'd be more likely to think it could be electrical, but you really dont know when the A/C was last working so i'd assume a recharge is more likely what you need.

 

[sammiboo]

the compressor might be kanckered. Is the air con clutch engaging when you turn it on?

 

[JoskeJTD]

Sammi, if the compressor doesn't come on, it doesn't mean its knackered. All you need is the pressure and fluid levels to drop due to a leak and the system automatically shuts down to prevent further damage with the compressor running with no refridgerant inside.

If the cars a MK2 set the heater control dials to HI the middle one to '0' and the third one to MAX DEF. Do this with the car switched off. Then put the key inside and turn it till the ignition lights come on. Within 10secs turn the knob from '0' to auto, back to '0', then again to 'auto' then back to '0'. Then look at the LCD display on the dashboard, if an error code appears theres a problem with the air con system. If no error appears then you probably need the air conditioning regassing.

 

[Besty77]

Hi thanks for your replies

When i turn the aircon on with the middle dial set to "0" i get a whirring noise which i take it is the clutch/compressor sammi is talking about. Doing what Joske said didnt do anything, there was no change in the lcd display. So from all that i guess i need to regass my aircon. Where do you get the refigerant from? is it a case of visiting the local Fiat garage?

cheers

 

[jug]

most back street garages will have a cylinder of freon ready and waiting, it wont cost much to get it done, its a 10min job. im sure fiat will be able to do it as well, but it'll no doubt cost more.

 

[Besty77]

sorry for ressurecting what i thought was a dead thread!

I didnt get the aircon recharged cos at the time the weather turned nasty and it slipped from my mind, nows it baking hot ive suddenly remembered i need to get it recharged. Thing is when i turn the aircon on without the fan on i thought the noise was the compressor/clutch that sammiboo was talking about but its actually just the fans activating? i get the exact same noise and airflow if i leave the aircon off and simple turn the fan to 1. Am i being a simpleton or is something a bit fishy going on with the electrics?

thanks in advance

 

[JoskeJTD]

Nothing is fishy, thats normal. Read the manual if you dont believe me. The car needs regassing, but i recon you have a leak if its stopped working after a short period of time.

Aircon systems need to be regassed around every 2 years. They will leak naturally, but should still work say after 5 years or more, just when it does get empty or low, the compressor turns off and wont work till the gas is above a certain level,

 

[T14086]

They will leak naturally

Why does a fridge never need re-gassed

 

[jug]

a fridge is designed to be maintenace free, a car isnt. i guess the reason cars arent maintance free is cost, making a cars A/C maintance free would mean better piping. then again i do remember my dad regassing our fridge about 20 years ago. maybe people throw their fridges away when they "break" and all they need is regassing?

 

[Besty77]

a fridge is designed to be maintenace free, a car isnt. i guess the reason cars arent maintance free is cost, making a cars A/C maintance free would mean better piping. then again i do remember my dad regassing our fridge about 20 years ago. maybe people throw their fridges away when they "break" and all they need is regassing?

I would imagine a fridge would need a bit of maintenance if it was driven round the country for 6 years and had to deal with potholes, speedbumps and country lanes

 

[T14086]

a fridge is designed to be maintenace free, a car isnt.

My statement was ment as sarcasm mate

 

[jug]

whoops, im a bit slow sumtimes

 

[Besty77]

I finally managed to find the time to take it to an aircon specialist (reader airconditioning in Woking) and theyve told me the condensor and the Drier need to be changed (he said the drier was like an oil filter but for refridgerant)

He regassed it slightly and turned it on and the probe he was using to check for leaks went mad down by the pipe going into the condensor under the compressor pump...and there was a shedload of gunk down there as well. Bottom line is they want £475 to replace the condensor and drier, to regass the system including labour. Ive never had any work done on air con so is this about right? im gonna have a look around and get some other quotes but id appreciate any feedback

thanks

 

[jug]

£475 is about half the value of your car so no way would i pay it, or even half it.

firstly the condenser is basically just a small radiator, you can buy and easily fit it yourself. the 2 pipes connected to it should have simple screw-off connectors, be careful not to damage the pipes. most motor factors will be able to get you one, and i'll bet they dont cost much (£40-50).

the drier (receiver) is just the storage tank for the refrigerant (freon). It removes moisture from the system. again these are easily fitted at home, the 2 metal pipe connections on top of the receiver can be removed with a socket set or spanner easily, 13mm iirc. a receiver will again cost little money, should be less than the condenser.

if you buy the parts and fit them yourself you can then go and get the system filled. an air con servcie is usually £60 so expect to pay that for a fill and leak test.

total cost for everything should be £150, which is still a lot of money, but only a third of your quote. its really easy to do, if you have a set of spanners and a couple of hours you can do it no problem. once its all done and working you MUST use the a/c regularly even in winter, if you dont its wasted money because it will happen again. i recomended you use the a/c on full blast for 10mins once every 2 weeks during winter.

point to note, it is illegal to release the freon (with its CFCs) into the atmosphere on purpose because it kills the ozone layer. you can get 5 years in jail and a big fine if you do it on purpose (really). that means you shouldnt discharge the system yourself, but as the air con is already leaking technically you didnt release anything, it released itself. that means you can work on the a/c legally, not that the law would ever know or care.

good luck