Technical Aircondition not working

[mastersken]

Hello all Fiat Palio owners Iam a newbie on the Fiat Forum I have 2002 Palio Elx 1.2 with 30000 plus kms and the Ac has stopped working suddenly. Just would'nt cool. Fan is working fine even though I had problems with it a few weeks prior but found out it was just a busted fan relay. Had it serviced & coolant replaced after bleeding the system & few weeks later the Ac is gone bust.
Would appreciate any help on what to check. Is there a relay for the Ac if yes then where is it located. Love to hear from you'll. Thank You in anticipation.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Welcome to the Forum.

What was serviced, the coolant system or the A/C..??
It is common for any car a/c to loose up to about 10% of it's gasfilling annually, that's why it should be serviced/ re-gassed every 1-2 years.
I suspect a low charge, triggering the low pressure switch to shut of the system.

 

[mastersken]

Hello Peter & Thanks for the Welcome note. I had a situation where the cooling fan stopped working even as I driving this I realized as the Ac started to blow hot breeze. On opening to check I found the coolant had spilled out under the car. At that time I found out it was the relay for the fan & then after I got that fixed I asked a mechanic to bleed & refill the Coolant system. All was well for a few weeks suddenly when I once started up the car & left the parking lot I switched on the Ac only to get hot air yet again. Suspecting the coolant or fan I drove straight to the same mechanic & he checked the coolant & I saw it was hot & half the amount he had filled, then he opened a cap & pressed a small valve from which a bit of the Ac gas came out upon enquiry he said he was checking if the gas was ok & said it was. It was getting late as I was on my way to an outting he said it would be ok to use the car but do not try to use the Ac. So this is where I am. I have seen mechanics rather than check things from the power section up to the fault they go straight for the big things which builds up the cost. It was from a Google search last time round that I jumped the fan & found the fault of the relay as most everyone I spoke to at home told me your fan is blown & it will cost xyz as this was their experience. Being an electronics tech myself with a love for doing stuff myself I am quite keen to if not solve the problem then atleast be in the knowhow so that the mechanics do not get to squeeze me for cash by changing parts quite unnecessarily. Would really appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks again.

 

[mastersken]

Ah Peter I forgot to mention the Ac had been working fine untill that point, in fact many friends who would travel with me have mentioned how well it cooled this is something I found Fiat is famous for. Good Airconditioning among other things.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

By just pressing the valve it 's not possible to measure the proper amount of R134A gas.
Find a decent car a/c specialist and have the system checked and/ or serviced.
www.autoacforum.com for more related info.

As for your engine coolant problems, they are not related to the A/C not working, if you ask me.
Palio's are well known for their thermostat problems, so maybe yours is gone...!!

 

[mastersken]

Hi Peter Thank you very much for the help & views you shared I appreciate it. I want to tell you I fixed the problem yesterday. I decided to poke around & checked some of the heavy duty fuses under the bonnet, then checked two relays of three which are also under the bonnet of which I know one is for cooling fan. Then onlooking closely I found some frayed wires & after pulling out the air filter I found a small conduit (the flexible kind) under the filter which had frayed to the extend that of the 5 wires in them 3 were cut & 2 were very nearly gone. Good thing I never had a short circuit. After cutting, resoldering & sealing the wires with heat shrink & finally checking I was glad the Ac started up perfectly. I had all along suspected some such thing to be the case as it worked properly in the morning & in the evening on starting it was dead. That told me it had to be something like a fuse, relay or some such problem. Well I am glad it is done at no cost Thank God. As I do love fixing stuff myself this way I can use the cash for some other stuff. I would have added soome pics but I must learn how to do that.
Now I have had another problem with the front screen wipers for quite a while. They stop immediately wherever they are when you switch them off which means they do not go to the stop position. The rear wiper works fine the mechanics at the authorised service center say I have to change the entire motor assembly which I am not to keen on doing I have opened it & found a relay all broken in the assembly but on replacement the problem continues. Any Pointers please? And yes Thanks again Peter. I do hope that these threads are not to long. Bye.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Glad you fixed it!
( Have your A/C serviced every two years anyway, and renew the cabin filter every year..!!)

I had almost the same problem with the wiper of my Fiorino Pick Up, I changed the wiper motor indeed ( not expensive) and it worked fine again.

 

[mastersken]

Thank you very much Peter for your advice & help. It is a great thing that you take out time everyday to answer my thread I wonder how many more you do it for. God Bless You. I will get back to you when I've done it. Right now have to take care of a tail lamp unit that is broken by a fallen tree from which I got saved so only the tail lamp took the brunt of the hit from one of its branches. Anyway all the best & thank you again.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

That's what this Forum is all about....!!