Whats up with my AIR CON!

[Adamdcfc]

Trust the bloomin thing to start playing up now the weather has picked up!!

Got in the car yesterday after work...turned the A/C on and it was making a sound like if you was to puncture your freezer whilst getting rid of the ice in it. Also sounds a bit like it might need re-gasing?

Just wondered if this had occured with any of you guys and how you went about sorting it/Costs?

Bearing in mind my Fabia vRS is due its service/mot/cambelt in june

Many thanks all

[jasc1988]

Mines dont work either - lol

[RADIOTWO]

Originally Posted by Adamdcfc

Trust the bloomin thing to start playing up now the weather has picked up!!

Got in the car yesterday after work...turned the A/C on and it was making a sound like if you was to puncture your freezer whilst getting rid of the ice in it. Also sounds a bit like it might need re-gasing?

Just wondered if this had occured with any of you guys and how you went about sorting it/Costs?

Bearing in mind my Fabia vRS is due its service/mot/cambelt in june

Many thanks all

Hi Adam

most poss the system need regassing, but the question WHY !

you need to take it to a air-con place, and get them to check it out,
as for the cost, thats poss £40 upward depending whats wrong

Radiotwo

[radioone]

Originally Posted by jasc1988

Mines dont work either - lol

Mine is working fine thanks!!!

[joenitro]

Hope I'm not hi-jacking this thread, but I was just on the verge of starting my own on the same subject!!!

When I press my AC button, about 2 seconds afterwards I get a very audible hissy type noise that sounds like it's coming directly from the airvents! The air stays the same temperature i.e doesn't get any colder at all.

A few months back I did think that the pump might be on it's way out because even though the air was coming out cold as normal, I could hear a kind of whirring noise when the AC was switched on (and thinking about it now, I'm sure there was a slight hissy noise then too ).

Any ideas?

EDIT: And before anyone suggests it, yes I was always mindful to switch on the AC at least once a week in winter to try and keep it all lubricated!

[Neo_VR]

Its more than likely because your refrigerant is low... i had the same thing on the octy.

Take it to kwik fit, and they will re-gas it for £45 - they pressure test it first, so if there is a leak they will tell you.

[Neo_VR]

Originally Posted by RADIOTWO

Hi Adam

most poss the system need regassing, but the question WHY !

you need to take it to a air-con place, and get them to check it out,
as for the cost, thats poss £40 upward depending whats wrong

Radiotwo

Also its normal for the refrigerant to slowly deplete.. it does it by about 10% a year

[topgooner]

im not sure what is causing the noise your air con however here are a few pointers.
If your air con is not working 95% of the time this is because there is an insufficient level of refrigerant in the system, This can be caused by not running the air con regularly and the air con pump seals drying out allowing refrigerant to escape as some people have already alluded to, another cause is that there maybe a hole in the system somewhere which will have allowed the refrigerant to escape, this will happen instantly as the system is pressurised above atmospheric pressure.
Now, the way to find out if there is no refrigerant is by putting guages on the high and low pressure connection points ( on the vrs these are just past the engine bay seal with black caps on and are shrader valve connections), any garage with a properly trained refrigerant handler will be able to do this. If the level is low then the system has to be pressure tested with guages on. This is normally done with nitrogen, if the guages say the system holds the pressure then it can be topped back up with the correct weight of refrigerant. If not then the leak has to be found. This can be done with a soapy soloution looking for bubbles or with a uv trace inside the system, you then use a uv lamp to see where it is escaping from.
If you have a hole/leaking system and its been this way for a while there are a few steps which need to be taken. Moisture ingress will have rendered the filter drier unserviceable and should be changed. The system then needs a "triple vac ". This is done with a vacuum pump to create a vacuum in the system to remove any contaminants and moisture. The vacuum in the system is then used to pull the required weight of refrigerant into the system.
At the same time a lubricating oil needs to be charged into the system to keep your pump running properly, the correct amount of lube along with the correct weight of refrigerant will be as per manufacturers spec.
Its not quite as simple as some people would have you believe. The system should never "just get topped up". It has to be pressure checked first or the technician is ( technically) releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere. This breaks the kyoto and montreal protocol and the fines related to this are whopping!
If the system has insufficient refrigerant the low pressure cut out switch on the pump will de energise the magnet preventing the pump from turning and protecting it from running with no lubrication. It should cost £40-50 for a pressure check and refrigerant charge. There is no need to renew it if its working fine (contrary to what peugeot will have you believe). If there is a leak and you need a new high/low pressure pipe, evaporater, condensor or pump then these parts do tend to be quite steep however dont take long to fit at all and thus labour charges should be quite low.
A bit long winded but i hope this is of some help, ive noticed three different threads on this this evening now the weather has picked up!

[colkai]

Originally Posted by Neo_VR

Its more than likely because your refrigerant is low... i had the same thing on the octy.

Take it to kwik fit, and they will re-gas it for £45 - they pressure test it first, so if there is a leak they will tell you.

Hmm, I was a bit unsure of taking my 1.4MPI to Kwiik Fit for a regas as I wasn't sure of the quality of the job, after all, it is Kwik Fit.

Have you, (or indeed anyone else), had personal experience, because truth is, it would be more convenient for me to take it there than trying to find a garage round here that does air-con regas.

[ap0gee]

If (like with my wife's when we got it) a re-gas still doesn't fix it, you'll probably need a new evaporator temperature sensor. Several hundred quid out of warranty, or £20-odd quid plus 40 minutes of your time if you do this!

The thing is, if the sensor's faulty, it'll blow cold for the first few minutes, so when the re-gassing place checks the system it'll work OK for them but then start blowing warm air over you on your way home (as was the case with my wife's car... )

[Wardy]

I need to re-visit my aircon issue too and remembered about that guide - thanks mate

Which faults were logged for your issue though? I don't seem to have AC related faults. The system was regassed at last service in August, but still no dice...

I'm prepared to change the evap sensor on the off-chance.

Cheers,
Steve

[ap0gee]

Originally Posted by Wardy

Which faults were logged for your issue though? I don't seem to have AC related faults. The system was regassed at last service in August, but still no dice...

Don't know I'm afraid - the wife's car's never been anywhere near VAG-COM All I know is that it blew cold when the car was first started, but then would stop working after a few minutes and wouldn't blow cold again until the engine was cold.

One thing that was suggested (but isn't in the guide because I've not checked it's OK to do) was that it may be easier to pull the old sensor out a bit and bend it so you can get the whole thing out of the dash before taking the plug off; otherwise you're trying to disconnect it completely blind in a very tight space! Don't snap it completely, though, or you'll never get the end out!

HTH

[ap0gee]

Oh, I presume it's not the flap motor (as has been pointed out a couple of times recently when I've suggested the sensor)?

[majikbikemike]

Blimey i was just gonna post same question, so do I get a regas and if it doesnt work change the temp sensor or do i change temp sensor then get a regas hmmmmm.

Mine is cold for a few seconds farts abit then dies out to a warm breeze, mine packed up on the hottest day of the year so far, and I use mine a lot, gutted. good thread cheers

[ap0gee]

How old's the car? Air con pressure's supposed to die off by about 10% a year, so if it's one of the first ones, you could be down to 50%. The new sensor's cheaper than a regas (and cheaper even than a DIY regas can!), but quite a bit more hassle, I'm afraid. Although from what you say, it does sound like the sensor's packed up rather than the pressure because AIUI, low pressure just means poor cooling in general, and no pressure means the system doesn't work at all...