Air con pump no power

[Floodys]

So what with this lovely weather i thought id try a/c anyhow,no power to pump when a/c button is pressed, i know pump is ok cos if i put 12vto it it engauges, not that cold inside car so not sure if it would just get cold due to being engauged or if 1 gas is out or 2 if pump "working" but not to full potential or 3 if the gubbins behind dash "allow" cold air through? I do have temp at lowest of 14 degs?

So in brief, is there a know wiring prob to pump? I have power to fuse as radio/ sat nav etc works??

[lozz]

When was the last time you used the air/con ?
they have high and low preasure switches if the refrigerant falls below a certain level the pump wont recieve power,

[Floodys]

New car so never used it! Interesting bout switch, how to check etc please??

[lozz]

idont know where the low preasure switch is located tbh,
id presume it shouid be somewhere near the receiver /dryer,

iwill have a look on mine shortly and see where its located,
sorry im not 100% on this as all the other cars ive delt with before with aircon probs have been ford/vauxhall.

Be aware by putting a feed to the air con pump can cause damage to the engine ive seen this kill an engine by jolting the belt at such a force its snapped the cam belt .. be very careful

[Doggy]

On 2002-on cars, the aircon is managed by the engine ecu. There are no pressure switches, but there is a pressure transducer on the left hand side of the condenser. (I strongly suspect yours will be the same, cos puggy's X-reg HDi had a leak from his sensor and it looked identical to mine).

As lozz says, if the gas pressure's too low, the ecu won't let the compressor clutch engage.

First thing is to check if you've any gas - you can very carefully test at the hose connections below/in front of the battery, which are like two tyre valves, briefly prod the pin & see if any gas comes out.

If that's OK, next suspect will be the control relay in the BSI. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14797&p=140334#p140334

If there's no gas, the most common problem is a leaky condenser. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7606&p=74908&hilit ... ser#p74908

[Floodys]

Great, cheers for advise, just one thing, i thought when gassing a/c the pump needed to be running to circulate gas? If the pump dont engauge because gas is low then how do i do it!!

[Doggy]

No, they charge the a/c with the engine stopped. The sensor needs to 'see' a little residual pressure before the ecu will engage the compressor clutch.

[Floodys]

Ah i see, see i have a diy air con thingy, worked fine on my 306, now on the wifes ex ka, i blew a pipe cos it was on the a/c but pump had a problem and i think cos gas wasnt circulating it popped??

[lozz]

does the D.i.y top air con have a Gauge ?
if not dont use it mate,
ive bought them Halfords cans before iwont tell you where it ended up

[Floodys]

Decent one with gauge which is reading full!!

[lozz]

on on all the cars ive topped up the air con as to be running for it to draw in the Refrigerant if you top it up withought it running it will just spray out over preasurise like a balloon.

be very careful that stuff can Make fingers fall off

[DiscoPol]

Doggy are you suggesting venting to atmosphere?

think of the planet man!

Where's Welters when you need him?

I also thought all that was illegal now, tampering with your own cars system and all that jazz

[lozz]

it ileagal to let the stuff enter the Atmosphere,
you can work on the air con as long as its been drained of refrigerant by a air con specialist,
but tell that to scrapyards

ihad fun taking my air con off no one was around tho
the soundproofing stuff under my bonnet still has frostbite