Replacing my aircon switch on my 406S HDI 90 estate.

[bombardier]

Hi everybody, Tony Bamford is my name and I am 73 years of age going on 45. I discovered this site through a search of the web. I have a 10 year old Peugeot 406S HDI 90 diesel estate with a mileage of 65000 miles. The car is running like a dream and I have had to replace its rear box after the original one corroded away in the area of the adjustable bracket.

I have an intermittent problem with my air conditioning, in so much that when you press the fascia switch to activate the aircon, sometimes I can hear the click as the drive wheel to the aircon pulley clicks in, but sometimes it drops out again almost right away, but on other occasions it keeps on running and cools the car down as intended.

The aircon system was serviced about 8 months ago, re-gassed and checked over thoroughly and no faults were found, no leaks in the system and all was working well apart from the odd occasion when it seemed to turn itself off within minutes of being switched on.

I am of the opinion that it may well be the switch on the fascia that is perhaps not making contact properly, or being a "Push on.push off" whether or not the contacts have worn to such an extent that electrical continuity is affected.

Has anyone got any thoughts on this problem. I was considering trying to change the switch that is on the fascia, but I would appreciate other members thoughts on this before I take this step. Sorry if I have been a bit long winded. I will try and do better next time.

Tony.

[mjb]

Wow that's low mileage! Has it had a recent cambelt change? If not, I'd seriously think about getting one done, as rubber degrades over time and can split like an old elastic band. I think the recommended interval's something like 120k miles or 5 years.

As for your AC, does the "A/C" on the display disappear when it deactivates itself? If it does, then yeah I'd say you're right about a dodgy switch (easiest to just grab a replacement panel). If not, is there any relationship between it turning off and engine temperature? If there was too much refrigerant put in, a hot engine might put the pressure sensor over the limit and cause it to deactivate. It could also be a dodgy pressure switch, temperature sensor, or you've sprung a leak (not uncommon - just takes the wrong shaped stone chip to hit the condenser...)

[Doggy]

Hi Tony, and welcome aboard.

Wordy posts are not an issue, I think we'd all prefer more, rather than less detail.
As mjb says, it's probably worth changing the switch first.
As yours is one of the later 406's it is possible to monitor the a/c opertaion, (clutch on/off, condenser pressure, evaporator temp), via the PP2000 diganostics program, which quite a few of us now have. it may help to add your location - someone nearby may offer to help.

[bombardier]

Hi mjb. Yes I agree that is low mileage, I acquired the car from my local Peugeot dealer in January 2005, it had only done 7500 miles on purchase. It had been the Sales Managers run-about and I caught it on a Sunday sale where they had reduced it by £1000. It cost me and the missus £11,000 and wonder of wonders had a built in Satnav system. Such modern technology for an old wrinkly like me.

We tend to keep our mileage down by using our bus and tram and train pass. We live in Bilston which is part of Wolverhampton and our travel system here is brilliant for the elderly. Regarding the cam-belt change. I have my car serviced by a Renault, Peugeot, Citroen specialist and he has been monitoring the cam-belt situation and on his recommendation we had it changed last summer. I now have a cam-belt good for a 100,000 miles according to the sticker under my bonnet and an entry in my service book.

When you said grab a replacement panel, did you mean the whole panel where all of the info is displayed, i.e. Satnav details and other switches, is that not going to be expensive. Quite honestly, with the weather that we have had over the last few months, I am not sire if its worth spending a lot on something that I only use occasionally.???

I think my A/C symbol stays on my panel even when it cuts out, but it is something that I will have to monitor.

Thanks for the info, getting the system checked out sounds a good idea, I just need to find someone with the means to be able to do that. Many thanks so far. Tony.

[bombardier]

Hi everyone. It has been a long time since my last posting concerning my malfunctioning air-con. I had some help offered by a friend of mine who shoots at the same club as I do. He plugged my Pug into a laptop that he said would interrogate my system looking particularly at the air-con fault. He quickly diagnosed that the cooling fan, which should be running at half speed just after the air-con is on, was not moving at all. So that was the problem, and I had to order a complete new fan and motor, because when we finally removed the old fan, water had got into the circuit board controlling the air-con side, and the board was completely corroded.

The new fan unit completely cured the fault,the panel switch was ok and worked perfectly, so now in 2020 I still have a 16 year old car,running like a dream,needing some TLC and clocking up to date 104,000 miles. I live near to Wolverhampton and am looking to sell my baby now. She has to go, she is in very good condition, the front suspension has been rebuilt with new struts and Swedish front springs. Brakes are ok with plenty of meat on the pads,tyres are as good as new having been changed a couple of years ago.

If anyone is interested in buying this amazing vehicle let me know.It has a built in sat-nav, but like other 406 of that period, but the display screen has become pixelated and almost impossible to read. I have been using a stand-alone sat-nav because repairs to these screen are virtually impossible to do, or impossibly expensive. My car is worth a look at, and a test drive with me along. Anthony.