Aircon repair

[mjb]

Just a reminder that if you have to do any work on your car's aircon, you only have until this Sunday 4th July to do it, at which time it becomes a CRIMINAL offence to do unless properly qualified - even if there's no gas in your system That's right, criminal - meaning you can be arrested on the spot then taken to court and fined up to £5000 with a maximum sentence of 6 months in prison

What's the penalty for armed robbery nowadays? Bet it can't be more than the penalty for fixing your own car...


I've just ordered a condenser and drier from eurocarparts this afternoon, and shall be fitting it to my Golf later this week. Just got to work out how to find someone that'll be able to dry out the system properly before gassing it up

My coupe's aircon was also non-functioning by the time I went to go to France the other week, resulting in a very sweaty drive. Got back, handed over £50 to Kwik-fit and it's all good now. Thank god

[robb]

Ok its going to be illegal but how is it going to be policed not that Im gonna mess with it

[steve_earwig]

Maybe it'll be like a tv license - they'll take records of any air con stuff you buy and swoop on you if you don't take it to an authorised rip-off artist. Maybe even they'll have halide sniffer vans out there...

Hey, 5 grand's a lot of dosh, just think what they could do with it

[Welly]

Maybe the cost of re-gassing will go up now....cos we got a licence and everyfink.....

[mjb]

Maybe the cost of re-gassing will go up now....cos we got a licence and everyfink.....

"Maybe"? Guess again

[Nuffield]

Hi Everyone,
this is more serious than you may think. Where does the aircon system stop? If its any component which effects the system operation, this could make any work on a car so fitted illegal. For example, air con cannot work without the battery, aux drive belt, engine etc so work on any of these could be deemed to be an offence! Roadside repair would be a thing of the past, at least untill the recovery firms have trained their workers/ bought the licence! Car breakers would have to do the same!
All in all, it looks to be unenforcable, though a few unfortunates will no doubt become "examples".
Regards,
Nuffield

[steve_earwig]

That's a thought - does turning the air con on count as working on it?

[mjb]

I haven't read the legislation myself (because I can't bloody find it online!!! ) but I suspect that since it's part of a bill dealing with the gas involved, the "system" will defined as the circuit containing the refrigerant...

Hopefully this won't stop aux belt replacements being an arrestable offence, but I wouldn't put any money on it

[Welly]

The law will cover the 'opening' or otherwise exposing the gas in the system to atmosphere i.e. causing the potential for the gas to escape freely and un-managed. Adding refrigerant to a system known to be leaking has allways been a no no.

A motorist would never knowingly break into the gas pipework on purpose but I suppose some would maybe rip out an old system to save weight etc? the only other things I can think of that need tightening up on are members of the public having a go with 'gas in a can' top ups and possibly breakers yards dismantling systems - not sure if they are already certified/trained? if not then expect higher disposal costs soon......

I've had one or two cars that have had their systems disabled following a pressure test, trouble is if you have a leak (even if the system still functions) the only way to test it is to vac-down and do a nitrogen pressure test then when the inevitable leak is found you can no longer re-gas untill proved sound again.

[mjb]

The trouble is, as far as I can tell the law will criminalise what I'm about to do with my Golf before the law kicks in, which I know for a fact (gaping hole - kwik-fit machine recovered zero refrigerant and failed to get it to hold any nitrogen) contains nothing but air and is well within the realms of DIY repair prior to leak testing and re-gassing


Welly (Mr HVAC), do you know if a household portable aircon unit would use R134a, and whether it could be re-gassed by someone that does car AC systems?

[Welly]

It may have the same stuff as a car but unlikely and car fridge engineers are a funny bunch and unlikely to entertain faffing around with something unfamilier in fact I don't think portable units have ports for testing and regassing unless they're really good commercial type units. Domestic fidges and a/c units tend to be sealed and once they pack up they get binned....

My Daikin runs on R407c so you may find yours is the same?

I do know that portable room units suffer with dirt clogging up the condenser/evaporator coils even if they have a removable filter fitted the air whips around the filter still.

I've just stripped our dehumidifier at home which is supposed to filter the room air and it was really mashed up with dirt inside .

Some tinkering and messing about with hoovers/brushes would help a lot. I made a hoover line out of smaller diameter hose to really get into those nooks and crannies. This is what I would check out on yours first and that is soooooo not an offer of help

[mjb]

I know mine's probably clogged up with cat hair as it only blows from about 1/3 of the vent so I intend to have a tinker inside anyhow...

[Bluesman]

I suspect this will be policed in the same way as the part P regulations for home electrics are. That is none at all until you blow yourself up and then when you're lying in hospital someone will come and charge you!! Its all part of the Kick em while they're down philosophy that seems to affect everything these days. There is no way they can prove you have worked on your system, especially if you have an older car which may have been "fixed" by any number of previous owners, unless something goes horribly wrong!

[Nuffield]

Hi Everyone,
The thing you need to remember is DONT TALK ABOUT ANY WORK YOU HAVE DONE! A friend fitted his ex`s new gas stove, she had a problem and called british gas, they refused to look at the stove as she could not prove it had been installed by a "Corgi" reg fitter. They then threatened her with court action unless she gave them details of the person who installed it, with intention of taking court action against them! So, dont talk about air con problems you have sorted, it only needs a work hunting jobsworth to hear and the "refridgerant police" could be informed.
Regards,
Nuffield

[steve_earwig]

What happened in the end? Sounds like either whoever she got to fit it was a bit of a cock-up merchant or there was a fault with it, in which case she probably should have got her mate to come back and uninstall it an then called in the "professionals"

I'm sure it's ok to mention stuff on here though, unless someone has far too much time on their hands it'd be almost impossible to trace us.