Air Con permanently on?

[plod]

Couple of weeks ago, I tried the air con for the first time this year, and made no difference to the air coming out. It was pretty cold but wouldn't say icy cold.

Thought maybe I needed a re-gas but the money spent on fixing the zorst meant funds are low for this.

Today, I got in the car and although not researched on here yet, I did notice it was mentioned the revs should drop at idle, so tried it again, but no drop in revs were obvious.
Driving around it was reasonably warm out, and as felt hot, had the blowers on and set to 14C

Again, not icy cold, but quite cold none the less.

Is it possible my air con is stuck on, hence feeling reasonably cold, and maybe just needs some gas to bring it down a bit? - Had car 4 years and not re-gassed it in that time

[Busman]

Hi. This could be one of several things. The first step I would take is to get it serviced / regassed to eliminate that problem. My local center charges me £50 cash for this as a guide. Since we both have the same climate control system, I am puzzled why you turn the ac off. The climate control will do this for you and will keep the electrics of the car dryer using the air con. Don't be fooled by the old myth of air con using fuel. On mine it makes between 1.5 and 2 mpg difference. You need to keep using the system to keep all the seals and o rings air tight. Get the system pressure tested by the service center. If there is a leak, I would be looking at the condensor to start with.

Hope this helps, Richard.

[plod]

You need to keep using the system to keep all the seals and o rings air tight.

TBH I didn't know about that till the other day, when I mentioned it to my mate, and he said I needed to use it at least twice a month even in winter.

He's given me a number of a local guy who his misses used and comes to your house, although there is a place in the estate near work that charges £40 for cash apparently.
Might give him a go and get it re-gassed, although do you think I should have a quick look and see if there is any evidence of the condenser leaking first.

[Busman]

Have a look in the knowledge base section on here and dogslife did a how to change the condensor thread. Very well done with lots of use full pictures to show you what you are looking for. The condensor looks just like a radiator and sits in front of the engine rad. This is one of the most comon things to go, and if your car is on its original they are known to last 8 to 10ish years so this is a likley candidate. Read dogslifes article but I changed my own and didn't find it to bad a job and would do it again. If there is any sign of leakage here then change it before you spend £50ish on getting it regassed which will be wasted.

Once it is fixed leave it turned on to keep your french electrics dry. The £5 of fuel you burn over the winter is worth it to save bigger problems.

Once you have tested this then perhaps you may have to move on to other tests but fingers crossed.

Richard.

[plod]

I know i'm not losing coolant, and I noticed a couple of damp patches under the car yesterday whilst in the petrol station.

I mentioned this to a mechanic friend, and he says he thinks the gas level is low, and the sensor is keeping the air con permanently on because of this, and the moisture I seen under the car is proof that the condenser is ok.

I know I should just bite the bullet, and get it tested, but funds are lowish after buying the powerflow zorst and then getting my mate to fit it and construct a de-cat pipe.

[poddack]

Halfords do a re-gas canister for £50, I have a leak on mine which I haven't done anything about, I keep regassing once every couple of months. Still got the same can.

[Welly]

Halfords do a re-gas canister for £50, I have a leak on mine which I haven't done anything about, I keep regassing once every couple of months. Still got the same can.

A certified refrigeration engineer would face criminal prosecution for that!

Plod - the simplest way to check if the a/c is working is to listen for a 'click' from the cambelt end of the engine when you press 'AC' on the control panel. If you look at the compressor you will also see it engage the outer part of the pulley too which will rotate.

If your gas is low then the a/c will be disabled eventually to save damage to the compressor but in the meantime it can appear to be working overtime for you.

If you can get a digital thermometer then you should be looking at between 5 and 8 deg C at the face vents on full cooling after about 5 mins or so. If it struggles to get below 10 deg C then it's low on gas for sure.

[plod]

Cheers welly - sound advice

[plod]

Was worried about getting clobbered for air con repairs, or paying for a gassing that didn't work.

Been mulling it over for a few weeks, and the "Re-charge or No charge" of Kwik fit finally swung it for me.

Rang up this morning and booked it in for 2 o clock. Got there and they were running behind so told to leave car and they'd ring me when done, but expect it to be 90mins.

Waited till nearly 4 and no phone call, so went back. Captain paranoia was shouting in my ear as car was parked where i'd left it.

They said we've regassed your car, there are no leaks on the system, but unfortunately we have a policy of if we can't get your aircon a lot colder we can't charge you.

I said, I dear, ah well, thanks anyway

Drove down the road, and I swear it's colder, but hey, if they don't think it is, who am I to argue

[omega]

Waited till nearly 4 and no phone call, so went back. Captain paranoia was shouting in my ear as car was parked where i'd left it.

They said we've regassed your car, there are no leaks on the system, but unfortunately we have a policy of if we can't get your aircon a lot colder we can't charge you.

I said, I dear, ah well, thanks anyway

Drove down the road, and I swear it's colder, but hey, if they don't think it is, who am I to argue

the real tale
they where to busy
did f all

[plod]

the real tale
they where to busy
did f all

I did think that when I got back, but honestly it does feel colder

[plod]

Waited till nearly 4 and no phone call, so went back. Captain paranoia was shouting in my ear as car was parked where i'd left it.

They said we've regassed your car, there are no leaks on the system, but unfortunately we have a policy of if we can't get your aircon a lot colder we can't charge you.

I said, I dear, ah well, thanks anyway

Drove down the road, and I swear it's colder, but hey, if they don't think it is, who am I to argue

the real tale
they where to busy
did f all

Captain Paranoia ain't shut up since reading your comment

Was speaking to my mate who I bought the car off, and he said that was a bit of a result, but his misses had a regas done by someone and was ok, but 2 months down the line wasn't as good again. She had it then done by A1 Aircon, which is a franchise, who came out to their home, did the aircon and it was very much better, and has been all good for quite some time, and only charged £45. He asked me if I got a print out, I said no - captain paranoia is shouting again!!!
He also said his misses 307 was never as good as the 406 system, and you could see your breath with the aircon on, it was that cold.
I think back to when I got the car, and yes, you could see your breath!! Captain paranoia is positively shouting at me now!!!

I have spoken to someone tonight, and they say they can check to see if they have actually regassed the car, so we'll see

[Welly]

The effect of the air temperature coming out of the vents can vary according to humidity so some days it may seem icy cold and others not so.....

I hate it when these places ask you to leave it with them, I have grown to ask them when it may be less busy and arrange to come back or just leave it entirely

They may have taken a temperature from the vents and may have frigged up a test gauge on the pipe test points and may have decided not to bother

The only sure way to test your a/c is to get a digital thermometer in the vents and run the system on full cooling for at least 30 minutes to get the lowest possible reading (to get down to 10 deg C takes a couple of minutes but the further reduction to 5 deg C can take another 15-20mins - increasing the engine revs helps). A before and after temp test is the only measure.