Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car

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Wed 14 Jun 2017 23:42
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - MXH

I had the Aircon regassed in June 2016. The garage said that the coolant level was virtually zero after the previous regas in 2014. The mechanic regassed and checked for leaks and said there were none.

Today's temperature was in the mid seventies/ 25 centigrade. I had the Aircon running for 30 minutes but it didn't cool the car down. Usually when the Aircon is working well I have to turn it off after a few minutes as it gets a bit chilly.

Any thoughts please?

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 00:07
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - elekie&a/c doctor
I suspect your gas charge level has dropped . In which case you probably have a small leak somewhere .Usual suspect is the air-conditioning condenser at the front of the car.
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Thu 15 Jun 2017 01:07
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - MXH

Thanks for your reply. Is the condenser repairable or do I need a new one?

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 07:26
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - elekie&a/c doctor

They are not repairable. New one available from around £60.

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 10:11
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - Railroad.

The most common reason for the loss of refrigerant is people don't use their air conditioning through the winter months, thinking A/C is a summer only thing. With non use the gas will never condense to a liquid and the seals will dry out. Then the gas gets lost. So keep your air conditioning switched on all the time. If it gets too cold just turn the temperature control up a bit. If you have climate control then set it to a temperature that's comfortable, but leave the A/C switched on. You may also need a new receiver dryer. On a 13 year old car it's bound to be clogged up.

Edited by Railroad. on 15/06/2017 at 10:14

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 10:44
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - John F

The most common reason for the loss of refrigerant is people don't use their air conditioning through the winter months.........So keep your air conditioning switched on all the time.

I think using it once a month or so is sufficient. Keeping it on all the time wastes power. I also protect most of the front of the condenser during Oct to June with two cardboard panels slid down behind the front grill (the separators in a case of wine are a perfect fit). There is still plenty of cooling air-flow. Our X reg Focus aircon still works fine and has never been 'serviced'. If it works, don't mend it!

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 13:39
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - Railroad.

I think using it once a month or so is sufficient. Keeping it on all the time wastes power.

Not sure I agree with that. Firstly modern air conditioning compressors are the variable displacement type and are very efficient, and so running them permanently is very unlikely to be wasteful. Even if the OP's car has an older type the compressor switches on and off by an electromagnetic clutch to keep the high pressure side at the right pressure. When the pressure gets too high the compressor switches off. The other point is the compressor switches off if the outside air temperature is too low. This is to reduce the risk of ice building up on the evaporator which could damage it. So even if the A/C switch is left permanently on the system isn't permanently running.

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 14:32
Ford Focus 2004 - Aircon not cooling car - skidpan

Our X reg Focus aircon still works fine and has never been 'serviced'

Hardly headlines is it. When did you ever service anything.

Firstly modern air conditioning compressors are the variable displacement type and are very efficient,

No idea how they work but the Climate System on our new Superb stunned me yesterday. Went to the coast and did about 260 miles for all of which less the first 2 miles in the morning we had the climate on set at a very comfortable 21 degrees. When we came back from holiday a couple of weeks ago we did not use the climate at all on the run, no need, too cold outside. Yesterday I expected the mpg to suffer like it has in all our previous car but it didn't, in fact when we got home the dash was reading 54.5 mpg for the round trip which took about 5 hours. That is more than we got without the climate on.

On older cars with A/C we have been able to feel when the compressor cycles in a out, mostly at idle but on one you could feel it speed up and slow down on the motorway at 70 mph as the compressor took engine power. That car had a better power to weight ratio than the Superb so we are not talking about an underpowerd city car.

Things have definitely improved.

PS We got a condensor holed once, compressor made horrid noises when it was running with no gas in. It was replaced under warranty (stunned me - 4 year old Kia) but the total cost inc labour and gas would have been just over £400.

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