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www.polarac.co.uk/ - South Bucks, Oxfordshire - known him for years, very solid.
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Damn! Anyone know of a good one in the Bham/Cov area?
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Here's a mobile service based in Redditch
tinyurl.com/mqrbf
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Has anyone tried this guy? My climate control is cooling but not as it should or as I remember it. I will have a look with a UV light to see if I have leaks (it was regassed last year) but this guy is just round the corner from me and would be quite convenient
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I also used aircool a couple of weeks ago. Very professional service and a pleasant chap.
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Unfortunately aircool don't quite stretch to my area (Milton Keynes). Can anyone recommend another mobile (or garage) service in the area. I do know of one local company - cli-mate -
www.cli-matevehicleairconditioning.co.uk/
The chap there (Mike) seems quite honest and straightforward. Does anyone have any experience of them?
Car is a Peugeot 406 HDI (2000, X). Air con not working and the condenser seems to have sprung a leak as there is oily liquid accumulating at the bottom of it which doesn't look like it could have come from anywhere else.
Thanks,
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Right called a really good guy, he regassed it all, and it seemed like it was fine. So going home, last night, we got straight back into the pattern - 15 minutes of a/c, then just air from outside, does anyone know what might be the cause of this - he suggests some kind of electronic fault, as it's clearly not leaking?
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" A really good guy" - "15 Minutes a/c, then-" "Electronic fault" " Clearly not leaking" This lot doesn't add up, to me. I suggest you get yourself to a recommended and qualified specialist, see the earlier posts re Bedford area. How much did 15 mins a/c cost you by the way?
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he regassed it all, he suggests some kind of electronic fault, as it's clearly not leaking?
If it's clearly not leaking, how come he had to regas the system?
Not sure if all AC systems shut down if they're low on gas to protect the compressor from damage, but if it is low on gas again, this could be why it shut down.
Also, if he's a really good guy, he should have added some dye (that is visible under UV light) to the system to detect for leaks.
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Well it took an hour, and he got £50. Re: Bedford. I live west of Birmingham, so that just won't be happening - it was doing the 15mins thing before. He explained (as you have done), it's probably doing this to prevent the compressor from damaging itself because it was low on gas, thus he completely flushed and re-gassed it. He SAID he'd checked for leaks and couldn't find any, and it had just run down over time and through not using it since last September...I phoned him this morning to tell him and he said he'd phone me back when he'd asked some others what might have caused this...though I shan't bank on it.
I'll just have to take it to a garage won't I? Ford? Or specialist?
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I'll just have to take it to a garage won't I? Ford? Or specialist?
Hopefully either (or both) elekie&a/c doc and DaveN will be along shortly to advise.
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I aplogise - I mistook you for a man who posted re Milton Keynes, which is very near Leighton Buzzard. Sorry this didn't work out for you. An Aircon 'expert' who has to ring around for a 2nd opinion - not very reassuring is it?
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Exactly, but it was a cheap-ish quote, and he could do it yesterday. Unfortunately there was only one other mobile service in the area (which quoted a somewhat ridiculous price of £90 simply to regas today), and I couldn't wait till the weekend to take it to a garage (1hr, 20 mins commute each way, daily) so I foolishly did this.
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Just wondered what car it was, please?
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we used to have a machine which froze with an ice plug if the aircon was set at too low a temp ,never could find a fault but it worked just fine and kept its cool if you turned the setting away from max cold ,it might be worth a try
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Focus 1.6 {added to subject header - DD}
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I am NOT trying to give you grief while you are around in a car with no a/c, but, £50 for an hour's labour and a regas? That would have been very cheap if it had worked. £90 for a visit and a regas, seems cheap, again if it works. The local hooded yoofs damaged a panel in my front door the other day; 10 minutes work and 2 small plastic wedges = £48! It costs the man time and money to get to you so depending on distance, £90 seems fair but only if the fix is permanent! Good luck in any evet!
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They were 5 miles away! Admittedly in different directions, but still...no use crying over spilt milk. Is there any way you can get such outfits (assuming he is a cowboy) taken out of the yellow pages for others by the way?
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It sounds as if you have a leak somewhere, in spite of what your operator said to the contrary.
After regassing the aircon might have run for a while until the gas pressure has dropped sufficiently for the sensors to prevent the compressor from running.
It might be the condenser leaking, which is mounted in front of the radiator.
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I suppose this is a garage-type fix?
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This would appear to be the case, I'm afraid.
However, before you go rushing down there why not hang around and see whether elekie&a/c doc or DaveN happen to come up on the BR to offer some excellent practical advice?
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Not clear if it runs for 15minutes, then shuts down, and then starts again some time later, or if it ran for 15 minutes, then shut down never to start again. If the latter, then it has a leak, and the gas is gone. If the former, then probably no leak, gas is still there, and there is some other fault. Do the cooling fans start when the A/C is switched on? You probably need to get the A/C man to run it with the gauges connected till it it cuts out so that he can see what the system is doing - eg building high side pressure, pulling the low side pressuer down, or running normally. There are a myriad of reasons why it drops out if it hasn't lost the gas - blocked dryer, faulty temperature sensor, faulty pressure switch etc etc. Might take a long time (read expensive!) to trouble shoot it, unless there is a well known failure on the Focus. If you take it to a garage and it is any more than just a regas, they will probably get the mobile A/C expert (like Dave N!) in anyway....
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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They're fairly simple systems on the focus, so it's just a matter of checking a few bits and bobs.
Does the airflow slow when it stops working?
Is the compressor running when it stops working?
Does it have a leak, ie, did he recover any gas from the system?
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The airflow doesn't noticeably slow, and i don't think the compressor is running when it stops, except for a brief while. The man I got to originally regas it insists there isn't a leak, as he actually "vacuumed" (I think he said) air out of the system.
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Well...it works for about 15 minutes from nothing, then (if i switch it off and leave it for half an hour) it'll give me maybe, another 5 minutes of cold air? Otherwise it won't. It's almost like it uses the time to recharge?
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A few "possibles" that could solve the problem.Too much gas in the system could cause the system to shut down.Switching off causes pressure/temp to reduce to acceptable limits.Another possible is the air gap of the compressor clutch plate to hub is too large and the electomagnetic clutch coil is unable to "pull in " the drive plate.(this is adjustable by re-shimming)This is a fairly common fault on Mondeo models and gives the same symptoms.Hth
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Clutch gap should be about the thickness of a business card, but only check when the engine isn't running!
Next time it stops, have a look to see if it's all turning. Some have weak coils that get weaker as they get hot. Another way is to check the power consumption.
If it's not turning, you can try tapping it when the engines running, BUT BE CAREFUL!
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Thank you to everyone for your help! I'll be sure to mention all these possible problems when I take it ot the garage tomorrow morning.
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