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How do you know when aircon needs regassing? Does it suddenly stop working or do you get a slow progressive fall-off in cooling?
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My experience is that it goes from cool (but not the ice cold it used to be) to suddenly stopping working (as the pressure in the system drops below the safety level for the compressor to cut in).
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I'd agree with Billy.
If it gradually drops off from freezing to cool and then stops then you've reached the point where the pressure switch has cut in. If the drop off in performance was really slow then its probably just slow leakage from connector flexing etc. In which case a straight regass is OK. If you notice it starting to drop off you might want to see a specialist who can use a sniffer to look for potential leaks (this is pointless if you've lost all the gas, but will work if you have a slow leak and there is still gas in the system)
Any sudden freezing -> nothing, implies sudden loss of pressure and is more likely to be hole in the condenser or some other failure (pressure switch failed or something).
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due to the dangerous nature of re-fridgerant gasses should'nt these units be more resistant to leaks? it seems there are re gasing centres everywhere so it must be a common fault with air-con , they wouldnt get away with it if they were calor gas bottles now would they?
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they are resistant to leaks.
But when you have condensers that can be holed by stones and all the connections are subject to continual vibration, stress and flexing then you will over time get issues.
the compressor is mounted on the engine which of course moves on the mounts. that is connected to all the other components which are mounted on the body and chassis which also flexes slightly.
How much more would you like to pay for A/c in your car?
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my new car has warning lights galour its like the blackpool illuminations when you turn the ignition on, but no aircon warning lamp you'd think they would go the whole hog and stick one in or even an LED on the switch it has one thats orange when the aircon is working maybe they should have one that flashes or turns red when the air con needs regassing it would take all the guess work out of it
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dont you have anything that indicates that the ac is working? the climate in our audi and volvo both have indicators that it is working.
plus of course its fairly obvious when it isnt because the car gets hot
Edited by adverse camber on 10/05/2008 at 11:40
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my new car has warning lights galo(re)......>>
That must be close to a record for a paragraph with no breaks or punctuation...:-)
Edited by Stuartli on 10/05/2008 at 11:41
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>> my new car has warning lights galo(re)......>> no breaks or punctuation...:-)
>>
Curious, I was going to point out that there was a comma after "on" in the original post, but the 'quote original message' facility came up without the comma. Ooh er!
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The cars I've driven with air con will continue to run the compressor when out of gas - when switching the A/C on and off, the engine note changes quite considerably. I think Range Rovers have a warning light if it detects a fault in the A/C system.
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Interesting thread. Our 05 Galaxy was in the main dealer the other day for it's third (major) service. I got a phone call asking whether I wanted the recommended aircon service due to the vehicle's age - this involved a re-gas and a deodorant for about £100 + VAT. I declined as the c/c is on constantly and runs OK.
When I picked the car up I asked if this was something new as they never did this when I used to own a Mondeo - he didn't know. Perhaps they are now recommending this to avoid potential warranty claims?...
To answer the OP's question I reckon it's time for a regas when the a/c or c/c can no longer get to "ice cold". This was the case with a Volvo 440 we used to own that was six or seven years old.
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BMW used to (and probably still do for that matter) charge a reasonable £75.00 for AC service including a re-charge through their dealers. I never used the service but it was well advertised at their dealers and by flyers.
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I asked the Ford dealer to check the aircon on my 02 Focus at the last service.
They did a temp test and said it was OK - main dealer rejects opportunity to charge punter more - amazing.
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My local side-of-the-road independent (behind the hand car wash) does it for £39.99.
They did mine last week when it got warm and found I had no aircon. Very effective.
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L'escargot,
If you want a quick check to see if everything is about right, take the car for a decent run with the aircon on, then when you get back open the bonnet with the engine still running and feel the temperature of the suction line. It should be cooler than the prevailing ambient temperature.
The suction line is the pipe running from the compressor to the evaporator in the heating ductwork, ie it will run towards the passenger compartment.
This isn't a totally scientific check, obviously, but, in my opinion, its not a bad indication. Beware of the other pipe coming from the compressor and going forward to the condenser, it will be hot.
Obviously you will need to keep hands etc well clear of hot and moving bits under the bonnet. (the Xantia has plenty of room so it isn't a problem for me)
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