Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working

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Thu 25 Mar 2010 12:49
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Hi guys. Not been using my car much for the last few weeks but noticed today that when I turned on the air-con, the green/yellow indicator light came on as usual but there was minimal if any cooling. In the past I've noticed that when I've turned the aircon on when driving in low gear there's been a slight change in engine revs and sometimes a clunk sound but that doesn't seem to be happening now so I'm wondering if there's been some electrical and/or mechanical failure as opposed to a leak of refrigerant. Can anyone offer any advice as to what's likely to be wrong and where I might go to get it fixed. I should add I don't have much faith in my Mazda dealer anymore so I'm gathering impartial advice before I decide how best to proceed, Many thanks!

Edited by Mazda-Man on 25/03/2010 at 12:51

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Fri 26 Mar 2010 14:31
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Just an update. Did some checking on the web and decided the best option was to go to my local kwik--fit and get them to service the system hoping they'd find no leaks or major component failures. Got the system vacuumed out, pressure checked and refilled, pollen filters replaced (hell of a job finding/replacing them!) and a nice smelling antibacterial fumigation carried out for £69 - about 30 mins of Mazda time.

Had one of those awful sinking feeelings when the guy started the car to test the air-con and I saw his face drop visibly as he set the control to the coldest setting and fans on 'max' but couldn't detect any difference in the air temperature. It was then that he noticed he'd inadvertently switched the air-con off but hadn't realised as bright sunlight was obscuring the indicator light. Withing seconds of switching it on nice cold air was blowing out once again.... :)

So, it's a nervous wait for a few days to see if the air-con continues to function but if it does I'll be a very happy man!

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Fri 26 Mar 2010 16:13
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - WellKnownSid

Fingers crossed you should be fine. When you need a re-gas, there are usually sensors which prevent the compressor operating and stop the system being damaged.

Did they put in a UV dye into the refrigerant? Seems quite a common thing here so they can find any leaks if they do eventually spring.

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Fri 26 Mar 2010 22:03
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Hoping so.... Anyway it's been ice cold all day today so so far so good:) Yes I read up about the way these things work* and how there are sensors to protect a low system and was hoping that was the case for my car. Not sure about the dye tbh but I did see a couple of containers on the side of the unit one of which contained a bright yellow looking liquid so perhaps that was it. All in all I'm happy with what they did for the money - it took them over an hour to get to the pollen filters.... :)

* http://www.airconditioningforcars.co.uk/ACpage01.htm

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Sat 27 Mar 2010 17:19
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Oh dear :(

I have found a small leak of yellowy/green liquid coming from one of the pipes which run to/from the air con condenser at the rear of the car. It's pouring down with rain here so I can't say if it's coming from a small hole in the pipe or a joint. Does anyone know if it's possible to repair these things? Thanks all.

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Sun 28 Mar 2010 15:45
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Yep definite drip and occasional hissing coming from the thinner high pressure pipe where it is clamped to the underside of the car. Have contacted a nearby air-con specialist who has so far been very helpful and they seem to think they'll be able to repair the pipe. I'll report back in due course to let people know how I get on as this might help others who suffer similar problems.

http://www.ac4cars.co.uk/#aircon

Edited by Mazda-Man on 28/03/2010 at 15:46

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Sun 28 Mar 2010 18:30
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - elekie&a/c doctor

If this is an aluminium pipe,then it is very likely to have corroded where it passes through the body clamp.Hopefully the a/c specialist will be able to splice in a new section of pipework.There are several repair methods on the market to make this a permanent fix.hth

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Wed 31 Mar 2010 10:26
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Thanks for that. Yes the pipe looks like aluminium and judging by the pictures I sent the air-con specialist, he reckons he should be able to repair it quite easily. Anyway I've booked them for tomorrow am and will report back how I get on.

Edited by Mazda-Man on 31/03/2010 at 10:27

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Thu 1 Apr 2010 14:02
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Right, job done.... hopefully...... :)

The specialist turned up at 9.30 and was done in about 2 hours. Vaccuumed out the system, repaired the pipe, tested and refilled. All seems fine now but of course i'll be checking for any drips of yellow liquid for the next few days.....

From what I've seen so far a very good service from a genuine family run outfit which I'd be happy to recommend to anyone. Keeping fingers crossed for now and will update this thread in a few days or if anything happens beforehand.

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Thu 1 Apr 2010 16:45
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - WellKnownSid

Thanks for keeping us up to date - fingers crossed! WKS

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Tue 6 Apr 2010 17:42
Mazda MPV 2003 2.0l diesel - Air con not working - Mazda-Man

Well it all seems to be fixed.... (still touching wood though :) ). No sign of any leaks from the repaired areas and the air-con's as cold as ice so a great big thank you to Mark and John at ac4cars.co.uk

Edited by Mazda-Man on 06/04/2010 at 17:46

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