hi all, after reading all the excellent info on air con problems from people like dave n and others ive decided i should get my volvo v70 air con serviced,(its working fine at the moment)has anyone any idea what this should roughly cost and could any one
recomend a specialist in the manchester area many thanks
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I paid about £80 for a mobile bloke to come out to recharge it - not quite what I'd call a service though.
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I paid about the same plus thirtyfive quid for some sealant (that didn`t work) so I had to have a new compresser plus another
regas. I`d like to know exactly what to expect for an aircon service. Apart from a pressure test and a top up if necessary the only advantage would be a visual examination of the system.
Not too hard to do this yourself, checking the condition of lines and pipes etc. I think that a system disinfection and deodorisation is available , at least , some people have complained of bad smells coming from aircon systems and the remedy has been to kill off the bacteria lurking in the system. I`m not sure why this would be confined to aircon systems though, bugs would be just as likely to breed in any ventilation system offering the favourable conditions of moisture warmth and a food supply . Legionaires anyone?
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Halfords (AA Service Centre) seem to do ok deal on air-con
I was charged £25 for a radiator drain so don't go there for that! Mum at local Lex garage only charged £12. Plus considering my car is a Corsa the price was well steep according to the garage bloke at Lex. On the AA service centre website they do provide a full explanation of costs and some useful recommendations copied below
Service Options
Service Type What's Included? Price
Health Check 15-point check carried out while you wait £10
Cabin filter replacement Removal of old filter, fitting of new filter £25
Duct clean Cleaning of the ducts to help remove bacteria
fungi and unpleasant odours £40
Diagnosis and re-gas A comprehensive 40-point service
A full system diagnostic check
Oil and refrigerant gas levels checked and topped up
£75
(£10 off if it follows a Health Check)
Beat the heat with a healthy, efficient system
Run your air-conditioning at least once a week
Have the refrigerant gas checked regularly and topped up to manufacturers' recommended levels.
Help improve hygiene and air quality with a regular cabin filter change, as it can become blocked with pollen.
A regular air duct clean helps remove the bacteria and fungi that can cause those unpleasant odours.
Like your car's engine, a regular service helps reduce the risk of your air-conditioning system failing and, therefore, costly repairs.
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£80 ish seems to be about the going rate. What you get is really a bit of piece-of-mind that your system has the correct quantity of refrigerant. If you thinks that's worth the money every couple of years then go ahead with it. Much like a regular car service, it's a chance to also check everything out. You're quite right about the visual part, as especially on newer vehicles many problems are caused by simple things like hoses rubbing. Anyone can do it, but most people faint when they look under the bonnet and see the miriad of pipes, hoses and wires. It also gives the opportunity to put some dye in the system, so any possible future leaks can be identified easily, rather than having a leak, gassing it with dye, then going back a second time to see where the dye comes out. Of course, most systems will run for a good many years irrespective of any attention, just like an engine will.
You mention a top up, but this can no longer be done, as there is no way of telling how much refrigerant is in the system, therefore you can't tell how much to add. Only way is to recover what's there, weigh it to work out how much has been lost, vacuum the system down, add some oil, then recharge with the correct weight.
As for the sealants, they seem to be like any miracle in a can, ie. plenty of can, but hardly any miracle. As with anything, if you fix it properly, you only have to fix it once.
I know a reputable guy that covers Manchester. His name's Karl and he's on 07715 00 10 20. Tell him Dave Norton sent you.
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Dave N - I think you mean 'peace-of-mind'? (sorry)
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Andrew, better not ask Dave if he wrote the bit at autoair.co.uk/smells.htm
where it covers whether dirty aircon can \"exasperate\" health problems, or he might give you a piece of his mind!!!!
:-) <-- implied smiley
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thanks for the info Dave, I`ve learned a lot from it. Mike
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Charging my aircon and a checkover cost about £70. When you have a recharge, ask the guy to put some dye in the charge. This shows up under a uv light and makes tracing any future leaks dead easy. You can just about see it without the uv as well.
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We routinely add a dose of dye into our recharges - as you say, future leaks are soooo easy to spot!
MG-Rover Questions? forums.mg-rover.org/
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