Nice cheap Air Con fix :)

[AndyMcc]

You posted a thread and were given polite honest answers. Don't be so touchy.

[Welton]

You seem to have some knowledge about car a/c systems but don't be surprised if you post here saying how easy it was to refill your car with refrigerant (work that you are supposed to be licenced for as a specialist) when most people don't know what they're doing and could damage the vehicle, themselves or knowingly allow gas to escape which is illegal.

These threads stay on the internet so balanced opinion matters, sure it's great that you've improved your car's a/c yourself but the fact remains that you don't know how much gas is in the system or how much oil. Your system has leaked over time and it's only fair to find the source by having the system pressure tested, only then should new gas be added.

The reason I said 'reckless' is that there are a lot of individuals out there ("specialists" included) that don't understand a/c and would happily discharge a whole can of the DIY stuff just to cover their yearly Holiday journey with the gas slowly escaping because they don't care, that's reckless.

[phil1968]

Hi. An airconditioning engineer here. The A/C system on a car is supposedly sealed but it's actually not 100%; the refrigerant will leak out via the compressor shaft seal over time, requiring a re-gas every 10 or so years, some sooner. If you don't need it re-gassed that frequently then you are doing very well indeed (a couple of guys on here are still on their original 20 year old gas charge, but that is unusual). That said I do think those DIY cans should be banned, I'm actually pretty amazed that they still sell them. But on the positive side, well done for fixing your aircon

[emy]

Originally Posted by phil1968

Hi. An airconditioning engineer here. The A/C system on a car is supposedly sealed but it's actually not 100%; the refrigerant will leak out via the compressor shaft seal over time, requiring a re-gas every 10 or so years, some sooner. If you don't need it re-gassed that frequently then you are doing very well indeed (a couple of guys on here are still on their original 20 year old gas charge, but that is unusual). That said I do think those DIY cans should be banned, I'm actually pretty amazed that they still sell them. But on the positive side, well done for fixing your aircon

Re-gas every ten years? Mine was re-gassed a year ago, serviced, leak test, oil...so on, now is gone again. A mechanic who replaced the intercooler told me that the condenser is leaking, he had I think a UV light or something and pointed it to the condenser showing me the leak.
I do not know why the garage who re-gassed the system did not notice the leak, strange.
I think when the system is empty the A/C compressor does not start.
I have to look for a condenser.

[phil1968]

Originally Posted by emy

Re-gas every ten years? Mine was re-gassed a year ago, serviced, leak test, oil...so on, now is gone again. A mechanic who replaced the intercooler told me that the condenser is leaking, he had I think a UV light or something and pointed it to the condenser showing me the leak.
I do not know why the garage who re-gassed the system did not notice the leak, strange.
I think when the system is empty the A/C compressor does not start.
I have to look for a condenser.

Yes, every 10 years ...unless you have a leak of course The probable reason the garage didn't find the leak previously is because they plug in an automatic machine that goes through a set procedure; reclaim the existing refrigerant, pull a vacuum, check it holds that vacuum for a short time (to check for leaks, but that won't necessarily show up smaller leaks) & then recharge with the correct amount of refrigerant.
To carry out a proper leak check entails pressurising the system to 1.5 times it's operating pressure with nitrogen ...that will show any leaks. Only a car A/C specialist will do that.

[T5R92011]

The Halfords 'STP' kit is actually pretty good in that it has a decent trigger to gradually raise the pressure, rather than those cheap ebay kits which dump an entire can into the system and hope for the best.

Avoid the cheap ebay ones, but I would definitely recommend the STP kit, especially for S60's where the low pressure port is in a fiddly place.

I mentioned in another thread that I sent my C30 off to an Aircon specialist to empty, clean and refill the system. And on the same day I decided to do my S60's AC topup myself on the driveway using the Halfords STP kit. Both cars now have cold aircon, though my S60's is noticeably colder. So not sure what happened with the C30. Either way, same effect achieved. Arctic temperatures inside my S60 over the last bank holiday weekend.

Worth nothing that my 10 year old 145,000 mile S60 was sitting at 25psi when I initially checked the pressure. It was blowing slightly cold, but turning up the fan speed would kill off the coolness.

However now, it's ice cold on max fan speed with the compressor kicking in and out at the expected intervals.

+ YouTube Video

[domhart10]

Originally Posted by emy

Re-gas every ten years? Mine was re-gassed a year ago, serviced, leak test, oil...so on, now is gone again. A mechanic who replaced the intercooler told me that the condenser is leaking, he had I think a UV light or something and pointed it to the condenser showing me the leak.
I do not know why the garage who re-gassed the system did not notice the leak, strange.
I think when the system is empty the A/C compressor does not start.
I have to look for a condenser.

Yeh the condenser is a weak point on these cars and the actual unit is flimsy. When I bought a new one just standing on its side it started to bow really easily. But its possible it might of gone after the last regas as simple things like jet washing your car too close can break these.

[emy]

Originally Posted by phil1968

Yes, every 10 years ...unless you have a leak of course The probable reason the garage didn't find the leak previously is because they plug in an automatic machine that goes through a set procedure; reclaim the existing refrigerant, pull a vacuum, check it holds that vacuum for a short time (to check for leaks, but that won't necessarily show up smaller leaks) & then recharge with the correct amount of refrigerant.
To carry out a proper leak check entails pressurising the system to 1.5 times it's operating pressure with nitrogen ...that will show any leaks. Only a car A/C specialist will do that.

They did exactly what you said. Now I have to find a condenser. There are some cheap ones and some quite expensive.

[phil1968]

Originally Posted by emy

They did exactly what you said. Now I have to find a condenser. There are some cheap ones and some quite expensive.

I bought a genuine Volvo one for about £240 I think it was (had FoMoCo stamped on it ), but yes there are pattern ones available for around the 100 quid mark, I can't personally vouch for those but some of the guys on here have bought them & have given the thumbs up. It is do-able DIY if you're reasonably handy with the spanners; figure on an afternoon's work.

[emy]

Originally Posted by phil1968

I bought a genuine Volvo one for about £240 I think it was (had FoMoCo stamped on it ), but yes there are pattern ones available for around the 100 quid mark, I can't personally vouch for those but some of the guys on here have bought them & have given the thumbs up. It is do-able DIY if you're reasonably handy with the spanners; figure on an afternoon's work.

Well, by trade I am mechanic in different area, so I am used with all the tools. I had to start fixing my car on my own, the reason is based on the experience I had with different garages. I could not find a garage to meet my expectation, in terms of quality of their work. ex: the latest garage did not know how to remove the front bumper and broke one fog light screw holder and one headlight washer, was cracked and all the washing fluid went on the ECU box, lucky did not go inside. Front bumper is not aligned properly, I was lucky that I took pictures before went to that garage....Long story...but very rude people and no warranty for their work...
With the help of this forum and one more I started to fix it myself .

....£240 is quite expensive, I have heard that HELA condensers are pretty good, even an eBayer sells them, not HELLA, with 2years warranty for £50
I will see now, I also need to find how to do it.