Air conditioning at low outside temp

[andy m]

Hello,

My air con compressor does not seem to be cutting in when the air con is switched on. It seems to be intermitent as it does at other times. It seems to be not working when the outside temeratue is low. For example, it did not work tonight with the outside temp showing 4C. Does outside air temp effect the operation of the air con system? Is it programmed to not work at certain temps?

Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Andy.

96 850 T5 Manual air con not climate.

[jaytee]

I would think that if you have set a cabin temperature for anything much above 4 degrees there would be no need for the system to do any cooling, and the compressor would not be required! Try getting the interior really hot and then call for a lower temp. it should then cut in to cool things off.

Jim

hello andy, i am no expert on air cond. systems by any means, but i may be able to answer your question , the reason i think the compressor is cutting out frequently at low ambient temps is due to the fact that ice will be forming in the evaporator very quickly at these low temps and therefore to protect components from icing damage the compressor unloads until the temp has risen sufficiently across the evap to prevent this occuring , the lowest temp the system is designed to supply is around 3 degress C so you can appreciate on cold days this is reached very quickly, conversley on a hot summers day the compressor would be onload virtually all the time, i would therefore suggest your system is working as intended, best regards ron

[warthog]

If you put the air control to demist with everything else in Auto and the A/C switched ON then whatever the outside temp. the AC should operate and the interior fan should blow at max through the windscreen vents.

It does this because with the a/c operating the air is also dehumidified, thus aiding in the clearing of condensation on the windows.

[sholtby]

Do as Brian says, the aircon works down to 0 degC. You can get the aircon regassed and tested for about £50. I think its worth doing every couple of years regardless of the condition of the system.

Simon

[DieselDoNicely]

>Do as Brian says, the aircon works down to 0 degC. You can
>get the aircon regassed and tested for about £50. I think its
>worth doing every couple of years regardless of the condition
>of the system.

Some garages get confused about the gas single input. They expect an input and output for re gassing - there is only an input on the 850.

DDN

[sholtby]

>Some garages get confused about the gas single input. They
>expect an input and output for re gassing - there is only an
>input on the 850.

Yeah, its next to the ecu box. The guy that serviced my aircon said it wasnt a problem but just took a bit longer to do.
The procedure was done by one machine. It evacuated all the gas in the system and weighed it. Then the system was pressurised with nitrogen to check for leaks and finally refilled with R134a gas.

Simon