Aircon

Hi All,

As a newbie and reading the threads on Aircon probs on the 850 range,and as a new owner of a S/H 95M 850GLT can I ask a silly question, can a faulty unit just be turned off/drained or disconnected ? or is it monitored by the ECU ?.

Reg (Herts)

[liuleichan]

>Hi All,
>
>As a newbie and reading the threads on Aircon probs on the
>850 range,and as a new owner of a S/H 95M 850GLT can I ask a
>silly question, can a faulty unit just be turned off/drained
>or disconnected ? or is it monitored by the ECU ?.

I'm fairly sure you could probably decommision the air con.

If you never use it, though - ie with manual AC, don't press the button, or have the venting position to the windscreen (I assume this is the same for 850s as for the 70 range), then it's not going to get used.

But in general, I'd probably say you want to keep it working. Keeping them healthy shouldn't be too difficult - just treat it as any other aspect of the car that needs mechanical sympathy, and scheduled maintenance.

If used regularly (ie all year round), the oil in the gas should manage to keep the seals lubricated. Maintenance - such as pressure testing, re-gassing / lubing / servicing as required isn't prohibitive.

The main problem I see with aircon in cars, beyond design issues, is lack of usage by some. What I would say is that it has benefits, far beyond cooling when it's hot. It's most useful all year round for keeping the interior dry and dehumidified.

Use it regularly, and have it maintained like you would any other system in your car, and it *should* be ok. I honestly think it's truly worth it.

I'd only ever consider it worth decommisioning, if it truly was u/s, and I honestly couldn't afford repair / replacement / change of car. And I imagine it may well affect resale values - in a car that should have it, but it doesn't work.

I wouldn't buy a car without it, now - as a minimum - my preference is digital climate control, but the manual AC in my S70 is a compromise with it being dual zone. I've seen the climate control in the 70 series, and although I've not truly used it, in these cars, it just doesn't seem as appealing as the digital types - although I accept the functionality should be the same.

Lei Chan

Many thanks Lei for the information, I guess as I have never had to drive a car with A/C before, I clearly dont appreciate its usefulness as an 'all year round' effect, but I take your point and from what others have said on this subject that it helps 'maintain' its various parts by using it say once a week all year round.