V50 AC : 2006 V50 2.0d air conditioning - poor

[tornadof3]

Seem to have ongoing problem with my air con in a 2006 2.0 diesel V50. Have had it re-gassed by both a chain and a local independent air con guy. He confirmed no leaks in the system and put in the right amount of refrigerant gas - this was last year. I don't think it ever really got that cold last year... and yesterday in 26 deg heat for our 2 hour drive, we were melting - had to resort to the windows! Assuming it isn't a refrigerant leak, is there a way to diagnose an AC system fault? Nothing about it in Haynes and my OBDII scan showed no fault codes. For example, I am not convinced the AC pump is actually running - there is no drop in RPM/engine sound when cycling the AC on/off. This car has the auto "climate control".

Any pointers in how I might identify any faults would be appreciated.

My experience of air con in a previous car was it really should be 'ice cold' and on max 'low' should be in danger of giving fingers near vents frost bite after about 1 minute. At best I'm getting mildly cool air coming out, which could really just be ambient air blown out with a fan. Auto climate never stops blowing because it clearly never gets to the temperature set (eg setting 14 or 15 and it blows for most of my 2 hour drive yesterday). Assuming it's not just a general problem with V50s and people here have air con that really is 'ice cold' on these cars...

[IainG]

Hi
Would be useful getting the codes read with Vida. Vida can also monitor various temperatures and functions.

However a common problem is the cabin temp sensor. It is a small sensor with an in built fan to monitor cabin temp. It is just to the left of the waterfall unit tucked under a bit.

I just had an error show on mine with Vida. Rather than strip the unit out I gave it a blow with an air line, blows all the dust out.

The error on mine cleared after doing this.
Worth a try first

Vida Dice would be the next step as it can monitor all the temperatures and sensors and certainly point you in the right direction.
There is a temp sensor in the evaporator also an air quality sensor, the clutch and I think pressures can be checked along with the air flaps in the system.

I also have an air quality sensor fault however I am waiting to fill my Eolys tank ,today,(giving 4 fault codes) first in case for some reason that is causing a communication error causing a spurious error on the air quality sensor. Wishful thinking probably!!

Iain

[tornadof3]

Ah, good idea, thanks; didn't know there was more data available on the more advanced sensors. Will try and find a local indep that can do VIDA read-outs

[IainG]

Hi
Next time I check the car with Vida I will try and take a screen shot of the Air con information

Iain

[LizardOfBodom]

Very common issue with AC on our cars is the compressor gap problem - it wears out too much and electromagnet can no longer engage clutch when AC is required. I had this on my car aswell, was engaging for few mins and then disengage on its own when warmed up but AC light was still green.
If thats your problem aswell, you need to add couple of shims to narrow the gap between compressor clutch and it sorts it out.

[Willber G]

Originally Posted by LizardOfBodom

Very common issue with AC on our cars is the compressor gap problem - it wears out too much and electromagnet can no longer engage clutch when AC is required. I had this on my car aswell, was engaging for few mins and then disengage on its own when warmed up but AC light was still green.
If thats your problem aswell, you need to add couple of shims to narrow the gap between compressor clutch and it sorts it out.

I had that problem on my previous V50. Unfortunately not all the factory compressors are 'shimmable' (confirmed by a couple of specialists). Mine wasn't so I had a new one fitted. £300 all in.

[cheshired5]

If the compressor clutch plate looks like this, you can do the free shim fix..... Assuming the clutch gap is the problem.



If the clutch plate engages, spins and releases as normal on a cold engine and ac works as expected then the clutch plate no longer engages when up to temperature or on a hot day, the clutch gap is almost certainly the cause.

You can also check by trying to slide a a 1mm feeler gauge or a regular bank/credit card between the plate and pulley.
If it goes in no problem, the gap is too large and will cause a problem.

If the clutch plate never engages or repeatedly cycles in and out, the problem is elsewhere.

[wai C]

my 2007 V50 has same problem as well. gassed, pressure fitted, however, no cooling air from the A/C.

[neanderthal]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

If the compressor clutch plate looks like this, you can do the free shim fix..... Assuming the clutch gap is the problem.



If the clutch plate engages, spins and releases as normal on a cold engine and ac works as expected then the clutch plate no longer engages when up to temperature or on a hot day, the clutch gap is almost certainly the cause.

You can also check by trying to slide a a 1mm feeler gauge or a regular bank/credit card between the plate and pulley.
If it goes in no problem, the gap is too large and will cause a problem.

If the clutch plate never engages or repeatedly cycles in and out, the problem is elsewhere.

hi cheshired5 i have cleaned the cabin temperature sensor(thanks IainG)...as my ac is blowing coolish continuously when on and never cuts out, but not ice cold.(cabin says 18c)so i removed the drivers wheel and then removed the plastic wheel arch and checked the gap on the compressor as you can see by the pic its 20ml.i ran the ac but the clutch does not run at all even after 15 minutes i used cable ties to narrow the gap(or shims as people have suggested)but still the same i cannot seem to close down the gap but as you can see from your pic to mine that my compressor is different....so does that mean that i cannot adjust my clutch or is mine kaput...or am i doing something wrong thanks