V50 Air Con Refill - should it do this???

[Lion Heart]

Hey guys

V50 2008 2.0 TDI Auto...

My air con is not blowing cold and bought an EZ Chill kit, like this one:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/en...oning-recharge

Started engine, ran for 3 minutes with air con on full, then connected the EZ Chill gauge and on zero. So added refridgerant up to green level on EZ Chill gauge.

However, noted two things:

1) Whilst engine still running noted what appeared to be smoke coming from out of the drivers side side of the engine bay. Very odd! So, stopped engine...

2) Noted a fairly loud hissing noise of escaping refridgerant (?) coming from the lower radiator area right at the front near the bottom of the bumper. I waited until the hiss has stopped (15 minutes or so) and then started and left the engine running a few minutes as before, smoke completely gone...

So assuming that the 'smoke' was escaping refridgerant? But what confused me is the hissing noise was coming from right at the front central area, but the smoke was coming up from the drivers side of the engine from what appeared to be more the centre/rear of the engine bay.

Any idea's why either of these may have happened??

Thanks guys!

[Tannaton]

My advice

1 - Clearly there is something wrong - smoke probably escaping refrigerant, could also be from the compressor clutch.

2 - The self-fill kits are generally a waste of time - Kwik Fit do a AC drain/refill service for £50 and if they don't fix it (i.e. there is a leak) there is no charge. You can't top that....

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Lion Heart

Hey guys

V50 2008 2.0 TDI Auto...

My air con is not blowing cold and bought an EZ Chill kit, like this one:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/en...oning-recharge

Started engine, ran for 3 minutes with air con on full, then connected the EZ Chill gauge and on zero. So added refridgerant up to green level on EZ Chill gauge.

However, noted two things:

1) Whilst engine still running noted what appeared to be smoke coming from out of the drivers side side of the engine bay. Very odd! So, stopped engine...

2) Noted a fairly loud hissing noise of escaping refridgerant (?) coming from the lower radiator area right at the front near the bottom of the bumper. I waited until the hiss has stopped (15 minutes or so) and then started and left the engine running a few minutes as before, smoke completely gone...

So assuming that the 'smoke' was escaping refridgerant? But what confused me is the hissing noise was coming from right at the front central area, but the smoke was coming up from the drivers side of the engine from what appeared to be more the centre/rear of the engine bay.

Any idea's why either of these may have happened??

Thanks guys!

you do realise that it is illegal to do work on ac systems unless you are qualified ? , you obviously have a leak hence the escape of gas into the atmosphere !
There are fines up to £40000 if you are caught letting off refrigerant into the atmosphere ! No harm now in changing the condenser and getting it checked for leaks and re filled professionally . The system can never work properly using those cans .

[Lion Heart]

Thanks for the input. I don't think it's illegal to work on your own AC system as otherwise the refill kits would be illegal also.

Yes, I have heard that there are fines for releasing refridgerant into the atmosphere, but I believe that only applies to the motor trade, and also if done purposefully.

Not sure why everyone is hating the EZ Chill refills. Seens loads of good online reviews for them so can't be that bad?!??!

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Lion Heart

I don't think it's illegal to work on your own AC system as otherwise the refill kits would be illegal also.

I'm not sure that's good logic, I mean you can buy a gas boiler legally without qualifications but it doesn't mean that you can fit it without qualifications.

More ac legal guidance here.

[harveys]

That's why training & being qualified to handle refrigerants is required first you should vacuum the system down to recover any refrigerant then pressure test the system with nitrogen not refrigerant. to find out if you have a leak..

[x DTR x]

Refilled mine using a halfords can about 2 years ago. Still blowing nice and cold! If the gauge was showing zero though, i would have assumed there was a leak and had it tested before wasting the can and risking the environment maybe.

[T5R92011]

Sounds like something went unusually wrong in your instance. I've used that Halfords STP kit before and it worked very well.

The STP kit is one of the better ones as you squeeze a trigger to control the refill, rather than using those stupid 'tap' style kits that empties the entire can into the system (usually found on ebay)

The trigger design allows you to add small quantities to avoid overfilling/pressurizing and lets you stop and check the vent temperature as you work.

These kits are obviously designed as a quick fix to a problem however, as AC systems are supposed to be filled with the correct weight of oil/refrigerant.

It's your car ultimately... I took a C30 to have it's aircon emptied/cleaned and recharged by a professional garage and whilst it did come back with cooler aircon, it certainly wasn't as cold as the S60 Aircon that I did myself with the STP kit.

[phil1968]

I can confirm that you need to be F-Gas certificated to handle refrigerants. It's the air conditioning / refrigeration equivalent of the Corgi (now Gas Safe) certification in the gas fitter trade. However it's not illegal to sell refrigerant in less than 3 kg. cylinders, that's the loop hole. Those recharge bottles don't give the exact amount of refrigerant required anyway, usually a little less, so your A/C will be slightly undercharged.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by phil1968

I can confirm that you need to be F-Gas certificated to handle refrigerants. It's the air conditioning / refrigeration equivalent of the Corgi (now Gas Safe) certification in the gas fitter trade. However it's not illegal to sell refrigerant in less than 3 kg. cylinders, that's the loop hole. Those recharge bottles don't give the exact amount of refrigerant required anyway, usually a little less, so your A/C will be slightly undercharged.

That's my understanding....

Also with regard to CORGI/Gas Safe - it's a legal requirement to be certified if you are employed to work on gas systems. However if you are working on your own boiler, you just need to be a "competent person".

Given the Halfords EZ Chill sells for £50 (I think) I cannot understand why people don't go to Kwik Fit or one of the many other garages that do fixed price drain & re-fill using a automated machine for around £50.

As Harveys said the correct procedure is to drain and pressure test with Nitrogen. Most "cheap" outlets will simply create a vacuum in the system- whilst this will show up major leaks it is very limited as

a) the pressure on the seals is reversed and

b) can only check to 14.5 PSI whereas most AC systems operate around 200 PSI and beyond...