Air con re-gas

Author
Discussion

lesstatt

Original Poster:

4,318 posts

189 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
I have a 2005 SLK350, I bought this last October and have found that the aircon doesn't blow out cold, I don't really want to just get it regassed without a check to see if it's leaking otherwise it will be a waste of time, If it isn't a simple fix then I will live without as I am very aware I could spend a fortune trying to track down what the problem is, has anyone had a similar thing and found a re-gas actually works or does it work for a month then it's all leaked out again

red_slr

17,122 posts

188 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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They will test to see it holds gas.
If its leaking they can inject a dye to track where its leaking from.
Assuming its a leak.

AJXX1

334 posts

118 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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Don't Merc's have a built in self test (although not sure exactly what it covers)? My CLK has this but I can't remember off the top of my head how to run it (holding down a few buttons on the AC controls as far as I remember).

sherman

13,067 posts

214 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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Find your local mobile aircon guy. He will be cheaper than any garage.
He will pressure test the system first to see if its leaking and then give you the bad news about how much to fix it.
Gas doesnt just disappear from a sealed system you have aleak somewhere

dredge

197 posts

213 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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I had a similar problem with a 2006 SLK280.

A well known "high street" garage chain tried and failed to re-gas it, telling me that there must be a leak in the system.

Took it to a Mercedes specialist who re-gassed it, reset the climate control "computer" (this is probably the critical part) and it was fine afterwards.

Having said that, some places (e.g. Kwik Fit) won't charge you for the re-gas if it's not successful so it's perhaps worth trying that first.


Edited by dredge on Tuesday 26th July 22:06

Alex_225

6,234 posts

200 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
dredge said:
I had a similar problem with a 2006 SLK280.

A well known "high street" garage chain tried and failed to re-gas it, telling me that there must be a leak in the system.

Took it to a Mercedes specialist who re-gassed it, reset the climate control "computer" (this is probably the critical part) and it was fine afterwards.

Having said that, some places (e.g. Kwik Fit) won't charge you for the re-gas if it's not successful so it's perhaps worth trying that first.
Funnily enough that's the exact situation we have had. Took the other half's 06 SL350 to Kwik Fit and they tried to re-gas it and failed. They were talking of failed compressors etc I told her I didn't trust that diagnosis so will see if another place can re-gas it at the weekend.

CO2000

3,177 posts

208 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Search Groupon, I just bought a service & regas voucher for £26 yesterday smile

tomsugden

2,233 posts

227 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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I had an Audi regassed a couple of years ago, and when complete it didn't blow cold air. The guy fiddled around for ages and couldn't get it to work, and finally told me that he couldn't charge me anything as it didn't work. Next day I noticed the 'Econ' button was pressed in, and releasing it made the A/C work perfectly.

Rangeroverover

1,522 posts

110 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Kwik Fit do a regas, they measure temp before and after, if no significant drop its a freebie

BigBen

11,610 posts

229 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Alex_225 said:
dredge said:
I had a similar problem with a 2006 SLK280.

A well known "high street" garage chain tried and failed to re-gas it, telling me that there must be a leak in the system.

Took it to a Mercedes specialist who re-gassed it, reset the climate control "computer" (this is probably the critical part) and it was fine afterwards.

Having said that, some places (e.g. Kwik Fit) won't charge you for the re-gas if it's not successful so it's perhaps worth trying that first.
Funnily enough that's the exact situation we have had. Took the other half's 06 SL350 to Kwik Fit and they tried to re-gas it and failed. They were talking of failed compressors etc I told her I didn't trust that diagnosis so will see if another place can re-gas it at the weekend.
The news is actually quite good, Kwik Fit will have regassed your system and left the gas in there for free. All you need now is someone to reset your climate computer and it will be fine. If you live near Cambridge I can do the reset for you. If you don't then it is an expensive trip to the dealer.

nottyash

4,670 posts

194 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
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Put "Car air conditioning top up" into ebay. There is a kit for about £50 you can do it yourself.
Its made by STP and called Eazy Chill, and is very easy to use.
Ive just recieved it today, and fixed the wifes Subaru. I used it to check and top up my BMW , and check my Audi. Well happy wink

Saleen836

11,061 posts

208 months

Friday 29th July 2016
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nottyash said:
Put "Car air conditioning top up" into ebay. There is a kit for about £50 you can do it yourself.
Its made by STP and called Eazy Chill, and is very easy to use.
Ive just recieved it today, and fixed the wifes Subaru. I used it to check and top up my BMW , and check my Audi. Well happy wink
Halfords will do it for about that price so take it there and save yoursel the hassle

tomsugden

2,233 posts

227 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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Those kits are rubbish in my experience, no where near enough pressure, and also can't remove the old gas. Get it done properly.

lesstatt

Original Poster:

4,318 posts

189 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
quotequote all
It's booked in next week to a good mb Indy in Nottingham for a diagnostic check of the heater control unit, a check of the gas and a leak check, around £70 for that. At least then I will know what's wrong and can decide from there

trev540

252 posts

208 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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Had the same wth my CLK 320. Local garage checked gas then said the computer had shut it down, reset computr and all was good for a couple of years until I sold it on.

ruggedscotty

5,606 posts

208 months

Sunday 31st July 2016
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Air conditioning - those self repair kits are not worth it - in fact you could very easily end up doing a lot of damage and end up costing you a new compressor.

Air con systems are filled with a weight of gas - more gas into the system you may end up with condensed refrigerent where its not wanted.

pop it into an air con specialist.

lbc

3,212 posts

216 months

Sunday 31st July 2016
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Recently I spent £650 on my CLK aircon to get it working again.
Most of the bill was for diagnosis.
It turned out to be a faulty compressor after everything else was ruled out.

lesstatt

Original Poster:

4,318 posts

189 months

Sunday 31st July 2016
quotequote all
lbc said:
Recently I spent £650 on my CLK aircon to get it working again.
Most of the bill was for diagnosis.
It turned out to be a faulty compressor after everything else was ruled out.
Yeah if mine isn't a reset and regas or a simple fix then it will remain not working

BigLion

1,497 posts

98 months

Sunday 31st July 2016
quotequote all
nottyash said:
Put "Car air conditioning top up" into ebay. There is a kit for about £50 you can do it yourself.
Its made by STP and called Eazy Chill, and is very easy to use.
Ive just recieved it today, and fixed the wifes Subaru. I used it to check and top up my BMW , and check my Audi. Well happy wink
Sod that, air con gas is toxic from memory, why mess around with it to save a few quid???

BigLion

1,497 posts

98 months

Sunday 31st July 2016
quotequote all
nottyash said:
Put "Car air conditioning top up" into ebay. There is a kit for about £50 you can do it yourself.
Its made by STP and called Eazy Chill, and is very easy to use.
Ive just recieved it today, and fixed the wifes Subaru. I used it to check and top up my BMW , and check my Audi. Well happy wink
Sod that, air con gas is toxic from memory, why mess around with it to save a few quid???