Aircon grief on a GTO 3. Help please.
Discussion
OK
I have a Noble M12 GTO3. The aircon does not engage. We have drained the system, recharged it, checked the two sensors front right and fuses 11,12 and relay D.
Any ideas ? I am fairly desperate as we are off to LeMans in 2 days, with no aircon and it's goin to be bloody hot.
Please call me if you have any ideas.
Andy on 07798 790423.
Many thanks
I have a Noble M12 GTO3. The aircon does not engage. We have drained the system, recharged it, checked the two sensors front right and fuses 11,12 and relay D.
Any ideas ? I am fairly desperate as we are off to LeMans in 2 days, with no aircon and it's goin to be bloody hot.
Please call me if you have any ideas.
Andy on 07798 790423.
Many thanks
Sorry if this sounds stupid (and it probably is) but is the belt tight enough?
Assuming the belt isn't slipping does the system make a loud clicking noise when you switch it on? If so does it sound like it's running? (sort of whirring noise then clicks on and off)
If it's not engaging it could be electrical. I'm not sure what electrical supply there is to the AC but it could simply be a fuse blown. IIRC there are 2 fuses tucked away quite close to the compressor. Might be worth checking them and the main fuse board (I don't know which fuse looks after what)
Good luck anyway.
Plipton
Edited to say. If it's in need of a recharge it will probably have slowly leaked so the performance would have degraded over time. I've been running mine for about 2 months now so assume you have probably been using yours regularly since the weather started to warm up. Did it just stop working or did it degrade over time? If the latter then Obes's diagnosis is probably right
Assuming the belt isn't slipping does the system make a loud clicking noise when you switch it on? If so does it sound like it's running? (sort of whirring noise then clicks on and off)
If it's not engaging it could be electrical. I'm not sure what electrical supply there is to the AC but it could simply be a fuse blown. IIRC there are 2 fuses tucked away quite close to the compressor. Might be worth checking them and the main fuse board (I don't know which fuse looks after what)
Good luck anyway.
Plipton
Edited to say. If it's in need of a recharge it will probably have slowly leaked so the performance would have degraded over time. I've been running mine for about 2 months now so assume you have probably been using yours regularly since the weather started to warm up. Did it just stop working or did it degrade over time? If the latter then Obes's diagnosis is probably right
Edited by plipton on Monday 12th June 21:34
I've just had mine done by the very nice chaps at Cool-It in Dorset (www.coolit-ac.co.uk/) so I'm now the "world expert" as they showed me fault finding mine and explained it all.
I guess given you've recharged it you've checked for leaks? I presume the green light is coming on in the switch?
First thing, pull the paper cover off the view glass - it's on top of the reservoir next to thee front nearside wheel. The viewglass is right on top - scrape with your finger and the paper sticker will come off easily. Check you can see green fluid?
Have you filled from the low pressure side, or low and high pressure? If it's leaked out you may need to check it and refill it from both sides to get rid of any locks.
Also, ensure that whoever refilled it did a nitrogen leak test first. Usual suspects for leaks are the feed into the compressor (if you jack up the car and look just in front of the sump up the triangle cut-out you can see the o-ring joint - it's a fairly common place to leak from. If you can, get a UV telltail additive in and use a UV lamp to check for leaks.
Finally, is the compressor clunking on but not doing anything - fill capacity is 900+ and it does need to be full before it will work properly.
If you are near Dorset the people at Cool-It were the nicest and most accomodating people I've ever met - they found the leak and refilled it enough for me to use for LeMans and it's icy cool now but will need to go back to get an o-ring replaced.
Finally, check all the fuses in the rear bulkhead (you'll need to take off the two rear wheel liners to find them all) as quite a few circuits run through them (although I've not worked out what they all are).
Hope that gives you some pointers?
J
I guess given you've recharged it you've checked for leaks? I presume the green light is coming on in the switch?
First thing, pull the paper cover off the view glass - it's on top of the reservoir next to thee front nearside wheel. The viewglass is right on top - scrape with your finger and the paper sticker will come off easily. Check you can see green fluid?
Have you filled from the low pressure side, or low and high pressure? If it's leaked out you may need to check it and refill it from both sides to get rid of any locks.
Also, ensure that whoever refilled it did a nitrogen leak test first. Usual suspects for leaks are the feed into the compressor (if you jack up the car and look just in front of the sump up the triangle cut-out you can see the o-ring joint - it's a fairly common place to leak from. If you can, get a UV telltail additive in and use a UV lamp to check for leaks.
Finally, is the compressor clunking on but not doing anything - fill capacity is 900+ and it does need to be full before it will work properly.
If you are near Dorset the people at Cool-It were the nicest and most accomodating people I've ever met - they found the leak and refilled it enough for me to use for LeMans and it's icy cool now but will need to go back to get an o-ring replaced.
Finally, check all the fuses in the rear bulkhead (you'll need to take off the two rear wheel liners to find them all) as quite a few circuits run through them (although I've not worked out what they all are).
Hope that gives you some pointers?
J
Oh - finally, if you don't have aircon, then unless it gets really too bad inside, don't wind down the windows at speed (30mph+)
If you do, the pressure drop in the window means the cabin pressure drops and the incoming air to equalise the pressure comes mainly through the gear lever gaiter. Unfortunatly, the air from there is much hotter than outside as it has the rad cooling pipes in it that after a while heatsoak out. The cabin will therefore generally be much hotter than if you put the fans onto "from outside" on full.
J
If you do, the pressure drop in the window means the cabin pressure drops and the incoming air to equalise the pressure comes mainly through the gear lever gaiter. Unfortunatly, the air from there is much hotter than outside as it has the rad cooling pipes in it that after a while heatsoak out. The cabin will therefore generally be much hotter than if you put the fans onto "from outside" on full.
J
joust said:
Oh - finally, if you don't have aircon, then unless it gets really too bad inside, don't wind down the windows at speed (30mph+)
If you do, the pressure drop in the window means the cabin pressure drops and the incoming air to equalise the pressure comes mainly through the gear lever gaiter. Unfortunatly, the air from there is much hotter than outside as it has the rad cooling pipes in it that after a while heatsoak out. The cabin will therefore generally be much hotter than if you put the fans onto "from outside" on full.
J
If you do, the pressure drop in the window means the cabin pressure drops and the incoming air to equalise the pressure comes mainly through the gear lever gaiter. Unfortunatly, the air from there is much hotter than outside as it has the rad cooling pipes in it that after a while heatsoak out. The cabin will therefore generally be much hotter than if you put the fans onto "from outside" on full.
J
Having driven back from Le Mans yesterday mainly with the windows down and aircon off, that'll explain why it felt so bloody hot!!
Wish I knew that before I went! 
LOL!
My aircon packed in for the first stint back due to pressure cutoff (I've got a leak) due to leaving the car out fully in the midday sun and then tootling around the backroads to get onto the motorway.
I found another tip if you aircon stops working due to heat is to just pour a little water onto the compressor (be careful not to spray the turbo / turbo mounting) and it immediatly springs back into life. Leaving the clam then open for 5 minutes and it worked perfectly all the way back.
J
My aircon packed in for the first stint back due to pressure cutoff (I've got a leak) due to leaving the car out fully in the midday sun and then tootling around the backroads to get onto the motorway.
I found another tip if you aircon stops working due to heat is to just pour a little water onto the compressor (be careful not to spray the turbo / turbo mounting) and it immediatly springs back into life. Leaving the clam then open for 5 minutes and it worked perfectly all the way back.
J
The air con system has both a low and high pressure cutoff. As the temperature rises the air con fluid will 'boil' and raise the pressure, hence the compressor will turn itself off to stop things blowing up!
It normally happens on track days - heatsoak from the rear turbo warms up the compressor. In my case it was a combination of slightly low on gas and 34C ambient with the car left to 'soak' in full sun for 3 hours.
J
It normally happens on track days - heatsoak from the rear turbo warms up the compressor. In my case it was a combination of slightly low on gas and 34C ambient with the car left to 'soak' in full sun for 3 hours.
J
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