X300 - Aircon gas 'escaped' after trip home..
Discussion
Drove home the other night, the car working very well (as usual). Nice and smooth, quiet, pleasantly chilly with the aircon on.
Parked up.. hmm.. what's that hissing noise?
The hissing stopped (according to my neighbour) about 3 hours later. Turns out my aircon system emptied itself (my apologies to the environment) but as I actually ignored the noise at the time I have no idea where it was actually leaking from..
I've had a very quick look and there doesn't seem to be anything hugely obvious amiss. Anyone got any ideas what the likely suspect will be? Split hose? Is there some form of 'filling' point I should be looking at? Going to have a proper rummage at the weekend so would like to go in 'mob' handed, so to speak.
Parked up.. hmm.. what's that hissing noise?
The hissing stopped (according to my neighbour) about 3 hours later. Turns out my aircon system emptied itself (my apologies to the environment) but as I actually ignored the noise at the time I have no idea where it was actually leaking from..
I've had a very quick look and there doesn't seem to be anything hugely obvious amiss. Anyone got any ideas what the likely suspect will be? Split hose? Is there some form of 'filling' point I should be looking at? Going to have a proper rummage at the weekend so would like to go in 'mob' handed, so to speak.
Googled and found this, maybe of some help.
What ever it is, hope its cheap to fix.
Air Conditioning not working.
By far the most common used X300 fault. The cause is often no more than a lack of use by the previous owner(s). As prescribed by Jaguar, the Air Con, should be turned on every 2 weeks or so to keep it maintained, Winter or Summer. The reason for this is simple once Air Con is understood;
Air Con. has many mechanical parts that require lubrication, bearings, seals and so on. The Air Con. system contains a gas that tends to remove ordinary mineral based oil or grease. To get around this problem a special lubricating oil formulation is added to the refrigerant gas. This oil only circulates to where it is needed when the Air Con. system is working. If this oil is not circulated, mechanical seizure can result.
Secondly, the many seals that keep the gas in the system will tend to dry out and shrink if they do not get a regular supply of this special oil. If the system isn't used regularly the seals will shrink and the gas will escape, leaving the system inoperative the next time it is called upon. As a result of this there is no special oil left in the system either. You will hear many people speak of a car's system needing a 're-gas' but this is often unsuccessful. Once those seals have shrunk to a certain level they will not come back to useful life and the gas just put in will leak out within a few days. A large repair bill then looms.
It is easy to spend £1000 or so on a Jaguar Air Con. System that has been neglected. On older cars it has to be judged as to whether it is worth doing this. If you are lucky enough to have Air Con. working in an X300 or any other car, look after it by running it every 2 weeks or so. It really is a case of 'Use it or lose it'.
Note that cars fitted with 'Climate control' only but having no Air Con, system are actually preferred by many – If Air Con. isn't fitted, it cannot break!
What ever it is, hope its cheap to fix.
Air Conditioning not working.
By far the most common used X300 fault. The cause is often no more than a lack of use by the previous owner(s). As prescribed by Jaguar, the Air Con, should be turned on every 2 weeks or so to keep it maintained, Winter or Summer. The reason for this is simple once Air Con is understood;
Air Con. has many mechanical parts that require lubrication, bearings, seals and so on. The Air Con. system contains a gas that tends to remove ordinary mineral based oil or grease. To get around this problem a special lubricating oil formulation is added to the refrigerant gas. This oil only circulates to where it is needed when the Air Con. system is working. If this oil is not circulated, mechanical seizure can result.
Secondly, the many seals that keep the gas in the system will tend to dry out and shrink if they do not get a regular supply of this special oil. If the system isn't used regularly the seals will shrink and the gas will escape, leaving the system inoperative the next time it is called upon. As a result of this there is no special oil left in the system either. You will hear many people speak of a car's system needing a 're-gas' but this is often unsuccessful. Once those seals have shrunk to a certain level they will not come back to useful life and the gas just put in will leak out within a few days. A large repair bill then looms.
It is easy to spend £1000 or so on a Jaguar Air Con. System that has been neglected. On older cars it has to be judged as to whether it is worth doing this. If you are lucky enough to have Air Con. working in an X300 or any other car, look after it by running it every 2 weeks or so. It really is a case of 'Use it or lose it'.
Note that cars fitted with 'Climate control' only but having no Air Con, system are actually preferred by many – If Air Con. isn't fitted, it cannot break!
Thanks, Vipers.
I'm doubtful that's the issue though, the Jag is used daily and so is the aircon. It was checked and serviced (5 months ago by an Independant Jag specialist), so I doubt it's gone wayward through neglect.
It was a quick(ish) escape (over three hours) of the gas which makes me wonder if a hose / joint has come apart.
I will admit though, looking at the price of a new compressor almost gave me a hernia..
I'm doubtful that's the issue though, the Jag is used daily and so is the aircon. It was checked and serviced (5 months ago by an Independant Jag specialist), so I doubt it's gone wayward through neglect.
It was a quick(ish) escape (over three hours) of the gas which makes me wonder if a hose / joint has come apart.
I will admit though, looking at the price of a new compressor almost gave me a hernia..
UncleRic said:
I will admit though, looking at the price of a new compressor almost gave me a hernia..
Thats the reason I didn't replace the headlight wiper motors on my car, a tad overs 600 notes, tooooooo expensive.Good luck with the find/fix, do post what it was when you figure it out.
Lancaster Jaguar, the main dealer in Reading, where I used to have my car serviced often offer a cheap aircon service. I had mine done and re-gassed a couple of years ago and it was something like £50 or £75 not sure exactly but certainly very reasonable. Oh and I think mine need a new part which was about £2 on top of the service. Must have counted as about the cheapest ever trip to a garage.
I don't think they are allowed to use the same gas as was used in 1994, so it isn't quite as good as I remember it being when new, but it's still much better than Mrs' MB.
I don't think they are allowed to use the same gas as was used in 1994, so it isn't quite as good as I remember it being when new, but it's still much better than Mrs' MB.
StoatInACoat said:
My dad had exactly the same problem a few years ago when he bought his X300. We think it had been standing for some time before he bought it and it turned out the compressor was knackered. Six years on and the aircon appears to have packed up again...
Move to Aberdeen, you won't need it. 
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