156 Air-con

[twin turbo]

Hi all

Seems if the outside temp is anything more than 20ish degrees the air-con struggles to keep the interior cool. The temperature dial needs to be set to it's coldest setting which (if in Auto mode) means the fan's blowing for all its worth.

Is this a case of "they all do that, Sir", or is it time to get the air-con re-gassed?

Ta - Paul

[Mon Ami Mate]

twin turbo said:

Hi all Seems if the outside temp is anything more than 20ish degrees the air-con struggles to keep the interior cool. The temperature dial needs to be set to it's coldest setting which (if in Auto mode) means the fan's blowing for all its worth. Is this a case of "they all do that, Sir", or is it time to get the air-con re-gassed? Ta - Paul

Tadts

[pdV6]

The a/c in my GTV has been wonderfully chilly for the past 4 years. Seems to be struggling a bit this year, so I'm guessing its time for a re-gas soon.

Would be mildly suprised if the system in the GTV is that much different to the 156...

[Mon Ami Mate]

pdV6 said:

The a/c in my GTV has been wonderfully chilly for the past 4 years. Seems to be struggling a bit this year, so I'm guessing its time for a re-gas soon. Would be mildly suprised if the system in the GTV is that much different to the 156...

Mine has been borderline useless ever since the car was new.

[pdV6]

Mon Ami Mate said:

Mine has been borderline useless ever since the car was new.

I hear of a lot of GTVs like that, too. I'm starting to wonder if I miraculously got a "monday morning" car as opposed to a "friday afternoon" one...

[twin turbo]

Hmmm, don't really want to waste £80-odd on a re-gas if it's not going to help.

Still, guess I won't know unless I get it done

The climate control in my 15 year old 300ZX is superb. I guess that's Italian "character" for you.

[killsta]

£80odd? Seems a bit steep.

I'm getting my 156 regassed this weekend for £50 which includes checking for leaks first etc.

[pwig]

We normally advise a re-gas every two years.

[Twin Turbo]

Blimey, who ya using and where are you based?

BTW, hitting the recirculate button improves matters quite a bit. Makes sense I 'spose, but I don't have to do that with my 300ZX.

[Alfa Mad]

Having just attended NAD on Sunday, I can confirm my M8's 156 air con is pretty poor. As mentioned, anything above 20 degrees and it really just isn't up to the job. He says he'll get it re-gassed soon, but another M8 just had his done, and says it's no better...

[twin turbo]

Clearly they have cool summers in Italy

[viper_larry]

Glad you mentioned this, my GTA has never been as good as previous cars even when new last year. Was thinking about having it re-gassed, but probably won't bother now...

[blugnu]

Mine can maintain a comfortable temperature, but it seems to take an age to cool the air already in the car.

I tend to open the rear windows for a bit to let the hot air out first if it has been parked in the sun, then put it on minimum temperature for a bit (fan on 3 - not too loud) until it gets cold. It then seems able to maintain a cool temperature.

Passengers have commented that the air is cold enough, there just isn't enough of it, but changing the pollen filter has never made much of a difference.

Mine is a 2001 car that has never been re-gassed afaik.

[Alfa Mad]

After checking the temperature of the air in two other cars today, a Merc 124 and a Daewoo Musso, I can say for sure the temperature of the air coming out of the 156's vents is not nearly as cool.

[Twin Turbo]

I am amazed at the difference using the air "re-circulate" button makes. It's certainly makes it much more pleasant

I think one of the biggest problems is that the central air vents in the middle of the dash as so darn small. If only they were the same size as the two in the back!

The 159 is much better in this repect

[pdV6]

Twin Turbo said:

I am amazed at the difference using the air "re-circulate" button makes. It's certainly makes it much more pleasant

Why amazed? Cooling and re-cooling the same air is bound to give a better result than continually trying to cool "new" air at outside ambient temperature...

[Twin Turbo]

OK, I get your point.

What I meant was I've never had to use the recirculate feature in any other cars with air-con in order to get better chillin'.

[Avocet]

Wife's 156 aircon is acceptable. Its a 1999 car and has never been re-gassed. It doesn't seem quite as good as when we got it this year so I guess we might be about due for a regas. If I recall correctly, Halfords were offering aircon "health checks" for most makes of car quite cheaply. Its just a case of putting pressure gauges on each of the pipes and seeing what pressures they get to when the system is running. If it needs a regas after 7 years, I won't really be complaining!

Has your car's aircon always been poor or has it just recently started doing it? If its the former, maybe the gas is fine but the thermostatic switch in it is set too high? Any automotive air conditioning shop ought to be able to check this fairly easily and cheaply.

[Converse]

at every service (3 of) I've asked them to check the a/c and they've regassed it twice. Last time they assured me that there were no leaks.

However it's extremely poor at cooling.

Also the compressor clicks a lot when on and on a part throttle i can feel it robbing the engine of power.

I did an experiment recently, with the a/c on I got 26mpg, off 32mpg.

Not looking forward to driving in any sort of heat this summer.

[avocet]

Might be worth taking it to an aircon specialist. I don't think the power loss should be THAT noticeable! It almost sounds like there's too much gas in it and the pressures are too high - so the high pressure safety switch is cutting the pump out very frequently. There could also be a blockage somewhere - possibly the filter.