AC slow to get cold - XF

[Pvapour]

Just bought a 2013 xf 3.0d, well bloody chuffed with it tbh but the ac takes about 5 mins to get cold, is this right?
definitely icy once cold and copes easily with the 30+ temps but don't think things should take that long..
Read up on ac issues and apparently there can be a problem with a pressure sensor, does my slow start up sound symptomatic of this?

Cheers for any pointers...

[verynicechap]

Difficult to say, I've been battling with an AC/CC problem for months although i think i'm getting closer..pressure sensor being one of the possible culprits.

In you case is the compressor running from initial startup to when it starts to cool?

[Pvapour]

Not listened for that tbh, ill check..

i did notice that when i left it there idling to get cool, after about 3 mins the fans kicked in and this then seemed to kick the ac into action, extra airflow past the condensor? Very short time with car so far but i think if i set off in the car giving extra airflow then this also activates cold air quicker.

[verynicechap]

Pvapour said:

Not listened for that tbh, ill check..

i did notice that when i left it there idling to get cool, after about 3 mins the fans kicked in and this then seemed to kick the ac into action, extra airflow past the condensor? Very short time with car so far but i think if i set off in the car giving extra airflow then this also activates cold air quicker.

The AC/CC wont work unless the fan is running at least that is the case with the XFR, I believe the fan is linked to control the compressor action. So possibly a fan switch issue i.e it only comes on with engine temp..which in turn activates the compressor.

But double check this: switch engine on ..turn AC on you will notice the rev-rise if the compressor is on..you can also see it turning. if the compressor isn't working until the fan cuts in then the above points to the issue.

[Pvapour]

Certainly hope its that simple but my pessimism doesnt allow me to believe such things unfortunately

Cheers! will investigate further and the probably further still

[Pvapour]

No compressor on start up, takes about 5 mins to kik in

[verynicechap]

Pvapour said:

No compressor on start up, takes about 5 mins to kik in

well that's obviously why it doesn't cool.

whether its the fan not coming on that stops the compressor running fully or something else causing the compressor + fan to not operate needs further investigation.

If the refrigerant/pressures are low then the assumption is the pressure sensor will prevent operation. also if the sensor is dodgy then it may result in delayed operation.

I initially had a leak in the condenser which was replaced some time back. Now i have a situation a bit like yours in that sometimes the cooling is delayed by 5, 10, sometimes longer- minutes. Other times it'll run fine on startup then eventually stop etc etc.

The next thing to do in these situations is to make sure the refrigerant levels/pressures are correct. if not then its check for leaks using dye / detectors.

[w824gb3]

Sounds like it needs a new battery to me. If its starting up with a low voltage the car will not energise all the systems until there's enough elecy to go round. The a/c compressor takes a lot of elecy to energise the clutch.

[Pvapour]

verynicechap said:

The next thing to do in these situations is to make sure the refrigerant levels/pressures are correct. if not then its check for leaks using dye / detectors.

think you're right, i'll try the below to eliminate that possibility first then pootle off to the garage for a pressure test / top up with dye and see if it uncovers anything. cheers

w824gb3 said:

Sounds like it needs a new battery to me. If its starting up with a low voltage the car will not energise all the systems until there's enough elecy to go round. The a/c compressor takes a lot of elecy to energise the clutch.

i like that as a solution, i'll charge it up overnight and see if theres a difference on start up,

Edited by Pvapour on Monday 14th August 17:33

[verynicechap]

definitely worth a try
I wish mine was that simple to resolve:-(

[Pvapour]

Been out there again listening to things and can definitely hear the clutch engaing when i turn ac on & off but no fans start up at the same time??

Done allot of miles in it today so battery should have been pretty much full but its been on charge at 4amp for 2hrs now and its still charging, we'll see...

[Pvapour]

got things checked out, was 150g down on gas so was hoping the re-gas might sort things but alas...

looked back through service records to find Guy Salmon advised back in June that the compressor was at fault after an initiated inspection, symptoms not printed on sheet but i assume previous owner had same query, wish i'd seen the note when scanning records, hey ho.

dealer's being good so far and offering to send a new Denso unit over but i'm guessing i'll have to foot the bill to install and re-gas as warranty is european wide, could be worse I guess

[Pvapour]

Weirdly it's getting better and better i.e. Getting colder quicker since re-gas, I wander if being 150 short caused some valve to get sticky or something and now it's slowly freeing up??

Well I have a new Denso compressor on way now so may well be up for grabs at a bargain price, we'll see....

[littleredrooster]

My S-Type is a bit slow to blow cold also, but I've discovered (after re-gassing made no difference) that unless the engine is spinning at 1800rpm+, it will not blow cold. In other words, if you start it up and just let it idle, nowt happens. Or indeed if you move away gently with the 'box in standard mode where it changes up at 1600-1700rpm, nowt happens! Start it up and spin the engine at 2000rpm and things start to cool down, but not as quickly as SWMBO's Doblo.

This could be, as previously mentioned, a load-shedding scenario from start-up until battery voltage has recovered but mine had a new battery and it made no difference.

[Pvapour]

Think theres something in what you say, as posted, i did charge battery which took a good 6 hrs at 4 amps even though the car had just done a long run so should have been fully charged.

This gave me hope but made no difference, though this was pre re-gas so will try again, i would say battery is on its way out though because of this.

I'll try charged battery again post re-gas but before i do i'll try setting off in maual mode holding revs above 2k to see if this improves time to blowing cold, it maybwell have been standard on s-type but its definitely not right according to the xf forums.