Advice on faulty air con
Discussion
I have a 57 reg honda jazz. Recently my aircon has stopped working, before that it had always been fine. I took it to a protyre centre for a free check. He said straight away that if there is no gas in it then they won't be able to do the pressure check. I said can you not detect a leak he said no, you have to get someone who uses dye to check for a leak and costs about £200. He said he could regass it but it could just leak again so I left it.
I thought to take it to kwikfit for a free test but maybe they would say the same thing. I also saw that halfords do a more comprehensive check for £35 which it says determines faults or leaks.
The thing is I remembered well over a year ago my mechanic told me my condenser was damaged maybe had been knocked. I went in to book my MOT and mentioned to him about it. He said if that's what he told me then it's most likely that. I said its been working fine since then up to now but he said maybe it's gotten worse and prob needs replacing as well as maybe other parts. He also mentioned something along the lines of if it got regassed it could blow?
Is there any point in doing anything else about it. Dont want to spend alot of money on it as MOT is coming up plus I have a dodgy gearbox.
Would the halfords £35 check detect where the leak is coming from or am I just wasting more money or could it potentially be a cheap fix?
Sorry for the long post but I use my car for deliveries and this weather is too much and I'm not really sure what to do
I thought to take it to kwikfit for a free test but maybe they would say the same thing. I also saw that halfords do a more comprehensive check for £35 which it says determines faults or leaks.
The thing is I remembered well over a year ago my mechanic told me my condenser was damaged maybe had been knocked. I went in to book my MOT and mentioned to him about it. He said if that's what he told me then it's most likely that. I said its been working fine since then up to now but he said maybe it's gotten worse and prob needs replacing as well as maybe other parts. He also mentioned something along the lines of if it got regassed it could blow?
Is there any point in doing anything else about it. Dont want to spend alot of money on it as MOT is coming up plus I have a dodgy gearbox.
Would the halfords £35 check detect where the leak is coming from or am I just wasting more money or could it potentially be a cheap fix?
Sorry for the long post but I use my car for deliveries and this weather is too much and I'm not really sure what to do
everything is comparative, but you'll rarely be able to fix a/c for less than £200 if it's lost all it's gas
it sounds like there's a leak, which will require replacement parts, and if you're not able to carry out repairs yourself, it would be fair to assume repair costs in excess of £200
it sounds like there's a leak, which will require replacement parts, and if you're not able to carry out repairs yourself, it would be fair to assume repair costs in excess of £200
Stop getting cheap checks.
A new condensor, seals and regas will be somewher between £300-£500 depending on garage.
Its a 3 hour job at most.
If you have no gas it escaped the sealed system from somewhere. As you have said the condensor was damaged so its probably a good starting point.
A new condensor, seals and regas will be somewher between £300-£500 depending on garage.
Its a 3 hour job at most.
If you have no gas it escaped the sealed system from somewhere. As you have said the condensor was damaged so its probably a good starting point.
sherman said:
Stop getting cheap checks.
A new condensor, seals and regas will be somewher between £300-£500 depending on garage.
Its a 3 hour job at most.
If you have no gas it escaped the sealed system from somewhere. As you have said the condensor was damaged so its probably a good starting point.
...and a condensor isn't usually too much of a pain to replaceA new condensor, seals and regas will be somewher between £300-£500 depending on garage.
Its a 3 hour job at most.
If you have no gas it escaped the sealed system from somewhere. As you have said the condensor was damaged so its probably a good starting point.
I needed a cheap check to find the leak in my car, local tyre place was superb, I then changed my condenser and got the free refill can't see why I would need a specialist for that work. The local tyre shop were willing to change the condenser.
Just take it along to a good garage and they will be able to do the whole lot for you, but with the present weather you are unlikely to see it sorted in the next 5 or 6 weeks.
Aircon is not a black art, its pretty simple and been on almost every car for 20+ years.
Just take it along to a good garage and they will be able to do the whole lot for you, but with the present weather you are unlikely to see it sorted in the next 5 or 6 weeks.
Aircon is not a black art, its pretty simple and been on almost every car for 20+ years.
As explained above, your likely looking at a new condenser. However, only an AC specialist (i.e. NOT a tyre centre with an AC machine) can help you diagnose this conclusively, either with dye or a nitrogen 'sniff' test.
They might also be a better prospect for doung the repair, as this is their bread and butter. They will know where to source the most cost effective part for you and will have all the necessary seals etc in their van, not to mention pressure testing their own work etc.
I've just been through this process on a 2007 MX5, whereby I chased what I thought were AC leaks all over the place on various parts, but it ended up being a compressor seal, which I would have never replaced.
Dirt cheap it won't be, but possibly the only efficient way for getting your AC operational again.
They might also be a better prospect for doung the repair, as this is their bread and butter. They will know where to source the most cost effective part for you and will have all the necessary seals etc in their van, not to mention pressure testing their own work etc.
I've just been through this process on a 2007 MX5, whereby I chased what I thought were AC leaks all over the place on various parts, but it ended up being a compressor seal, which I would have never replaced.
Dirt cheap it won't be, but possibly the only efficient way for getting your AC operational again.
Edited by MattyD803 on Tuesday 23 June 16:01
Been through this with a few cars now and what everyone is saying is pretty much bang on.
Most places the re-gas is the starting point and the machine will determine if there are any leaks. If there is a leak and it's obvious from inspection (condensers are most common) that part can be replaced.
If it's not obvious and is mostly holding pressure they add a bright coloured dye to the gas and it'll mark where the leaks are (usual places are inside condensers or lines prone to rusting) but you might get lucky and it's just a fitting or connector. This happened on my Focus, and the dyed re-gas lasted about 10 weeks as the leak was so minor.
Minimum it's a re-gas (Around £200) plus a really simple diagnostic for a fitting or 2. Worst case it needs some major parts and a couple re-gases to diagnose and fix (probably £600 upwards). It'll probably be in the middle.
Most places the re-gas is the starting point and the machine will determine if there are any leaks. If there is a leak and it's obvious from inspection (condensers are most common) that part can be replaced.
If it's not obvious and is mostly holding pressure they add a bright coloured dye to the gas and it'll mark where the leaks are (usual places are inside condensers or lines prone to rusting) but you might get lucky and it's just a fitting or connector. This happened on my Focus, and the dyed re-gas lasted about 10 weeks as the leak was so minor.
Minimum it's a re-gas (Around £200) plus a really simple diagnostic for a fitting or 2. Worst case it needs some major parts and a couple re-gases to diagnose and fix (probably £600 upwards). It'll probably be in the middle.
Unfortunately, a lot of what you have been told above is not good advice.
Join Groupon & do the latest Car A/C deal with kwikfit.
Not sure of the current cost but it isn't much.
The first thing they do is to vacuum out any gas left in & do a (vacuum) leak test, if this fails you get your money back, as they can't do what you have paid for.
Might you have a condenser issue?
Yes you might, but up to this point it has still cost you nothing to find out if you (actually) haven't got an issue & going by the description of it only just stopping working then fingers crossed, you might be ok.
On the other hand if the test does say there is a leak & you have been told before that the condenser may have a problem, then this could well be worth a go as they (normally) are a reasonable cost & many times an easy DIY job with care.
Join Groupon & do the latest Car A/C deal with kwikfit.
Not sure of the current cost but it isn't much.
The first thing they do is to vacuum out any gas left in & do a (vacuum) leak test, if this fails you get your money back, as they can't do what you have paid for.
Might you have a condenser issue?
Yes you might, but up to this point it has still cost you nothing to find out if you (actually) haven't got an issue & going by the description of it only just stopping working then fingers crossed, you might be ok.
On the other hand if the test does say there is a leak & you have been told before that the condenser may have a problem, then this could well be worth a go as they (normally) are a reasonable cost & many times an easy DIY job with care.
66HFM said:
Kwik-Fit always used to do an air con regas and if they couldn't get the temperature down by X degrees you were fully refunded, twice I was refunded on different cars where I needed a new condensor.
Wonder how long they honoured that after the regas?Out of interest a couple of years ago I had the A/C regassed on my E34 5 series - to my amazement it worked and was ice cold! For about a week... A subsequent leak test showed dye on the compressor connections. That, as well as condensor and new fan (for good measure) are on my list to do...
robdex1 said:
I have a 57 reg honda jazz. Recently my aircon has stopped working, before that it had always been fine. I took it to a protyre centre for a free check. He said straight away that if there is no gas in it then they won't be able to do the pressure check. I said can you not detect a leak he said no, you have to get someone who uses dye to check for a leak and costs about £200. He said he could regass it but it could just leak again so I left it.
I thought to take it to kwikfit for a free test but maybe they would say the same thing. I also saw that halfords do a more comprehensive check for £35 which it says determines faults or leaks.
The thing is I remembered well over a year ago my mechanic told me my condenser was damaged maybe had been knocked. I went in to book my MOT and mentioned to him about it. He said if that's what he told me then it's most likely that. I said its been working fine since then up to now but he said maybe it's gotten worse and prob needs replacing as well as maybe other parts. He also mentioned something along the lines of if it got regassed it could blow?
Is there any point in doing anything else about it. Dont want to spend alot of money on it as MOT is coming up plus I have a dodgy gearbox.
Would the halfords £35 check detect where the leak is coming from or am I just wasting more money or could it potentially be a cheap fix?
Sorry for the long post but I use my car for deliveries and this weather is too much and I'm not really sure what to do
I'm actually an automotive AC specialist by trade although I supply the equipment garages use to do your car rather than dealing with the public myself.I thought to take it to kwikfit for a free test but maybe they would say the same thing. I also saw that halfords do a more comprehensive check for £35 which it says determines faults or leaks.
The thing is I remembered well over a year ago my mechanic told me my condenser was damaged maybe had been knocked. I went in to book my MOT and mentioned to him about it. He said if that's what he told me then it's most likely that. I said its been working fine since then up to now but he said maybe it's gotten worse and prob needs replacing as well as maybe other parts. He also mentioned something along the lines of if it got regassed it could blow?
Is there any point in doing anything else about it. Dont want to spend alot of money on it as MOT is coming up plus I have a dodgy gearbox.
Would the halfords £35 check detect where the leak is coming from or am I just wasting more money or could it potentially be a cheap fix?
Sorry for the long post but I use my car for deliveries and this weather is too much and I'm not really sure what to do
I actually supply both Kwik fit and halfords and Kwik fit use better equipment and have it serviced regularly whereas Halfords buy cheap and run it till it dies. Most Kwik fit centres now have the facility for nitrogen pressure testing which is one of the best methods for checking for leaks.
Realistically even if it's the condenser your probably looks at £300 to £400 minimum including labour and a regas, so if there are other issues with the car it's pointless doing the AC.
Metric Max said:
If you also have a "dodgy" gearbox it may be time to consider whether it's worth spending money on a 19 year old car.
Looking on Autotrader a 57 reg Jazz looks to be worth IRO £1500 , the ones for sale presumably have functioning air con, gearbox, and an MOT
They may not, gearbox bearings and condenser failure (corrosion and stone damage) are noted issues on mk1 Jazz. Looking on Autotrader a 57 reg Jazz looks to be worth IRO £1500 , the ones for sale presumably have functioning air con, gearbox, and an MOT
Metric Max said:
If you also have a "dodgy" gearbox it may be time to consider whether it's worth spending money on a 19 year old car.
Looking on Autotrader a 57 reg Jazz looks to be worth IRO £1500 , the ones for sale presumably have functioning air con, gearbox, and an MOT
This: but if you can get a cheap regas to get you over the next week, go for that. Looking on Autotrader a 57 reg Jazz looks to be worth IRO £1500 , the ones for sale presumably have functioning air con, gearbox, and an MOT
Look for a local aircon guy who comes in a van has all the gear to test and check everything, they have vast knowledge and have seen every fault before...they are worth their weight on gold.
And more to the point no nonsense like you get from the plug and play brigade...computer says no..!!!
And more to the point no nonsense like you get from the plug and play brigade...computer says no..!!!
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