aircon not working
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poison

Original Poster:

68 posts

205 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
hi can any one give me some help on this one i have a 06 reg golf plus 1.6 petrol,the aircon does not work,i press switch on the dash which alluminates but i can not
hear the compressor start and there is no cold air i have checked the fuse listing but there is no mention of a specific fuse for the aircon,any ideas where i can find this i assume it is a shared fuse?? or is it one where the dealer only has access to.

thanks in advance.

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

285 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
You need general gassing...

Oh...

TheCarpetCleaner

7,294 posts

232 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
When was it last regassed?

ETA mine did the same on my replacement car (1998 corsa).

Got it regassed, perfect now!

Most fast fit places will do a regass guarantee, if it does not work then no fee - so nothing to lose.

Kwik fit did this (only reason I would ever go there) and it was £50 for a complete regass. took 45 mins.

Edited by TheCarpetCleaner on Sunday 30th May 16:17

joebongo

1,517 posts

205 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Do the revs go up? With bonnet up, is there a fan which starts up when you have air con switched on, fans inside cabin on full and at lowest temp selectable? Make sure you test when temp selected is colder than atmospheric temp or many cars will use outside air to cool and not air con.

If on a fast run (60mph) you do get air-con coolness and at idle you don't then it's the aux fan/pusher fan not working. If you get nowt, then it's compressor or something else.


Rich_W

12,548 posts

242 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
One of 2 possibles.

Air Con pressure switch is leaking. Easy to look at. its on the OSF down about half way on a pipe. Unplug the connector and if it's got oil residue on it theres your problem. You'll obviously need the gas refilled.
OR
A/C compressor has st itself. More expensive as you need to flush the system. Replace the receiever/drier, Compressor and the expansion valve. Estimate on 3-4 hours for that lot!

t84

6,941 posts

224 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
I got this on my MK1 Focus, got it regassed and it worked great for a few hours, then the compressor stopped clicking into action again, turns it it was leaking.

Never got it fully investigated, sounds expensive frown

James_N

3,304 posts

264 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
wont it just need regassing? just had mine done in the Honda for £55.

Frik

13,690 posts

273 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
t84 said:
I got this on my MK1 Focus, got it regassed and it worked great for a few hours, then the compressor stopped clicking into action again, turns it it was leaking.

Never got it fully investigated, sounds expensive frown
Probably a hole in the condenser, a common problem on the Focus apparently due to it's exposure. Got mine sorted and it's been perfect ever since.

Machine regasses don't appear to be the most sophisticated of processes.

t84

6,941 posts

224 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Cool, thanks, I'll check that out!

Rich_W

12,548 posts

242 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Frik said:
Machine regasses don't appear to be the most sophisticated of processes.
How would you do it without a machine?

Process is:
1) Recover the gas into the machine
2) Pull a Vacuum in the system on the car
3) Inject the required amount of oil
4) Charge the system with the correct weight of gas. (the vacuum in the system basically pulls the gas from teh machine into the car)

Frik

13,690 posts

273 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Poor turn of phrase by me. I meant the cheap plug in and forget systems that most companies seem to offer for around £50.

My experience is similar to t84. I had a re-gas at the same time as having an exhaust manifold fitted and it worked perfectly for two days and then didn't work at all. Apparently "the machine tests the system for leaks first". Well, it didn't do a very good job.

thunderbelmont

2,982 posts

254 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Could be a number of things causing your woes.
Low gas
High or Low pressure switch malfunctioned
Compressor clutch
Holed condensor or pipe

Get it to an aircon specialist.

Some of these cheap offers turn out to be expensive - when they re-gas an empty system and don't add oil, or change the filter/dryer, then your compressor seizes up....... then it get's really expensive!

t84

6,941 posts

224 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Frik said:
Poor turn of phrase by me. I meant the cheap plug in and forget systems that most companies seem to offer for around £50.

My experience is similar to t84. I had a re-gas at the same time as having an exhaust manifold fitted and it worked perfectly for two days and then didn't work at all. Apparently "the machine tests the system for leaks first". Well, it didn't do a very good job.
Apparently they only do a negative pressure test and not a positive pressure test!

Brewsters

651 posts

199 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
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mybrainhurts said:
You need general gassing...

Oh...
I see what you did there......! biggrin

WhoseGeneration

4,090 posts

237 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
I know this doesn't apply to all cases but I wonder if folks are remembering to use their aircon throughout the year?
Weekly, use it for, say, 10 minutes.

Dr.Doofenshmirtz

16,952 posts

230 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Take it to Kwik Fit and get it hooked up to their fully automated machine. They will do a leak test as part of the process (although it won't detect very slow leaks). If they can't get it working, due to a big leak or mechanical problem, you pay nothing.
I would never normally recommend KF, but the machine they use is industry standard and fully automated. They can't really screw up.
They're the cheapest you'll find - £45, and you pay nothing if they can't get the cooling temp improved by 10%. So you've got nothing to loose.

Frik

13,690 posts

273 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
Dr.Doofenshmirtz said:
Take it to Kwik Fit and get it hooked up to their fully automated machine. They will do a leak test as part of the process (although it won't detect very slow leaks). If they can't get it working, due to a big leak or mechanical problem, you pay nothing.
I would never normally recommend KF, but the machine they use is industry standard and fully automated. They can't really screw up.
They're the cheapest you'll find - £45, and you pay nothing if they can't get the cooling temp improved by 10%. So you've got nothing to loose.
It's not a very good leak test if it can only detect big leaks.

joebongo

1,517 posts

205 months

Sunday 30th May 2010
quotequote all
And if KF can't get it down by xx% they may tell you the printer's not working to show the temp difference. Like they did with me.

I had a duff pusher fan and it wasn't going to get cold in a month of Sundays without it when stationary.


poison

Original Poster:

68 posts

205 months

Monday 31st May 2010
quotequote all
thanks for the replies will take it in to kf just to see what happens as it will not cost anything if it does not solve the problem,i have a feeling its more than no gas as the compressor does not start up.

Fastra

4,289 posts

239 months

Monday 31st May 2010
quotequote all
poison said:
thanks for the replies will take it in to kf just to see what happens as it will not cost anything if it does not solve the problem,i have a feeling its more than no gas as the compressor does not start up.
The compressor is protecting itself - it won't start unless theres a specific amount of pressure in the system - like on my Astra a couple of years ago, press the switch nothing, re-gassed and all is well again!