Aircon pump hot

[Bat21]

While gazing into the engine bay with the engine running (as you do) I was watching the aircon pump cycling on and off every minute or so. I touched the two metal pipes running off the pump and noticed one was ice cold (no freezing on outside though which is good), the other pipe was very hot as was the pump. Is this normal?

My truck is a 1992 and is running the old system that I had regassed with R426a in December 2012. The cab still gets ice cold and the fridge freezer still works but I have never noticed the pump getting so hot before.

 

[Dave]

The pump can used 3 or 4hp, so that heat has to go somewhere.

 

[StarCruiser]

The larger of the pipes will be cold and the smaller hot, 't is part of how they work shifting heat which is then lost through the condenser coil in front of the radiator.

With the car stationary, the condenser will be getting the least amount of cooling from the fan so things will be getting quite warm. Won't be a problem though as there should be a high pressure cut off switch somewhere on the HP side. It is possible that the compressor was cycling on the HP switch but that's not normally the case, especially once driving. If you are concerned, you could get it checked by a fridge engineer as its only putting a set of gauges on but it's probably just normal.

 

[frank rabbets]

Completely normal. Engine idles and the air con pump cuts in and out every minute or so depending on outside temperature and the control settings in the car. The pipe to the condenser can get very hot.

 

[Towpack]

The heat is normal. It's drawn from the ambient air in the cars interior and turns the AC liquid into a gas, in doing so it chills the air. The condenser then cools the gas and turns it back into a liquid.

 

[Bat21]

Thank folks.

I was getting concerned and I didn't want it letting us down in Morocco in a few months time.

 

[Dave2000]

Normal.

regards

Dave