Aircon struggling

Today was the first time the aircon was needed since last summer, but it did very little to lower the temperature

So I tried the fridge freezer between the seats (JDM import model) and it did go cooler but not the normal freezing cold temp.

Got back home and had a look under the bonnet. The pump is kicking in and the revs are lifting slightly as normal so, it looks like a system recharge might be needed.

Am I right in thinking that being a 92 model it doesn't use the normal R34 gas... if so I guess Mr QuickFit will not be able to do the job?

There should be a sticker somewhere under the bonnet, might of been on the radiator so that's why you may not be able to find it.

Funny you should that...

I thought I had an oil leak recently but I think it must have been from the a/c... the compressor won't kick in and looking at the glass spy hole, there's no fluid in there. Looking again, the stuff I thought was oil is indeed a/c fluid

Looks like there's a leak, obviously, but just wondered if anyone knew of someone half decent in the north London area, I'd travel a bit, who can sort this.

And is there a particular gas/recharge I should use...

Thanks

Jeremy

You could try this fella Jeremy, he's mobile will cover a 50 mile radius from Elatead, Surrey.

http://www.air-care-automotive.co.uk/home.asp

Thanks Chas.

Been looking at this again today and I don't think it is a 'low gas' problem.

After allowing the system to run for a while, the pipe that comes out of the top of the pump starts to ice up:-


And even ices right down to near the bulkhead:-


But where it goes across the front of the bulkhead the pipe is normal temp:-


Also, there isn't the normal clicking in and out of the pump clutch as and when the aircon is needed, it just stays on.

The fridge does appear to be working fine, if I turn the aircon off but leave the fridge on, the clutch kicks in and out as normal.

It's as if all is fine with the pump but, whatever it is that lets the cool air into the car isn't working.

Any ideas?

if your dryer is in beside the battery than you have an r12 system and getting r12 now is quite tough. There are substitutes for it, but sometimes these can be difficult to find.

Mine system is R12 and the air con guy who filled mine put on some adapters and filled it with r134a. It has worked fine since. There are plenty horror stories about not doing this on the internet, but its working fine now and had worked on the air con guy's old mercedes for a number of years.

I suppose the best thing is to speak to a local air conditioning specialist. They can find your leak and then refill for you.

callum said:

if your dryer is in beside the battery than you have an r12 system and getting r12 now is quite tough. There are substitutes for it, but sometimes these can be difficult to find.

Mine system is R12 and the air con guy who filled mine put on some adapters and filled it with r134a. It has worked fine since. There are plenty horror stories about not doing this on the internet, but its working fine now and had worked on the air con guy's old mercedes for a number of years.

I suppose the best thing is to speak to a local air conditioning specialist. They can find your leak and then refill for you.

Click to expand...

Thanks Callum but, surely if the pipes are freezing, the fridge working and the pump doing its job then it doesn't sound like the system needs re-gassing

...hmm, now this is true. I'm not sure my pipes actually freeze. I'm afraid i'm out of ideas on that one. i think i'd defer to an air con specialist.

The pipes get really cold but I have never seen them freeze. There is something really strange going on here, its like the compressor can is delivery far more than the system can cope with. Might be worth having a look the the evaporator under the dash to see if it is getting the flow. I assume the fridge runs off the same refrigeration system, can you have the fridge running but the air con off? If so there may be a valve controlling the flow to the cabin evaporator and fridge evaporator which could be at fault?

Rob said:

The pipes get really cold but I have never seen them freeze. There is something really strange going on here, its like the compressor can is delivery far more than the system can cope with. Might be worth having a look the the evaporator under the dash to see if it is getting the flow. I assume the fridge runs off the same refrigeration system, can you have the fridge running but the air con off? If so there may be a valve controlling the flow to the cabin evaporator and fridge evaporator which could be at fault?

Click to expand...

The pipes are freezing because the pump isn't cycling... when the air con is switched on the pump clutch doesn't click in and out as the temp drops... because the temp isn't dropping

Yes Rob the fridge/freezer can run without the aircon cooling the cab.

I don't know the layout of the system but your theory sounds right.... there is no 'flow' to the cab evaporator

I've just checked, the valve that allows the flow to the evaporator located on the passenger side wing is certainly working as you can hear it clicking open/shut when the switch is operated.

When the climate control is set to auto, the temperature slide control in the cab does not turn off the air con pump like it should.... when slid to the right (hot) it should kill the air con pump.

This is really starting to pizz me off now...... my old Nissan Patrol never had a single problem in all the time I had it... but my 80 seems to need TLC (sometimes major) on an almost daily basis... It must be bad as I'm looking at Patrols again on eBay

The aircon will still be drying the air when it's set to hot so the pump will still have to run.

Jon Wildsmith said:

The aircon will still be drying the air when it's set to hot so the pump will still have to run.

Click to expand...

So what 'cycles' the pump Jon, normally when the air con is on the pump will spin for a few moments then click off.... then a few moments later it will kick in again etc etc....

At the moment, when switched on it stays on/engaged... but no cold air

With the fridge only on, it operates normal I.E. clicks on.... clicks off.... clicks on.. clicks off....

I've stared at the component location diagram for half of the morning but just can't work out where the problem is.

I don't know a lot more than that about it Paul but AFAIK even when on hot the air is still cooled to condense the moisture and then warmed up again by being passed over the hot heater matrix.

After poking and prodding and checking all the electrical connections, I'm beginning to think this may be a re gassing issue because even the fridge starts to struggle after a while.

As the old R12 gas is almost impossible to get hold of, does anyone know if these are any good for the conversion to R134a?

I do not know if they are any good Paul, but Chris can get them cheap from near to him.

Mine is running R134a and a mate who works on Fridges regased mine for me.

Paul

Found cheaper on ebay, also this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RETRO-PRO-R12-R13 ... 2eb449fe4b

If you can still use " the other " forum paul drop DaveN a pm he's ya air con expert.

joinerman said:

If you can still use " the other " forum paul drop DaveN a pm he's ya air con expert.

Click to expand...

I assume I can still log in there, I haven't done so for probably 6 months now.

The problem is, if I PM Dave and then point him to this thread (so I don't have to type it all out again), that knob of an admin will throw a hissy fit