Hi -

The air conditioning on my Colt has given up and is no longer blowing cold
air. The light on the switch comes on, the blowers & heater work fine; it
just blows normal air rather than cold when the a/c is on.

I'm not particularly mechanically-minded - have checked the fuses - is there
anything else simple that it could be before I book it in? Could the
refrigerant need topping up? I can't find anywhere under the bonnet for this
to go, though.

Thanks in advance -

Russell

"littlerussell"  wrote in message
news:d93c75$tcr$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...

> Hi -
>
> The air conditioning on my Colt has given up and is no longer blowing cold
> air. The light on the switch comes on, the blowers & heater work fine; it
> just blows normal air rather than cold when the a/c is on.
>
> I'm not particularly mechanically-minded - have checked the fuses - is
there
> anything else simple that it could be before I book it in? Could the
> refrigerant need topping up? I can't find anywhere under the bonnet for
this
> to go, though.



In all probability, if you havent used the a/c since last year, and/or you
felt it wasnt as cold as it used to be the last time it worked, then you
need the refridgerant re-charging. This is normal every ~2 yrs on a fit and
regularly exercised system.

Of course you may have a leak which will need finding, and will add to the
cost, but for a re-gas alone you would be looking at around 60-90UKP, shop
around - prices vary, and so does competance!

Anyone (with the right gear) can stick more gas into a system, but doing it
correctly and eradicating leaks if present is another thing.

Don't forget you must exercise the a/c every couple of weeks for 10-15mins
all year round, else you will loose the gas more quickly (seals dry out)

Tim..

In article <d93c75$tcr$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk>,
   littlerussell  wrote:

> Could the refrigerant need topping up? I can't find anywhere under the
> bonnet for this to go, though.


Most likely, but it's a specialised job as it's under high pressure and
dangerous stuff.

Costs about 50-100 quid.

-- 
*Half the people in the world are below average.  

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article <1gyenwq.1uzqcl71xlud91N%hairy.biker@spamcop.net>,
   Andy Hewitt  wrote:

> > Anyone (with the right gear) can stick more gas into a system, but
> > doing it correctly and eradicating leaks if present is another thing.

> Indeed it is. However, if they take weeks to lose pressure, they can be
> very hard to detect on a short test.


Yes - my SD1 just about lasts the summer.


> Be prepared to pay for a regas, fill with dye, and then repair again
> later on.


Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely to be
other wear?

-- 
*Shin: a device for finding furniture in the dark *

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)"  wrote in message
news:4d7d74e9e9dave@davenoise.co.uk...

> In article <d93c75$tcr$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk>,
>    littlerussell  wrote:
> > Could the refrigerant need topping up? I can't find anywhere under the
> > bonnet for this to go, though.
>
> Most likely, but it's a specialised job as it's under high pressure and
> dangerous stuff.
>
> Costs about 50-100 quid.
>
> -- 
> *Half the people in the world are below average.
>
>     Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
>                   To e-mail, change noise into sound.




Thanks a lot for the advice - this is the first car I've had with a/c and I
just wanted to check whether I should be doing anything obvious before I
booked it in.

Russell

In article <1gyew0q.1xmlr4osedo5wN%hairy.biker@spamcop.net>,
   Andy Hewitt  wrote:

> > Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely to
> > be other wear?

> I guess so, although compressor seal failure is not actually that
> common, they normally suffer with bearing or clutch failure first.

> Most a/c leaks are from the condensor or a pipe joint.


Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check, but the
last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months or so - as
it did the year before.

-- 
*In some places, C:\ is the root of all directories *

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)"  wrote in message 
news:4d7d8cc41fdave@davenoise.co.uk...

> In article <1gyew0q.1xmlr4osedo5wN%hairy.biker@spamcop.net>,
>   Andy Hewitt  wrote:
>> > Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely to
>> > be other wear?
>
>> I guess so, although compressor seal failure is not actually that
>> common, they normally suffer with bearing or clutch failure first.
>
>> Most a/c leaks are from the condensor or a pipe joint.
>
> Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check, but the
> last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months or so - as
> it did the year before.
>

Sound like the same problem on my wifes Mazda 323, got recharged 2 or so 
years around but it only lasted around 2-4 weeks.
It's recently been recharged again and had a dye put in - after around 3 
weeks it got took back to the dealer for them to source the leak.  They said 
they'd not put enough dye in (FFS), so they recharged it again and put in 
more dye, 3 weeks later when it stopped blowing cold air back it went - they 
couldn't find any leak :-/
At least they didn't charge for the 2 recharges etc.
It'll most likely be taken to an AC specialist now.

Johnny  wrote:


> "Dave Plowman (News)"  wrote in message 
> news:4d7d8cc41fdave@davenoise.co.uk...
> > In article <1gyew0q.1xmlr4osedo5wN%hairy.biker@spamcop.net>,
> >   Andy Hewitt  wrote:
> >> > Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely to
> >> > be other wear?
> >
> >> I guess so, although compressor seal failure is not actually that
> >> common, they normally suffer with bearing or clutch failure first.
> >
> >> Most a/c leaks are from the condensor or a pipe joint.
> >
> > Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check, but the
> > last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months or so - as
> > it did the year before.
> >
> Sound like the same problem on my wifes Mazda 323, got recharged 2 or so
> years around but it only lasted around 2-4 weeks.
> It's recently been recharged again and had a dye put in - after around 3
> weeks it got took back to the dealer for them to source the leak.  They said
> they'd not put enough dye in (FFS), so they recharged it again and put in
> more dye, 3 weeks later when it stopped blowing cold air back it went - they
> couldn't find any leak :-/
> At least they didn't charge for the 2 recharges etc.
> It'll most likely be taken to an AC specialist now. 


Could be worth checking inside the car, in case it's the evaporator.

-- 
Andy Hewitt **  FAF#1, (Ex-OSOS#5) - FJ1200 ABS
Honda Civic: Windows free zone (Mac G5 Dual Processor)
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/thehewitts2/index.htm
(updated Feb 21 2005)

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

> In article <1gyew0q.1xmlr4osedo5wN%hairy.biker@spamcop.net>,
>   Andy Hewitt  wrote:
>>> Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely
>>> to be other wear?
>
>> I guess so, although compressor seal failure is not actually that
>> common, they normally suffer with bearing or clutch failure first.
>
>> Most a/c leaks are from the condensor or a pipe joint.
>
> Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check,
> but the last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months
> or so - as it did the year before.


Can't you get DIY fills here in the UK? I know in the US they exist.

-- 
"Excuse me, would you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?"

              "Would you rather silent but deadly?"

On Sun, 19 Jun 2005 17:49:50 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
 wrote:


>In article <1gyew0q.1xmlr4osedo5wN%hairy.biker@spamcop.net>,
>   Andy Hewitt  wrote:
>> > Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely to
>> > be other wear?
>
>> I guess so, although compressor seal failure is not actually that
>> common, they normally suffer with bearing or clutch failure first.
>
>> Most a/c leaks are from the condensor or a pipe joint.
>
>Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check, but the
>last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months or so - as
>it did the year before.


I've been round this circle myself (as Andy knows).  Two recharges, the
first with a dye check, the second a pressure test.  On the third
investigation (again about 3-4 months after the previous one), a leak in the
condensor was found promptly, and this was replaced FOC even though the car
was 9 months out of warranty and had done over 55K.  Can hardly complain
about the cost of the two investigations as I now have a (partly) brand-new
system.  The technician who found the leak had also been the one who'd not
found anything earlier and was sure he'd not missed anything.  I suspect
small leaks may be prone to opening up under stress and are not necessarily
easily found on a static test.

-- 
Guns don't kill people...Class 2 Phasers do!

In article ,
   Tim S Kemp  wrote:

> > Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check,
> > but the last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months
> > or so - as it did the year before.

> Can't you get DIY fills here in the UK? I know in the US they exist.


Even sold in Walmart, I'm told. But a search of ASDA revealed nothing. ;-)

-- 
*If at first you don't succeed, redefine success.  

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.