Air Con advice for a newbie?

[alanshuff]

Hi y'all, my first post here and its with a wee problem.

I bought a 1995 green T5 Auto saloon on 01/08/2006 (84k miles, fsh, MOT and Tax till 2007 - all for £1350. Thought I good a good deal I have to admit).

Now the thing is brilliant, almost everything works (heated seats, electrics, leather is in good nick, bodywork and wheels are good etc) but only two things do not work - the Air Con and one of the headlight wipers.

Now I do not need air con, but I would very much like it. But I cannot figure out what the problem might be (bearing in mind I am a novice). Heres the symptoms....

1: NO apparent temperature change
2: NO 'kicking in' noises or dip in power
3: Just NOTHING

With my previous car I felt the cars power dip a tad when the air con was switched on, though I dont know how much I should expect from this car. Therefore I dont know if the whole system is just not going, or if it is just needing regassed etc.

Has anyone had the same (sounding) problems? What was the end result?

[fireplums]

my old t5's air con didnt work, it just needed a re-gass my mate fixes fridges and did it for free was ice col afterwards.
I'd try that first? I think the hoses are poor quality and / or degrade and leak over the years

[alanshuff]

Cheers fireplums. Think ill look into getting it fixed soon then if it might just be that. Anyone know where is good to go in the Glasgow area?

[Matt30462]

There is a multitude of possibilities Alan from evaporator to a simple connector. Run "air conditioning" or "aircon" in the search window and you will get loads of pointers.

[Babybadger]

Are there any lights flashing on the aircon switch? If the light is on, on the aircon switch , then the aircon is switched off (don't ask me why Volvo did it like this, likewise the recirc light is on , that is on! Mad I know....). Make sure the blower is on/set to auto. If the blower is off and AC selected then the AC will not work until the fan is going.

I don't know if a fuse has blown, so check the manual. Do these checks first. Then Gas it ! c. £50-60, then look at other options. If it is low on/no Gas it will not function as it has as a safety cutout but the AC light will be flashing meaning no gas. Make sure that you have checked these first.

[Babybadger]

Are there any lights flashing on the aircon switch? If the light is on, on the aircon switch , then the aircon is switched off (don't ask me why Volvo did it like this, likewise the recirc light is on , that is on! Mad I know....). Make sure the blower is on/set to auto. If the blower is off and AC selected then the AC will not work until the fan is going.

I don't know if a fuse has blown, so check the manual. Do these checks first. Then Gas it ! c. £50-60, then look at other options. If it is low on/no Gas it will not function as it has as a safety cutout but the AC light will be flashing meaning no gas. Make sure that you have checked these first.

Headlight wiper I would check fuse, and if not , go to breakers and change the unit. I think it is a fail if it does not work for the MOT. Remove them and they won't fail the MOT ;-)

[BlackBeast]

Headlight wiper I would check fuse, and if not , go to breakers and change the unit. I think it is a fail if it does not work for the MOT. Remove them and they won't fail the MOT ;-)

Headlight wipers have nothing to do with the MOT.

[alanshuff]

Cheers for the advice,

If I get a chance tonight I will check some of the really simple stuff - I know that the light does not flash as if signalling a problem, and I have tried it set to 'Auto', and both sides of the car set to the blue, but just nowt seems to happen. Ill post my findings later,

About the headlight wiper, as what BlackBeast says it wont have any impact on the MOT, but then it is something to tinker with and fix. I like to have everything working so this WILL be fixed regardless.

[alanshuff]

Righto,

First of all I checked the fuse - fine.

Then I started the car and put the Air Con onto Auto, and heaters on Very Cold - I could hear the clicking as if the Air Con was trying to start. This was continuous. Now I dont know if this is the case anyway, or if this is down to a fault. Anyway the air was roasting.

Then I looked at a Mitchells CDROM I bought off eBay and followed the instructions to give a self diagnostic code of 1-2-2. (See Attachments - hope they work)

The last attachment describes the fault the car thinks it has - the dash A/C and REC lights did not flash as if to indicate a fault.

I have no ideal what to do from there - any guesses?

[t5tart]

is it air con or climate??
ie do you have temperatures round the control dials

code 1-2-2

is the outside temp sensor shorted to 12v or open

this sensor is on the airintake for the blower fans i think

[alanshuff]

t5tart,

Should have said, its dual climate. Part of my problem is that I dont have a voltmeter, so I was just seeing if anyone had the same CDROM with the same code from their unit.

I think my mate has a voltmeter, so should take a wee trip over there as soon as i can.

Will post progress asap. (Thats assuming this CD is correct - though it seems quite imressive so far)