Air con problem

[siamblue]

I can't seem to find the thread of recent,But i said i was having a problem with my Aircon as it wasn't getting ice cold,Even after having the Refridgerent replaced last year,
I have know put the air con on and listened to inside the engine and at the bottom pulley a plate is moving over every 20 seconds with it switched on,
Could anyone else point me in the right direction for what else could stop the cars Air con getting ice cold?
I also cleaned out the sensor on the Dash near to the clocks.

Gary

[Justin]

Most likely the dryer unit, its a canister on the drivers side front, in front of the aircon pump, about £80 from the dealers and 20 mins to fit, although you will need a regas after

Mine went on nookie and i had to replace it, then had a regas and it was 3°C @ the vent

[V70RAWD]

I have a v70 and I have noticed that my air con does'nt really get ice cold and I have never really done anything about it. One thing I had noticed though was a clonking/clicking noise about every 30 seconds, could this be somthing similair to what you have seen, ie with the 'pully plate moving' . I do rememebr reading somthing about a air con valve and the whole dash comming out to replace it and I think it was on that basis, I got worried about large amounts of pennies and turned my air con off. I must admit it would be nice to have a really ice cold car for the summer (I have a black V70 !!!)

[DaveS60D5]

Hi mate

The plate you refer to is the clutch attached to the compressor. It should come in and out every 15-45 seconds in a normal temperature. If it stays in longer than that it will wear out the compressor and its usually down to either too much gas or a very warm ambient temperature outside (25-30 degrees C). Every 20 seconds is perfectly healthy and normal.

As for what is making it not go ice cold, the obvious cause is a lack off refridgerant because of a leak?? Does the gas you had put in last year R12 containing a leak dye? If so, you should be able to spot the leak fairly easily is you vigorously check all the pipes and valves. There is no high port on an S70, just a low port (place to insert / take out gas) and it's situated under a screwcap just to behind the o/s/f headlight, next to the powersteering pump. You might want to see if this is leaking as it's the part of the aircon system which is most often "disturbed" during regas and the valve could be leaking as a result, if the gas contains leak dye, it will be quite liberally obvious around the valve if it is leaking.

If it's anything more serious it could be the evaporator has gone, which is just behind the vents in the dash and that'll be expensive.

No expert - just what I've learnt from my aircon bloke Hope it helps

Good luck mate!

[V70RAWD]

Hi thanks Dave,
unlike Siamblue, I haven't had my air-con refridgerant checked or re-gased since I bought the car (over a year ago). So the obvious first thing to do, is to get the gas level checked, is there any way to check that myself or will it need a visit to a specilaist ?

again thanks
Mark

[siamblue]

Thanks J for that,
I had the shock of my life today trying to solve my air leak,Didn't realise i left the air con on,Started the car up,And i shat meself thinking i had left a socket or spanner in the engine bay,All i had visions of was the belts coming off,
Anyway that dryer thing i noticed is rusty at the bottom of it,So maybe it has seen the light of day,But i am a bit skint at the moment,
Just shelled out £3k for the Plane tickets,So everything on hold,for the time being.

[DaveS60D5]

Hi thanks Dave,
unlike Siamblue, I haven't had my air-con refridgerant checked or re-gased since I bought the car (over a year ago). So the obvious first thing to do, is to get the gas level checked, is there any way to check that myself or will it need a visit to a specilaist ?

again thanks
Mark

You won't be able to check yourself mate it will take a specialist I'm afraid - tip though, when mine was really low, the compressor ticks in when you turn it on, but then QUICKLY back out again and stays off for prolonged periods, then when it does come back in (if it does!) it will tick off again V quickly.

If yours isn't doing this that doesn't mean it isn't low, it just means it's not empty like mine was! Get the specialist to check it.

Cheers