Aircon help

[AlexWhite]

Hi all. My aircon is pretty.rubbish, not cold at all. How can I get it working better? Does something need changing? Appreciate any advice.

[UKjim]

Most likely needs regassing , I had a mobile air conditioning specialist to come and check mine at home  Total cost including regassing for the R134A gas should be about £70 


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[AlexWhite]

Does it blow very cold when properly working? Or just a degree below lukewarm?

[UKjim]

Does it blow very cold when properly working? Or just a degree below lukewarm?

Very cold

[AlexWhite]

Noticed these offers on Groupon. Any of them a fit for my 2004 MK1 Jazz?

https://ibb.co/TrFhxnd

[UKjim]

Your car is suitable but how competent they are is anyone’s guess


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[AlexWhite]

Which one of those do.i go for?

[Jocko]

I have my Fabia booked into my local Kwik Fit to get a recharge tomorrow afternoon. £64.95 though.

[olduser1]

Ask around on your trading estate the garages usually have ac specialist come in to sorttheir customers AC issues

[Jocko]

Went to Kwik Fit and they recharged my air con. The guy told me there were no leaks but it wasn't blowing cold air. I asked if they had reset the Climatronic unit error code and he said everything is okay. He gave me a card for an air-con specialist and sent me on my way with no charge.
As I pulled out I had to stop at a set of traffic lights so I interrogated the unit, reset the code and carried on home. The air certainly felt cold. On reaching my garage I dug out my digital indoor/outdoor thermometer, Stuck the outdoor probe into the face-level vent and the temperature plummeted to 4°C. It looks like I have won a watch.

[UKjim]

Went to Kwik Fit and they recharged my air con. The guy told me there were no leaks but it wasn't blowing cold air. I asked if they had reset the Climatronic unit error code and he said everything is okay. He gave me a card for an air-con specialist and sent me on my way with no charge.
As I pulled out I had to stop at a set of traffic lights so I interrogated the unit, reset the code and carried on home. The air certainly felt cold. On reaching my garage I dug out my digital indoor/outdoor thermometer, Stuck the outdoor probe into the face-level vent and the temperature plummeted to 4°C. It looks like I have won a watch.

Sounds like typical KwikFit incompetence, for once you came out the winner   


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[Lord Voltermore]

Best to go to an aircon specialist.  Places like kwik fit  ,ATS etc  may just be a tyre fitter who had a half day course on using the aircon recharging machine.

Unfortunately  in an older car a regas might not last long before it leaks out again.  They are meant to check for leaks, but a slow one may be missed.  If they find  its leaking they cannot legally top it up knowing it will only last for the summer.  . It must either be repaired (which may be expensive) or do without air con. 

On a more positive note  you could try  replacing the cabin pollen filter.  If its clogged it may reduce the efficiency of the aircon (if its working at all)     They are not expensive and may need changing anyway. Its normally an easy DIY job.   

IF you decide to go for the groupon ATS offer I'd go for the basic regas, £41.99    The antibac treatment may not be needed ,especially if you change the pollen filter.   If you think its necessary Halfords do a diy deodorant/anti bacterial aerosol for £5.99.  (and one for £20  ) 

Air from the vents should feel significantly colder if the aircon is working. It also feels 'different'  ,dehumidified I suppose.     If it only feels slightly colder than ambient thats just the result of being fan blown air. 

[Jocko]

I had smelly air con on my Volvo and you know when it is needing anti-bac treatment. I used a Comma product and it worked great.
I used to service low-temperature refrigerant systems(Polycold -98°C) in a former life and there isn't much to it. Leak checking is just a case of evacuating the system, sealing it off from the vacuum pump and checking the rise in pressure over a given time. If you have a leak you can put a dye in to hopefully find it, though we used a Helium leak detector as we needed it for the Hi-vac equipment we maintained.

[Lord Voltermore]

I drove a 2010 Corsa yesterday which still had working aircon. I know it has never been regasses from new. 

On the Halfords web site they sell air con  leak sealer  for £20  but to use it you also need a fill trigger and gauge (£20)  and a cylinder of R-134a gas. This is £60 but with a £10 refund on the empty cylinder.   The ad claims this may  be enough gas to regas 2 -3 cars,( or one car 2 - 3 times  )   The option is only available on older cars using R134a gas  (pre 2017 I believe) 

There may be downsides.  The sealer may not work on some leaks, and you could clog  up the aircon system permanently. And as such would probably not be offered or recommended by most air con specialists.       But it may be worth a try on an older car.    I have never used it,so its at your own risk,  but I will bear it in mind myself if the Corsa loses its aircon.  In theory you could fix a leak and have up to 3 regassings for an overall cost not much more than one professional regas that might also leak away.     

[Brendan976]

Your car is suitable but how competent they are is anyone’s guess


I  had my jazz re gassed at the weekend at ATS works just fine.