To set the scene: I bought my Jazz from some shady-ass dealership near Peterborough. A few things were wrong with it, like the brake discs having 2mm+ wear on them.
Those all got fixed.
Then the A/C packed in. Took it to their "mechanics" who "fixed" it. It blew cold for a bit, then stopped.
Then winter came, and I didn't care.
Come the warm days, I think to myself: "Wouldn't it be nice to have A/C right about now?"
So I take it down to my local reputable A/C place and they fill'er up with gas, add some dye and send me on my way.
They say it passes the vacuum test, so no major leaks to be found, yay!
A/C blows cold for a day then packs in again.
I try running it a few more times, to no avail.
A/C outfit take it back, regas it, then tell me the A/C compressor isn't kicking in when it should. Might cost upwards of 500 quid to repair, though.
So I ask: "Could it be electrical?", to which they reply "Yeah could be a fuse or a relay that's blown so the compressor's not kicking in. We could take a look for you, but we'd have to charge for that"
I'm reasonably handy with the electronicals and such, so I said "Nah, I'll find out where the ********** things live and poke'em with a multimeter". Right enough, I get home - fuses are fine, but the relay isn't doing anything. So I yank out the radiator fan relay and plonk it in where the A/C relay was. Lo and behold! The compressor suddenly kicks in!
So now I'm thinking: "Balls, now I have to go out and buy a new A/C compressor relay, but at least I'm not spending 500 quid on a component that doesn't need replacing!"
Then, thinking I'm done for the day, I stuff the relays back where they came from and, on a whim, try the A/C again. ********** thing works now!
2 hours later, I get back in the car, turn on the A/C and bugger all happens. So I open the relay box and smack the offending article gently with a spanner. A/C works again.
I'll still be replacing the thing, but if in doubt, hit it with something hard and it might start working!
