Freelander 1 Air works then stops working

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Hippo

Lord Hippo
Posts
53,625
My air con wouldn’t produce cold air so I took it to be recharged. Monkey said there was some pressure in it so it wasn’t leaking, but needed recharged, as it hadn’t been done for some years. So I watched it get recharged. Machine cleaned it then recharged. I saw him tip the oil stuff in the machine. Tested it and ok.

On the way home I thought it had stopped going cold but left it to another day. Since then I’ve tested it several times and when the air con is first switched on it does produce cold air. But after say 5 minutes you notice it’s coldness has stopped. Fans spin ok.

Why would it do this? Clutch to air con pump is turning ok. Belt is ok. It’s not the automatic temp control type of air con. It’s the turn it on and cool the air type (when it works).
 
Me and Diesel Do tried to refill mine today, it would only accept a little bit but just enough to make the air cool if not crisp.

Tricky buggers int they.
 
Yup we did it all. Just didn't accept a whole lot of gas, but it works now at least. That day in the lion enclosure at the safari park convinced me it was time to get it seen to.

Think I may need to invest in a proper machine at some point not the mickey mouse one! Meanwhile tape ice cubes to your nipples:) Brrrrrrrr
 
Well I'm thinking of putting me hawkeye on it to see if there's anything in there which might give some help. I understand there's some pressure sensors. If the pressure drops then the system shuts down. Thing is when it stop blowing cold air the fans are still running. So it's not as if the systems stopped itself. Will have a closer look at the clutch. I only had it recharged as I'm oft road soon and it's usually hot when I go. :(
 
Thanks. Will check all wires to things. I remember there's one wire on the air con compressor which operate the clutch too.
 
Yup we did it all. Just didn't accept a whole lot of gas.
I had the same problem with mine when I used one of the DIY refill cans. What I had to do was give the refill can a good shake when the gas stopped flowing, then it would go again for a short time then shake again untill it was up to pressure.
Derek
 
Had a look with me hawkeye and all it tells you is the air con is on etc. It doesn’t give system pressures.

After seeing a similar fault described on an audi forum I took ma hippo back to the tyre fitter garage to ask for advise. Told them the air con works for 5 minutes then stops providing cool air. It had actually worked for 10 minutes whilst driving there but it was a cooler day than the previous tests. Pump clutch is engaged and still running. As the system was low before the previous recharge this indicates there shouldn’t be a leak as the machine was able to measure some pressure in the system. So they offered to put ma hippo back on the machine again. He went through the same empty/clean/re-gas process. This time he was able to start producing cold air within seconds of the air con being switched on. Before it took 30 seconds. So it’s now fixed.

We’re not sure what happened. It’s doubtful the system was low as the machine controls the flow. The second time round the machine reported the right amount. It could be related to the air con not being recharged for something like 6 years. It may have needed more cleaning than normal. The garage charges on the basis that of they drop the air temp produced by the air con by 10 degrees then they charge £49. If it leaks during the process then they abort and don’t charge. The refund is at the managers discretion if they don’t drop the air temp by 10 degrease but it’s still working. As I’d only had the air con recharged earlier this month they were happy to put it through another cycle. On a technical basis they had actually made ma hippo produce cold air. There’s several sensors on the system which could have caused the problem. The easy solution for them is to re-run the process and see what happens. So they did. They did exactly the same process and this time he’s better at producing cold air.

I took him for a 30 minutes drive at varying speeds afterward. He managed to produce cold air with the controls on the lowest cold setting and fan speed on 4. He produced cold air constantly. Enough to create loads of condensation in the pollen filter case. This sloshed about whilst going round corners. When it hits the fan it spits out the dash at you. So all is solved and ma hippo’s air con now works. And no charge for the return visit to re-run the process again. :D

As mentioned above there’s a number of sensors on the system. Also the electrical drive to the magnet on the air con compressor clutch which engages the air con compressor clutch to stop/start the auxiliary drive belt from turning the air con compressor or not. Someone having similar problems could either get there’s re-charged for a second time or look at the sensor voltages with a volt meter to see if they report incorrect values which causes the system to switch off. My air con fans stayed running even though the system didn't create cold air.
 
Had a look with me hawkeye and all it tells you is the air con is on etc. It doesn’t give system pressures.

After seeing a similar fault described on an audi forum I took ma hippo back to the tyre fitter garage to ask for advise. Told them the air con works for 5 minutes then stops providing cool air. It had actually worked for 10 minutes whilst driving there but it was a cooler day than the previous tests. Pump clutch is engaged and still running. As the system was low before the previous recharge this indicates there shouldn’t be a leak as the machine was able to measure some pressure in the system. So they offered to put ma hippo back on the machine again. He went through the same empty/clean/re-gas process. This time he was able to start producing cold air within seconds of the air con being switched on. Before it took 30 seconds. So it’s now fixed.

We’re not sure what happened. It’s doubtful the system was low as the machine controls the flow. The second time round the machine reported the right amount. It could be related to the air con not being recharged for something like 6 years. It may have needed more cleaning than normal. The garage charges on the basis that of they drop the air temp produced by the air con by 10 degrees then they charge £49. If it leaks during the process then they abort and don’t charge. The refund is at the managers discretion if they don’t drop the air temp by 10 degrease but it’s still working. As I’d only had the air con recharged earlier this month they were happy to put it through another cycle. On a technical basis they had actually made ma hippo produce cold air. There’s several sensors on the system which could have caused the problem. The easy solution for them is to re-run the process and see what happens. So they did. They did exactly the same process and this time he’s better at producing cold air.

I took him for a 30 minutes drive at varying speeds afterward. He managed to produce cold air with the controls on the lowest cold setting and fan speed on 4. He produced cold air constantly. Enough to create loads of condensation in the pollen filter case. This sloshed about whilst going round corners. When it hits the fan it spits out the dash at you. So all is solved and ma hippo’s air con now works. And no charge for the return visit to re-run the process again. :D

As mentioned above there’s a number of sensors on the system. Also the electrical drive to the magnet on the air con compressor clutch which engages the air con compressor clutch to stop/start the auxiliary drive belt from turning the air con compressor or not. Someone having similar problems could either get there’s re-charged for a second time or look at the sensor voltages with a volt meter to see if they report incorrect values which causes the system to switch off. My air con fans stayed running even though the system didn't create cold air.
shouldnt have water sloshing around or coming out of vents,i would check your drain tubes for blockages
 
shouldnt have water sloshing around or coming out of vents,i would check your drain tubes for blockages
Hi. It does drain and leak under my Hippo. But I agree it shouldn't be able to collect water. I plan to see if I can undo the screws on the plastic box and try to lower the bottom half if I can so I can have a better look. I always find bits of leaves in there when I talk the filter out. :eek: Will update the fred when I do it.
 
Measured the temp of me air con today so I can compare for the future. 7 degrees on blow setting 2 and max cold setting after 30 seconds. Air starts to go cooler within 10 seconds of switching it on, by touch with me hand. Even just after starting the engine. :)
 
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