A/C Problems

Hi all

I have a problem with a/c I have searched and can't find my problem.I turned the a/c on the other day(a rare thing these days)and it all worked the next day pushed the switch and no light illuminated in the switch and nothing worked.
I know nothing about electrics,Could someone please tell me which fuse(If it is) it would be and were to find it and if there is something else to look for.
I have had the car 3yrs and not had it regassed should I.
Thank you.
2002 es Td4

You should be using the A/C winter and summer. Winter time, if you have the selector set to windscreen the A/C automatically operates to help demist the screen. If it blew cold 'the other day' when it worked then no it doesn't need re-gassing.

Do you have a handbook? The fuse info will be in there...

Turn the temp to max cold setting. When stationary and with the engine on tick over only, turn on the air con. The engine will stutter slightly and then comtinue running as normal. The revs will slightly increase when the air con is running. The air con should now come on. If it doesn't turn it off/on/off/on and see what happens.

The air con has a few sensors to make sure circumstances for the air con to work are right for it to operate. To turn it on an electrical signal is sent to a magnetic clutch. The outer pulley round the air con compressor spins. When the air con is requested to switch on an electrical signal powers the clutch to make it turn the air con pump. You can watch the air com pump to see this happen. the middle bit will or won't spin depending if the air con is running.

When you press the air con switch the light will come on if the air con system is running. For the air con to work the fan speed switch will need to be set to 1, 2, 3 or 4 also. Do the fans still blow air regardless of the air con issue?

Hi
Thank you for replies,Tried it this morning and the illumination light in the switch came on(dont no what happend before) and checked the pulley is spinning and cold air from the fans.
I do have it on windscreen in winter and all the fan positions work.:clap2:
Thank you to skynet and Hippo

I had a similar problem some years ago. Sometimes air con would work other times it wouldn't. Still don't really know what was wrong, but this went on for some time. It hadn't been re-gassed for something like 6 to 8 years. I always thought it was part of the main dealer service but it seems it wasn't. When it didn't work the clutch didn't engage so in the end I took it for a re-gas. They put a machine on it to clean out the air con system and then re-pressure it with the correct gas and some oil. The machine proved there was no leaks as soon as they connected it. After the re-gas the air con worked ok every time but then stopped working again. I took it back to see if the machine could pick up a leak and it was ok so they just ran it again for another cycle of empty/clean/re-gas for free this time. Hasn't stopped working since. I'm no eggspurt on air con but the chap said it should be re-gassed every 2 to 3 years if I remember correctly. Running it every 2 weeks for 10 mins helps it anorl. I think mine needed done twice as it hadn't been done for too long. See how yours goes for a while.

Air con needs running on a regular basis as the oil in the refrigerant lubricates the seals around the system, keeping the gas in

Hi
If I leave the selector dial on windscreen without any fans going will the a/c kick in or has the interior blower have to be on number one at least to work the a/c.

Thank you.

roshe25 said:

Hi
If I leave the selector dial on windscreen without any fans going will the a/c kick in or has the interior blower have to be on number one at least to work the a/c.

Thank you.

Click to expand...

You need the blower on for the air con to work.

Hi
Thanks Hippo for reply.Will make sure I do that from now on as it is nice to have a/c when the weather is hot!!(about 1 week per year)

Again thanks

My P38 had Climate Control and I just left it set with the aircon "On" all the time. O.k. it used a bit more petrol but I could live with that. Even on Er Indoors Vectra (Also has Climate Control) I leave the aircon on.
On previous motors with aircon, I have always run the aircon for about 10 mins. each week in the winter as I was told years ago by a well respected aircon specialist to do that because it ensures that the oil is circulated round the system and more importantly....the Compressor.
If the aircon is working correctly, one of the compressor pipes should be hot and the other one freezing cold with the engine running and aircon switched on.

Hi
Thanks Irishrover I did not think to check pipes,Next time a/c is on I will check.
Thanks.

Irishrover said:

My P38 had Climate Control and I just left it set with the aircon "On" all the time. O.k. it used a bit more petrol but I could live with that. Even on Er Indoors Vectra (Also has Climate Control) I leave the aircon on.
On previous motors with aircon, I have always run the aircon for about 10 mins. each week in the winter as I was told years ago by a well respected aircon specialist to do that because it ensures that the oil is circulated round the system and more importantly....the Compressor.
If the aircon is working correctly, one of the compressor pipes should be hot and the other one freezing cold with the engine running and aircon switched on.

Click to expand...

Even the original Freelander's user manual says the same: 10 minutes per week (the manual says "at a constant speed") also during winter is usually usefull to prevent issues with the air con.