Air con

Hi all , I have a little problem.. I'm hot very hot when driving... I had the Air con pressure tested and re gassed two months ago (at Halfords) The problem is now I have come to use it it just blows warm air... I have checked the fuse ,the switch go's off when I'm trying to use it.. when I switch it off the switch blinks then stays on.. I don't know any other tests, or anything else to look for. Any help would be welcome...
I am going back to Halfords but don't want any flannel of them as they checked it all out before the re gas. What I would say is they started to re gas it (2 months back) and after about 5-10 mins I had to get something from the car and noticed they had turned it 'on' whilst they were re gassing it... They did not know that when the light was off the Air con was on ... They switched it off straight away but I don't know if this had any effect on re gassing the Air con at the time.. All I know is that I have tried to use it over the last two or so weeks and just get warm Air ???

Even on LOW with the fan turned up full? It'll take a while after starting to cool down the air. Give it 15 minutes on a drive to cool the condenser down and it should be pretty frosty. They should have leak tested it before they filled it.

Grrrrrr said:

Even on LOW with the fan turned up full? It'll take a while after starting to cool down the air. Give it 15 minutes on a drive to cool the condenser down and it should be pretty frosty. They should have leak tested it before they filled it.

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Great that you can understand what is being spoken.

If there was a leak they wouldn't have filled it.
The light blinking and then staying on is just telling you that the hevac would like the air con on to achieve the temp set on the controls but if you insist it'll turn it off.
Can you hear the compressor clutch kicking in now and again?
Can you get any temperature change from the vents,or is it just warm air all the time? , if not that could be stuck blend doors so it never will go really cold.

Compressor needs to run to help draw the fluid through the system from memory....I could be wrong though!

Thank you for your comments. I have run the car and Air con for a good 30 mins and still only warm Air comes out. As for the compressor I don't know should there be some kind of indication to show if its running? I have checked the fuses and changed them just in case ....

Did it blow cold air when you first had it done? What car is it by the way?

rob evans said:

Thank you for your comments. I have run the car and Air con for a good 30 mins and still only warm Air comes out. As for the compressor I don't know should there be some kind of indication to show if its running? I have checked the fuses and changed them just in case ....

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Gas has leaked out then. Or you have a sticky or duff pressure switch. Compressor won't run if pressure is low. When filling engine is run and aircon switched on. When sufficient pressure is in the system compressor starts up and circulates the refrigerant.

rob evans said:

Thank you for your comments. I have run the car and Air con for a good 30 mins and still only warm Air comes out. As for the compressor I don't know should there be some kind of indication to show if its running? I have checked the fuses and changed them just in case ....

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If you leave it ticking over you'll see the revs dip ever so slightly as the compressor kicks in and rise as it stops. Then if you switch AC off it will be stable (ignoring EAS kicking in etc).

Usually, the revs dip when the electric cooling fan kicks in. The sheer amount of amps required to start it puts a strain on the charging system for a second.

I have a 1.2 Clio just now (runabout until George, my 38 is ready) and the A/C takes around 3 minutes to blow cold and up to 10 for delicious icicles of constant cold air in this hot weather.

Normally, a good system will start blowing cold very quickly, so I suspect yours is either empty or as suggested, sticky pressure switch... I would be more inclined to believe the gas is gone, possibly through a hole in the condenser (stones are evil).

Have they filled it up with the right gas? I assume they would have. Its usually R134a, the same as fridges and aircon units. However it sounds to me that there is a leak.

Doo said:

Usually, the revs dip when the electric cooling fan kicks in. The sheer amount of amps required to start it puts a strain on the charging system for a second.

I have a 1.2 Clio just now (runabout until George, my 38 is ready) and the A/C takes around 3 minutes to blow cold and up to 10 for delicious icicles of constant cold air in this hot weather.

Normally, a good system will start blowing cold very quickly, so I suspect yours is either empty or as suggested, sticky pressure switch... I would be more inclined to believe the gas is gone, possibly through a hole in the condenser (stones are evil).

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I think you'll find it is the compressor that loads the engine, the fan is fairly inconsequential compared to the other electrical loads the P38 has to deal with.

On a 1.2 litre Clio....the electrical load may well be enough to dip the revs, but on the P38....not so much.

Or if the TXV valve sticks that can stop a charge going in or cause it to vent out fast afterwards.

if halfords only put 1 can of their refrigerant in then its only about 1/3 full

tomcat59alan said:

Did it blow cold air when you first had it done? What car is it by the way?

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Yes it was cold when it was done but have not used it in over a month.. Sorry it's a 30th Anniversary 2001

ovalandrover said:

if halfords only put 1 can of their refrigerant in then its only about 1/3 full

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They put 1200 mgs in???

rob evans said:

Yes it was cold when it was done but have not used it in over a month.. Sorry it's a 30th Anniversary 2001

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Check as has been posted, electrical plug's on the single and duel pressure switches,feed to compressor and then back for them to check if you have lost gas.