P38 - aircon question

Hi all,

No cold air from the vents - was hoping one of you more knowledgable
members could point me in the right direction.

Have done the usual search and only partly successful.

The compressor does kick in - and the thinner pipe from the compressor heats up quite quickly.

It was suggested that the valve on the thinner pipe depressed briefly - I did that for a split second and a powerful spurt of gas came out ( with a thin film of oily substance left on my hand/glove.

Pollen filters were replaced recently.

There is mixed opinion re Kwik Fit's current offer though if there was a high pressure spurt from my system maybe a regas is not the issue ?

I occassionaly get the book symbol though have not pinned down the particular circumstance that sets it off.

Played with the heating,ambient air and different vent settings - all seem to do as they should.

Would appreciate any advice
Regards

can't do any harm to take it Kwik Fit and get them to gas it up. If they don't improve your cooling by 10c (i think) they don't charge you. I took mine down recently only find out I had a blown condenser. The second time I just used them to check my handy work.

kwick fit mate if it dont work when they do there thing you dont pay sounds good to me

Sounds like a relay problem check relay 7 located in the fuse box in the engine bay (Large Yellow Relay LHS fuse box nearest front of fuse box on corner) With the engine switched off remove this relay and examine both the relay for any discolouration if so the relay reqires replacement also check the fuse boxe terminal bed were the relay plugs into for any heat/corrosion marks/loose terminals if so these will require attention and in a worst case senario the fuse box will require replacement as the fuse box internal pc board can suffer corrosion over a period of time. Regarding replacing the faulty relay as a temporary measure remove the front or rear heated windscreen relay and use in the Relay 7 location turn the a/c down to Low at high fan speed the A/C compressor should run then switch the recirculating air button on and the system air distribution to centre vents the temp coming out of these vents should be approx 7c to 10c at 1500rpm the compressor shouls run constantly and the condenser fans located in front of the radiator should cycle. Keep an eye on the Engine Temp Gauge if it starts to climb above the central needle position and keeps rising towards the High Temp Areathe condenser fans are non operative and will require testing etc. Obviously turn off A/C if this happens. I hope this has been of some help but in most cases its just a faulty relay that causes intermittent problems thus showing the test book icon on the HVAC control panel Good Luck

Regards

DavieP :5bparty:

Just by the radio there is a little grill behind which is a tiny fan and a sensor for the cabin temperature. They get blocked up and the ECU does not get good readings for the cabin temp. Clear it either with a vac or an air line, go gently with the airline tho.

Blend motors. Do a search.

Hi folks - thanks for your ideas so far :

jt and wil - I will probably end up doing that - though a high pressure spurt from the valve led me to think maybe enough gas in the system - though I cant check how much of course.

davie - I switched both condensor fan relays - no change - fans don't move at all. Will try the fuses next.

datatek - I prised off the plastic cover plate - the area in there has indeed got dust and fibre in it - will clean it out gently and see what occurs.

rewmer - will check that out - thanks

Regards

datatek- I gently cleaned out the sensor area above the radio - took off the cover plate - the impleller does move when flicked with an ear bud !! - however no movement when a/c is switched on - no movement from the two condensor fans either - something affecting both units ?

regards

trukka said:

datatek- I gently cleaned out the sensor area above the radio - took off the cover plate - the impleller does move when flicked with an ear bud !! - however no movement when a/c is switched on - no movement from the two condensor fans either - something affecting both units ?

regards

Click to expand...

Petrol or diesel? On the diesel the condensor fans almost never run, not connected with the little sensor fan which should run all the time with the ignition on.
You do know that the aircon is ON when the light on the aircon switch is OFF I hope?

Trust me on this - as I have just shelled out £1k on getting my Climate control working - put it on the testbook or whatever and get the faults read from the HVAC ECU - it does not sound like a regas issue - I would lay money on a blend motor or the condesor sensor, both of which will come up as a fault.
You say that the cheque book sign comes up occasionally, therefore the ECU will have listed that fault

Like datatek said if the little sensor fan isnt running with ignition on you aint going to get anywhere with it, had to change mine cos it kept stopping for no reason, sort that first see what it does then.

Hi again
datatek - the car is a petrol ( 4.6 V8 )
Aircon on ( light off ) - got that

kds - does the little fan / sensor only run with aircon on ?

magictiny - I have tried all permutations of vents and hot/ambient - they all work - is there a seperate blend motor specifically for the aircon ? The condensor sensor you mention - is that the three way one ?

Thanks guys for your input
regards

trukka said:

Hi again
datatek - the car is a petrol ( 4.6 V8 )
Aircon on ( light off ) - got that

kds - does the little fan / sensor only run with aircon on ?

magictiny - I have tried all permutations of vents and hot/ambient - they all work - is there a seperate blend motor specifically for the aircon ? The condensor sensor you mention - is that the three way one ?

Thanks guys for your input
regards

Click to expand...

The condensor sensor is a long stick type thing that pushes through a grommet (I think) into the air box) - my mechanic said it can be got out by just removing the drivers side fascia panel - it is up the top somewhere

The sensor fan needs to run to sense cabin temp for hevac unit, mine even runs with ignition in position one and as that fan costs £80 I now switch ignition off off when car is stood ! No fan running = no control over cabin temp, chances are you still have another problem with hevac only way to find that out is to have fault codes read but if you sort fan out its one less thing wrong.