R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #1

Hi all

The aircon stopped working on the RR (P38a 4.6) yesterday - just before the
warmest day of the last two months. Arse. It's blowing air at ambient
temperature at slow speeds, and coolish air at higher speeds, but never the
icy blast that it is capable of. On the auto setting the blowers are
blowing like mad full-time (trying in vain to cool the cabin down with hot
air). This happened last year, and it was a faulty compressor, replaced
under warranty. This time, the compressor seems fine (inlet pipe cool,
outlet pipe hot, can hear clutch working when turned on and off), but the
condenser fans are not turning at all. I'm guessing that this is the reason
why at slow speeds, with no air flow through the condenser, it's blowing hot
air, but at higher speeds the airflow is cooling the fluid to some extent.
The official LR manual only gives two reasons for this - a blown fuse 34 or
a loose connection, which ain't much use. (I don't have the ETM.) So far I
have checked:

Fuse 34 (and also 31, 36, 37, 8 and 17, which are mentioned in the manual as
powering the fans)
No obvious loose connections (although I haven't had the grille off yet)
Hevac unit new last year (thank Maurice Wilks for warranties)
Compressor new last year (ditto)

Anyone have any bright ideas? It's due in for service soon, but it's out of
warranty now so if I can fix it myself first I will.

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

L

Lee_D

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #2

"Richard Brookman" <newsboy@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:chiarm$64h$1@hercules.btinternet.com...
> Hi all
>
> The aircon stopped working on the RR (P38a 4.6) yesterday - just before
the
> warmest day of the last two months. Arse. It's blowing air at ambient
> temperature at slow speeds, and coolish air at higher speeds, but never
the
> icy blast that it is capable of. On the auto setting the blowers are
> blowing like mad full-time (trying in vain to cool the cabin down with hot
> air). This happened last year, and it was a faulty compressor, replaced
> under warranty. This time, the compressor seems fine (inlet pipe cool,
> outlet pipe hot, can hear clutch working when turned on and off), but the
> condenser fans are not turning at all. I'm guessing that this is the
reason
> why at slow speeds, with no air flow through the condenser, it's blowing
hot
> air, but at higher speeds the airflow is cooling the fluid to some extent.
> The official LR manual only gives two reasons for this - a blown fuse 34
or
> a loose connection, which ain't much use. (I don't have the ETM.) So far
I
> have checked:
>
> Fuse 34 (and also 31, 36, 37, 8 and 17, which are mentioned in the manual
as
> powering the fans)
> No obvious loose connections (although I haven't had the grille off yet)
> Hevac unit new last year (thank Maurice Wilks for warranties)
> Compressor new last year (ditto)
>
> Anyone have any bright ideas? It's due in for service soon, but it's out
of
> warranty now so if I can fix it myself first I will.

May need the refrigerant toping up / replacing. Had the Same symptoms on Mrs
D's latest Disco. Got it tested and recharged (£75 at home service) and all
was well again. I asked the chap who did it how often it needed to be doen
and he said roughly every 3 years or so.. The more often it's used the
longer it lasts if that makes any kind of sense!

Lee D

--

www.lrproject.com

Workshop photos from Landrover repairs
& other such tinkerings.
Home of Percy the Jag powered Landrover

 

C

Curtis Keller

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #3

Check the freon levels - if the compressor is short cycling less than 30
seconds on / then off - then the freon may be low.

My wife's P38 - had one of the thermostatic motors go out. Randy
Cunnihams' site has a excellent information on how to access the
thermostatic motors. They are a real pain in the ... to get to. Since I
leave in Houston - I just disable the central thermostatic motor and cranked
in to MAX cool. With a clever piece of wire on the level arm - I can
manipulate the temperature in about 2 minutes. So probably in December -
I'll crank it to heat. Email me if you need the link.

The motors are about 130$ US - for the set of 3.

curtis

"Lee_D" <lee@lrproject.com> wrote in message
news:Ve2%c.2808$zq.1230@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...
> "Richard Brookman" <newsboy@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:chiarm$64h$1@hercules.btinternet.com...
> > Hi all
> >
> > The aircon stopped working on the RR (P38a 4.6) yesterday - just before
> the
> > warmest day of the last two months. Arse. It's blowing air at ambient
> > temperature at slow speeds, and coolish air at higher speeds, but never
> the
> > icy blast that it is capable of. On the auto setting the blowers are
> > blowing like mad full-time (trying in vain to cool the cabin down with
hot
> > air). This happened last year, and it was a faulty compressor, replaced
> > under warranty. This time, the compressor seems fine (inlet pipe cool,
> > outlet pipe hot, can hear clutch working when turned on and off), but
the
> > condenser fans are not turning at all. I'm guessing that this is the
> reason
> > why at slow speeds, with no air flow through the condenser, it's blowing
> hot
> > air, but at higher speeds the airflow is cooling the fluid to some
extent.
> > The official LR manual only gives two reasons for this - a blown fuse 34
> or
> > a loose connection, which ain't much use. (I don't have the ETM.) So
far
> I
> > have checked:
> >
> > Fuse 34 (and also 31, 36, 37, 8 and 17, which are mentioned in the
manual
> as
> > powering the fans)
> > No obvious loose connections (although I haven't had the grille off yet)
> > Hevac unit new last year (thank Maurice Wilks for warranties)
> > Compressor new last year (ditto)
> >
> > Anyone have any bright ideas? It's due in for service soon, but it's
out
> of
> > warranty now so if I can fix it myself first I will.
>
> May need the refrigerant toping up / replacing. Had the Same symptoms on
Mrs
> D's latest Disco. Got it tested and recharged (£75 at home service) and
all
> was well again. I asked the chap who did it how often it needed to be doen
> and he said roughly every 3 years or so.. The more often it's used the
> longer it lasts if that makes any kind of sense!
>
> Lee D
>
> --
>
> www.lrproject.com
>
> Workshop photos from Landrover repairs
> & other such tinkerings.
> Home of Percy the Jag powered Landrover
>
>
>

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #4

Lee_D wrote:
>
> May need the refrigerant toping up / replacing. Had the Same symptoms
> on Mrs D's latest Disco. Got it tested and recharged (£75 at home
> service) and all was well again. I asked the chap who did it how
> often it needed to be doen and he said roughly every 3 years or so..
> The more often it's used the longer it lasts if that makes any kind
> of sense!
>
> Lee D

May be a silly question, but why would a lack of refrigerant stop the fans
working? Was this an independent aircon magician - and if so, where did you
find him (thoughts of 80GBP/hour main dealer charges...)?

BTW, the aircon is on 100% of the time. Even in a British winter, it makes
the cabin a more pleasant place to be. The RR is now 7 years old, so maybe
I should regard recharging as just maintenance at this stage.

Cheers.

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

S

Stephen Mawson

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #5

> May be a silly question, but why would a lack of refrigerant stop the fans
> working? Was this an independent aircon magician - and if so, where did
> you
> find him (thoughts of 80GBP/hour main dealer charges...)?
>
(snip)>
> Cheers.
>
> Rich

Mine seems to have a pressure switch in the system which cuts the compressor
and fans if the pressure of the refrigerant goes below a certain point. The
first symptom of refrigerant leakage is the compressor not coming on.

Stephen

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #6

Curtis Keller wrote:
> Check the freon levels - if the compressor is short cycling less than
> 30 seconds on / then off - then the freon may be low.
>
Thanks, Curtis. I had checked Andy's site and rangerovers.net, and while
they contain valuable stuff on more major problems, mine seems to be much
simpler. All the components seem to be working fine, except that the fans
don't come on. It points to an electrical failure (fuse, connection)
somewhere - I just wondered if anyone had had a similar problem. Out with
the multimeter and chase it back, I suppose.

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

A

AndyC the WB

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #7

>>>>> "Richard" == Richard Brookman <newsboy@nowhere.com> writes:

Richard> Hi all The aircon stopped working on the RR (P38a 4.6)
Richard> yesterday - just before the warmest day of the last two
Richard> months. Arse. It's blowing air at ambient temperature


I'd agree (from personal experience) with the other comments about low
refrigerant. Get it gassed (I can recommend someone based around
Ascot if you're in this part of the world), and they should add a dye
to it too - then check a few weeks later for signs of leaks. It may
be natural seepage, or you may have rotted a hole in the condensor.

Andy



--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Andy Cunningham | Check out www.vehicle-diagnostics.co.uk |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| http://www.p38a.co.uk - Everything you wanted to know |
| about the P38A Range Rover but were afraid to ask. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
"Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum
immane mittam" (I have a catapult. Give me all your money, or I will
fling an enormous rock at your head.) -- Roman bank robber.

 

L

Lee_D

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #8

"Richard Brookman" <newsboy@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:chil3d$pv7$1@titan.btinternet.com...

> May be a silly question, but why would a lack of refrigerant stop the fans
> working? Was this an independent aircon magician - and if so, where did
you
> find him (thoughts of 80GBP/hour main dealer charges...)?

Whoops missed the fans not working bit... and I never had that. I'd begin to
suspect a relay or as you have already a fuse somewhere.

The guy was discovered by word of mouth.. If your near to North Staffs or
south west Derbyshire let me know and I'll post you his contact details.

Lee D

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 9, 2004

• #9

Stephen Mawson wrote:
>> May be a silly question, but why would a lack of refrigerant stop
>> the fans working? Was this an independent aircon magician - and if
>> so, where did you
>> find him (thoughts of 80GBP/hour main dealer charges...)?
>>
> (snip)>
>> Cheers.
>>
>> Rich
>
> Mine seems to have a pressure switch in the system which cuts the
> compressor and fans if the pressure of the refrigerant goes below a
> certain point. The first symptom of refrigerant leakage is the
> compressor not coming on.
>
> Stephen

Ah yes - I'd read that but not quite remembered it. Thanks, makes sense.

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 9, 2004

• #10

AndyC the WB wrote:
>>>>>> "Richard" == Richard Brookman <newsboy@nowhere.com> writes:
>
> Richard> Hi all The aircon stopped working on the RR (P38a 4.6)
> Richard> yesterday - just before the warmest day of the last two
> Richard> months. Arse. It's blowing air at ambient temperature
>
>
> I'd agree (from personal experience) with the other comments about low
> refrigerant. Get it gassed (I can recommend someone based around
> Ascot if you're in this part of the world), and they should add a dye
> to it too - then check a few weeks later for signs of leaks. It may
> be natural seepage, or you may have rotted a hole in the condensor.
>
> Andy
>

Looks like it may be low on gas - I'll get it checked out. Fraid I'm in
West Wales, so it needs to be a local outfit. Out with the yellowing pages.

Thanks to all for the input.

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 25, 2004

• #11

Richard Brookman wrote:
> AndyC the WB wrote:
>> Richard> The aircon stopped working on the RR (P38a 4.6)
>> Richard> yesterday - just before the warmest day of the last two
>> Richard> months. Arse. It's blowing air at ambient temperature
>>
>>
>> I'd agree (from personal experience) with the other comments about
>> low refrigerant. Get it gassed (I can recommend someone based around
>> Ascot if you're in this part of the world), and they should add a dye
>> to it too - then check a few weeks later for signs of leaks. It may
>> be natural seepage, or you may have rotted a hole in the condensor.
>>
>> Andy
>>

Found a local aircon specialist, but was strongly advised against them by a
friend, so I let the main dealer have a look when I took it in for a
service. They've recharged the system and now it works fine. It was
checked with ultraviolet, too - no leaks found. Cost was just over a ton
plus the dreaded. I don't know how this compares with an independent, but
at least it's done.

Thanks Andy and the rest for the help.


--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

S

SimonJ

Guest

• Sep 25, 2004

• #12

> Found a local aircon specialist, but was strongly advised against them by
a
> friend, so I let the main dealer have a look when I took it in for a
> service. They've recharged the system and now it works fine. It was
> checked with ultraviolet, too - no leaks found. Cost was just over a ton
> plus the dreaded. I don't know how this compares with an independent, but
> at least it's done.
>
Not bad at all for a main dealer, I paid an independent £70 to do mine.

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 25, 2004

• #13

SimonJ wrote:
>> Found a local aircon specialist, but was strongly advised against
>> them by a friend, so I let the main dealer have a look when I took
>> it in for a service. They've recharged the system and now it works
>> fine. It was checked with ultraviolet, too - no leaks found. Cost
>> was just over a ton plus the dreaded. I don't know how this
>> compares with an independent, but at least it's done.
>>
> Not bad at all for a main dealer, I paid an independent £70 to do
> mine.

<phew> Not been conned *too* badly, then

I asked how often they needed recharging, and they "recommended" every two
years. I know that's a little make-work device, but the car has done 65K in
7 years with nothing to say it's been done before, so I guess that's
more-or-less long-term maintenance.

Incidentally, they noticed that the air springs are starting to show early
signs of cracking. I'd noticed that too, but I put it as one of those
issues that get better if you ignore it. Anyone know a good bulk supplier
of Sellotape?

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• Sep 26, 2004

• #14

EMB was greatly moved, and spake thus, saying:

> Going by the book A/C should have a new
> receiver/dryer every 3 years or so which will involve a re-gas and
> cost about 70 to 100 quid.

Should have read the service book more carefully. Thanks.

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

 

E

EMB

Guest

• Sep 26, 2004

• #15

Richard Brookman wrote:
> EMB was greatly moved, and spake thus, saying:
>
>
>>Going by the book A/C should have a new
>>receiver/dryer every 3 years or so which will involve a re-gas and
>>cost about 70 to 100 quid.
>
>
> Should have read the service book more carefully. Thanks.
>
Not the RR book, the A/C bible.

--
EMB
change two to the number to reply