daran71

Hi - Sounds like you are on to a winner!! 62F is about 16.6C - which is very low!! You really wouldnt want it to be any lower than than, an aircon system in the home/office would proably have its lowest setpoint at 19C or 18C!!

Hi Desperately need a towbar for my MK1 - but cant really afford to splash out

Ive been scanning through the replies and this is what i can come up with - If the engine was running and the compressor was running (this bit is important - because if the system has reached its set point the compressor will cut out) using R134a you should have a low ressure reading of no more than about 20psi or just over 1bar. If its running and you are getting 45 psi then it is overcharged - it cant even be a blockage anywhere as the compressor would trip out very quickly on High Pressure if there was!!! You cant have much lower than 40 degrees F at the vents because to achieve an air temp at the vents the evaporator (which the air passes over to be cooled) must be at a lower temperature - we call this the diff - if its below 0 degrees C then the evap will freeze up and therefore get no airflow through it at all and therefore no cooling or very resistricted airflow at the vents!!! If you are getting 40 F or anout 4.4 C you should be getting a nice amount of cooling and after a few minutes the ambient in the car should get to a comfortable 20-21 C - On another note we havent had anything like those temperatures in the UK over the last few days unless you are in direct sunlight so its possible that the cooling stops because simply the required temperature has been achieved!!! You can check this by whacking the heaters on full blast for 10 mins and getting the car like a furnace and then trying the a/c - I'll bet you feel a pleasant change in the car within 5 mins!!! It sounds like you havent got too many problems and you will probably feel the benefit more if we get a decent summer!!! Oh and I wouldnt rely on those DIY charging kits as they cant tell you how much charge is in the system already or if there is a leak - it may even just overcharge the system and make things worse!!! The onyl sure fire way to be sure the charge is correct is for a competent engineer to evacuate the system and then weigh in the charge. Or use the old fashioned methods on the fly charging - either way it takes specialist equipment and skill!!!

If the overcharge hasnt triggered the HP (high pressure) switch to trip then the system still wont work properly even if its still running and that may be your problem. The other thing to check is the condensor (like the radiator to get rid of the heat) it needs to be clean through the fins to ensure maximum efficiency. I would see if you can get someone who knows what they are doing to do the following- 1 - Reclaim the gas out of the system 2 - Nitrogen pressure test the whole system for leaks 3 - Evacuate the system usng a vac pump for a couple of hours to make sure there is no moisture in the system 4 - Use the nitrogen to blow the condensor clean 5 - Recharge system to the correct levels 6 - Warm the car up with the heaters 7 - Switch on a/c and use the refrigeration guages to check the pressures in the system - a good engineer could actually charge the system without knowing the correct charge and just feather refrigerant in until the pressures were correct!!! 8 - Check the temperature at the vents is correct Hope this helps - spent many a day going through this method on cars and unless there is a major part failed it should sort you out!!!

Hi all Just been out and bought my first Galaxy - Its a 98 1.9tdi!! Generally its ok but there are a few nagging bits that I want to sort out so I thought this would be a good place to start!!! You know the sort of thing - central locking probs, heater control on full power or off only!! I will have a browse !!