Air Conditioning Confusion

[Guest ukzburg]

Can some one tell me on my galaxy tdi 97 the air conditioning can seem to run on hot and cold is this correct. If so having read all the other items on the a/c topic does running it on warm count as using the a/c as people say you need to run it even in the winter to keep the unit in good condition? or is what I have not air conditioning? :angry:

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Air conditioning can run hot and cold; aircon dries (de-humidifies) the air hence stopping the windows from misting up, then heats or cools it to the temperature you want. Aircon DOESN'T MEAN COLD AIR!

For best results, and continued lubrication of the seals in the aircon system, leave it on all year round. Only switch it off when the outside air temp is just above freezing (typically 1 degree C) or below.

[Guest ukzburg]

thanks for answer, but 1 more question on a/c how often do you need to have it gassed up as people have been sayin or is just when it seems to stop working.

[Guest Andyjflet]

I think it all depends on your vehicle, I have an Alfa 156 which is 2 years old and needs gassing regularly and was particularly useless this summer. However I always leave it on all year round, was told by a seperate air conditioning company thats the best way, if its going to leak it will leak. However, leaving it off for long periods creates more problems eventually with condensation etc.

 

If its working fine then I would leave it running for as many trips as you can, longer trip the better.

[ALARM MAN]

Air con does mean cold air as it is the only means of chilling air

It should be run on cold setting so as to make the compresser run to chill

the air and sending oil and gas around the system regulaly

just running hot will not use the aircon system

 

Adjusting temp will alow a certain amount of hot and cold through to mix

 

Regards Ian

[Tigger]

So just running the CC on auto will not always use the AC? Or do we have to run it cold as well? to get the circulation to the unit that is required?

[dodge]

As for how often to re gas air con,there is no such thing as a leak free system.Natural leakage will occour from rubber hoses,o rings at joints and connections and the compressor drive shaft seal. The ammount of gas loss will depend on the age of the system and how it has been used. During long periods of no use the compressor seal can dry out as it relies on lubrication from oil that is carried around the system with the refrigerant. That said it is benificial to use air con all year round for system condition and it serves as an excellent de mister. Leaks above what is deemed normal can be a right */#_* to trace,so if and when you have the system serviced and re charged, get your A/C technician to inject leak tracing dye which is visable under a UV lamp. If you think your system is low on gas get it sorted sooner rather than later, low gas = low lubrication to the compressor = new compressor =

[Ivor_E_Tower]

seem to remember that suggested idea is to regas at 2 years and refill (pump all gas out, dry and refill with gas and compressor oil) every 4 years, ie alternate between regas and "service" at 2 year intervals.

[william]

auto air con systems for best performance need to be re-gased every 2-3 years. Although this could be done by just topping up as Ivor suggests, most places will do a full evacuate and re-charge as this is easier for them (automatic service tool) and cost the end-user (you) more cash.

 

How often this should be done does depend on age/condition as Dodge points out.

 

Running it all year is not a problem, on CC units the system will stop it working when the ambient is below about 3 deg C and on Manual systems there is a low pressure switch and frost thermostst which will also stop it working at low ambients.

[Guest airconjohn]

Stumbled over fordgalaxy.org yesterday and found the post very interesting, particularly the comments on the aircon as that is my specialisation. I saw a comment regarding the pollen filter when it was suggested that it was to be thrown away -I wouldn't go as far as that, but please do replace it regularly - we believe that a blocked pollen filter may well be responsible for causing the ac evaporator to leak. This is a particularly nasty and expensive repair as it is a dashboard out job. Evaporators leak only rarely in Europe and then only in a few unfortunate models. The Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra is unfortunately one of those models.

I would agree that it needs a recover/evacuate/recharge about every three years - better and cheaper than leaving it until it is nearly empty and the compressor gives up the ghost. From a specialist this should cost around 60 quid.

For information, the refrigerant moves the lubricant around the ac system so that when the gas has mostly escaped, not only has the compressor got to work harder as it is trying to suck gas that is in short supply, it is not receiving a nice cool supply of cold gas so it gets extremely hot and it is also not receiving as much lubricant as it needs - ergo - it seizes. If you would like a little more basic information on aircon have a look at www.airconditioningforcars.co.uk

[Guest The Doctor]

My delaer says that they hand over all AC jobs to a local refigeration comapny. They only charge

[Ivor_E_Tower]

You don't need to worry, only 2 main gases and the older one is being phased out due to environmantal reasons. All cars produced in the last few years have the latest gas (R134?).

 

And do tell where you can get a gas top-up for

[Jim]

These maybe a silly questions, but at this time of year, is there a way for Joe Public to

 

1. Test that the air con is working

 

2. Ascertain what helath state it is in

[Mussey1]

How often should the pollen filter be changed??

 

Once a year or should it be mileage based??

 

Thanks.

 

Mussey1.

[seatkid]

Jim,

You first need to make sure its well above 5 deg C ambient (i.e. outside the car) before you check - the systems have a sensor that prevent operation below 5 deg to stop the evaporator core from icing up.

 

Open bonnet, start engine, switch a/c off, get someone to listen under bonnet. Switch a/c on. They should hear a loud clack from the compressor as its electromagnetic clutch engages. The engine revs will probably dip momentarily. this means a/c is basically working...

 

You need to have quite a high ambient temperature to assess if a/c is working to spec. (probably 15 deg + ). Place a themometer or temperature probe in a dashboard vent. Turn system temperature to coldest setting max fan speed. With a/c working correctly, you will get vent air temperatures of between 5 to 8 deg C for outside temperatures of 15 to 25 deg C.

 

If the a/c does not demist your windows quickly (ambient temp > 5deg), it might indicate weak or no operation or blocked drainage.

 

 

BTW -Ivor/The Doctor-, there are up to 12 different gases used by refrigeration companies (mostly incompatible with each others systems). The old R12 gas is now banned - Galaxies use R134A (clearly marked under bonnet) - Latest gas in fridges is R600 (butane!!) but I don't think this is used in cars.

 

One thing to note, I had to stop one refrigeration company who offered to fill my car, when they took out some pipe cutters ;) ;) ;) They wanted to fit a "standard connector" as their equipment would not fit the Ford/Seat propriety connector(s).

 

Watch out! :huh:

 

Mussey,

20000 miles/every year is latest Ford recommendation. Personally I think this is way too often, but this has arisen because of poor quality evaporators ( the radiator that gives the "cold") that corroded supposedly due to external pollution. Therefore Ford are covering their backs...

[Tigger]

Just popping this topic to the top of the list so I can check if things are OK.