Question Regarding Aircon Re-gas

[tpurch]

I purchased the Galaxy in Feb 09 and aircon wasn't working (I assumed that it had a leak) but decided to take it to kwik-fit today to have a re-gas and see what happens. The Aircon is now working but I was told its probably got a slow leak cos the re-charge unit said that the aircon was empty(but it didn't detect any leaks and so it has re-charged it) and that it may only last 4-6months.

 

so far so good but...

 

I was just about to file the receipt and noticed something.....

 

The Cool-Tech report says:

 

RECOVERED 00.000Kg

RECOVERED OIL 0000 ml

 

NO LEAK DETECTED

 

CHARGED 00.700 kg

 

OIL CHARGED 0000 ml

 

Should I be concerned about the fact that OIL CHARGED is 0000ml? I know nothing about aircon so I was wondering if the oil should have been charged or if it means that it didn't remove any from the car so it didn't need to add any?

 

If it does need to be charged with oil do you know how much it requires?

 

Do I need to take the galaxy back to kwik-fit and get them to charge the air-con oil as well?

[mikej]

I would definately question the fact they never put any oil in especially as it shows zero oil to start with. I think there should be 200ml in the system but check before taking my word for it, obviously if there is no oil in the system then you will be saying goodbye to your compressor very soon. Note when the system is vac'd out not all the oil is removed but i would have expected to see some trace on the report. :P

[thetilers]

I purchased the Galaxy in Feb 09 and aircon wasn't working (I assumed that it had a leak) but decided to take it to kwik-fit today to have a re-gas and see what happens. The Aircon is now working but I was told its probably got a slow leak cos the re-charge unit said that the aircon was empty(but it didn't detect any leaks and so it has re-charged it) and that it may only last 4-6months.

 

so far so good but...

 

I was just about to file the receipt and noticed something.....

 

The Cool-Tech report says:

 

RECOVERED 00.000Kg

RECOVERED OIL 0000 ml

 

NO LEAK DETECTED

 

CHARGED 00.700 kg

 

OIL CHARGED 0000 ml

 

Should I be concerned about the fact that OIL CHARGED is 0000ml? I know nothing about aircon so I was wondering if the oil should have been charged or if it means that it didn't remove any from the car so it didn't need to add any?

 

If it does need to be charged with oil do you know how much it requires?

 

Do I need to take the galaxy back to kwik-fit and get them to charge the air-con oil as well?

I would ring and ask if this is a default setting on the equiptment. I took mine into ford for a recharge and thats exactly wha I got. It still came out not working, there reply was:- You asked for a recharge sir.

[tpurch]

Thanks for your replies....I called Kwikfit back and the person I spoke to said that its fine....I was told that the oil contains a dye and is used to find leaks. He said the oil isn't required to make the system work, however the guy did say he wasn't the aircon expert and that I should wait until today and call again because the aircon expert was on shift.....I will let you all know what is said....

[seatkid]

Its normal to recover next to no oil when the system is empty. If the system was half full (350g) I would expect that 30ml or so of oil to be recovered. The machines are programmed to refill with the same amount recovered + 2ml although if the amount recoverd ios zero it might not put back any extra (i.e. 0 ml)

[tpurch]

OK, I have spoke to the aircon expert and he says its fine. There Aircon system charges both gas and oil to the recommended levels, but optionally you can add additional oil with UV dye. The read-out shows the additional oil/dye being added not the total oil added.

[seatkid]

He's lying.

[tpurch]

He's lying.

 

OK, not sure where to go from here then... Two different guys at kwik-fit have told me that its fine and I don't need the oil. How do I prove I do.....?

 

Failing that:

 

Is there a way to check the oil in the system without another re-gas?

Can I add additional oil myself ?

[seatkid]

He's lying.

 

OK, not sure where to go from here then... Two different guys at kwik-fit have told me that its fine and I don't need the oil. How do I prove I do.....?

 

Failing that:

 

Is there a way to check the oil in the system without another re-gas?

Can I add additional oil myself ?

They're lying about the what the readout is saying - kwikfit don't do dye - they don't do aircon repairs or diagnosis - period.

 

But dont worry, the machine didn't recover any oil because your aircon was empty of gas. Oil (about 700ml) sits in the compressor (mainly), dryer, evaporator and condensor. Its still there (or should be) - but you didn't have any gas - it leaked out. Only a tiny proportion of oil is carried in the gas when the a/c is actually working. R134A gas molecules are extremely small and leak out the tiniest opening, the oil molecules are much larger and usually dont leak. (This, by the way, is why using dye is a waste of time on slow leaks) So...to sum up....the gas leaked out, but the oil didnt. So refilling your a/c with gas and no oil is OK.

 

Don't attempt to top up oil - you will probably overfill it and cause more problems. You cannot check the total amount of oil in the system without removing every component (literally everything including pipework, condensor and evaporator and physiclly draining eith item. The only way to reset the oil level is to have the system flushed and reoiled - this is only ever done after a major rebuild.

[tpurch]

They're lying about the what the readout is saying - kwikfit don't do dye - they don't do aircon repairs or diagnosis - period.

 

But dont worry, the machine didn't recover any oil because your aircon was empty of gas. Oil (about 700ml) sits in the compressor (mainly), dryer, evaporator and condensor. Its still there (or should be) - but you didn't have any gas - it leaked out. Only a tiny proportion of oil is carried in the gas when the a/c is actually working. R134A gas molecules are extremely small and leak out the tiniest opening, the oil molecules are much larger and usually dont leak. (This, by the way, is why using dye is a waste of time on slow leaks) So...to sum up....the gas leaked out, but the oil didnt. So refilling your a/c with gas and no oil is OK.

 

Don't attempt to top up oil - you will probably overfill it and cause more problems. You cannot check the total amount of oil in the system without removing every component (literally everything including pipework, condensor and evaporator and physiclly draining eith item. The only way to reset the oil level is to have the system flushed and reoiled - this is only ever done after a major rebuild.

 

Thanks, I get it now! :lol: Thanks seatkid!