Air Con Clutc ?

[muppetofdoom]

Hi, just had the air con re gassed as it needed it, and after about 40 miles or so there was an awful smell and some smoke from the front of the engine bay, turning off the air con stopped the smoking and hence smell. Now there is just a slightly annoying sound all the time the engine is running even with the air con off. Having looked around on here i'm guessing the clutch has frakked up ? :D . Is it likely to be the whole unit or just the clutch ?, If just the clutch how hard is it as i'm not exactly what you'd call a diy er ? cheers peeps in advance :P

[Mirez]

I would suggest its far more likely to be a seized compressor, if the action of turning off the A/C stops it then theoretically the clutch must be engaged and then disengages when you press the button - as it should do.

 

Has it been not been working for a long time prior to the regas? If not then I would be highly suspect of the garage having overfilled the A/C system with the amount needed for dual A/C (not at all uncommon) which may then pass liquid into the compressor (which can't be compressed - hence it seizes or fractures), in which case I would get it evacuated by another company with a record of exactly what was recovered - if its more then 775g then it's been overfilled. On the otherhand if the answer was yes, it hasn't been working, then its probably just naturally seized through lack of lubrication.

 

Either way a new compressor isn't really a DIY job, its easy enough to change but you'll need to get the system drained before you start, then evacuated and filled afterwards which normally makes it easier to just get them to change it at the same time and save all the journeys.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Mirez

[muppetofdoom]

Cheers for your reply,

 

Not been that long, unfortunately the garage that did it have already removed the gas as a quick fix ie. to stop the air con turning on and i doubt they will tell me how much they put in now ? :P Is there any way i can stop the constant noise it now makes ?

[Bigjeeze]

Muppt - what Mirez means is that you take it to someone else who removes all the refrigerant and checks the amount - It does indeed sound like too much refrigerant has been added - The amount it requires should be on a sticcker on the front of the bonnet landing - there are two figures the higher one being for dual air con systems - Unless you have the vents in the rood ( five of them) then you require the lower amount.

[muppetofdoom]

Yeh, i get that point, but when it started smoking i just whent staright to the garage and basically said WTF !, they told me that it was shafted and that they had removed the refigerant to stop the system kicking in' so there is no way i can find out how much they put in now, cus i'm doubting they'll tell me the truth now ! :P the only up side is that as the sytem is now empty i guess it's safe to work on . Edited July 31, 2010 by muppetofdoom

[chrispb123456]

Hi there

You didn't say who re-gassed your system im guessing it was kwik fit or similar? you hear of regular disasters from these places, your much better off in the long term to go to an auto air-con specialist. They will remove and measure any refrigerant left in the system, vacuum system, leak test, and not till then if everythings OK refill with the correct amount of refrigerant and oil.

 

After you had the system emptied did they give you your money back?

[muppetofdoom]

Yeh, kwik fit for my sins, should of known better i guess, mind you they did pass my MOT for me , just sent them a harsh email including the info supplied by you helpful chaps on here, here's hoping i get some kind of positive response !

[Mirez]

Pfff, the reply will be "We filled the system to the lower level, since we've now recovered all the gas you won't be able to prove anything but... see ya!" You won't get anywhere with them, just don't use them again!!!

[muppetofdoom]

if i cant find a way to reduce the noise it now makes as soon as the engine is running,

 

i fear the old 'gal may have to go :P and i'll have to start walking for a few months :D

 

thanks for ya help guys !

[Mirez]

You could buy an aux belt for a model without A/C - you can then simply bypass the compressor entirely.

[muppetofdoom]

cheers for the help, are the belts easy to fit ?

[muppetofdoom]

Kwik fit called today and told me if i get an independant report that says the damage could of been caused by overgassing the system they will 'sort something out' . My problem now is that the couple of local air con places i've tried don't wanna know ! , any ideas folks on what i do now ? -_- Edited August 4, 2010 by muppetofdoom

[gregers]

how about contacting an independent aircon specialist out of say your local friday ad and have a chat with them to see if they can help.

[muppetofdoom]

Hi, i've now tried 5 different places and not one of them is willing to put on paper that it is feasable that overgassing caused the failure -_- so basically i'm not a happy bunny. All i need is someone to write basically what has been stated as above that works in the trade and i stand a chance, why is this so bloomin' hard to find peeps ! Do they all love Kwik Fit ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to rant a bit but i'm somewhat pissed off -_-