Climate Control Not Cooling

[Alhambra]

My wife 02 Alhambra's SINGLE zone CC does not blow much cold air. The past week has been hot her ein Ireland & much to our disappointment the CC is not much use.

 

Even when set to 18 deg C, in AUTo mode, the air is bearly chilled.

 

Coudl it need to be re-gassed or are ther eother issues that may need addressing.

 

as an aside, the control unit's display, when the key is initally switched on, FLASHES all its characters for approx 10 seconds but seems works OK after the 10 seconds. We can adjust the heat, fan speed, air vent directions, etc...

[Bigjeeze]

The CC Unit flashing on start up is an indicator there is a problem. It could be as simple as low gas - You'll need to get it checked.

[lydanial]

isnt that the same with all the air con on these cars.. none of them work!!!

 

i find that on auto it blows a lot slower than normal so i tend to set it on low and get the cabin cool then adjust to a temperature setting on auto, this seems to work better than any other way i have found.

 

if anyone has any other ways they use theres please add there opinions.

[Bigjeeze]

isnt that the same with all the air con on these cars.. none of them work!!!

 

i find that on auto it blows a lot slower than normal so i tend to set it on low and get the cabin cool then adjust to a temperature setting on auto, this seems to work better than any other way i have found.

 

if anyone has any other ways they use theres please add there opinions.

 

 

I have the dual units and yes it does blow softly on Auto - except when the temperature is high and it wants to cool the interior down then it goes into maximum blow mode until the temp lowers then it goes back to soft - I assume then to just maintain the temp.

[NikpV]

isnt that the same with all the air con on these cars.. none of them work!!!

 

i find that on auto it blows a lot slower than normal so i tend to set it on low and get the cabin cool then adjust to a temperature setting on auto, this seems to work better than any other way i have found.

 

if anyone has any other ways they use theres please add there opinions.

 

 

at the risk of immediately inducing a fault :D ours has been fine - possibly not quite as icy as it was but its 4.5 years old now :D

[Wideboy]

Yeah could be a re-gas or something more untoward,ours was the same flashing when you first put ignition on,took it for a regas/service and after bloke said that either our compressor was had it

[sanjsanj]

I've had weird behavior wit my gal as well...

when i bought it 3(?) weeks ago, the CC used to flash on start up but it still used to cool- properly.

 

about 1.5 weeks in, i notice its stopped flashing without me doing anything*!

 

*the ciggy lighter wasn't working for my sat-nav and the fuse seemed ok, i took it to the usual guys and they fixed it(wiring problem or something)....now I couldn't remeber when it actually stopped flashing but i know it definitly stopped after fixing the ciggy lighter- could this have anything to do with it?

[mumof4]

I've had weird behavior wit my gal as well...

when i bought it 3(?) weeks ago, the CC used to flash on start up but it still used to cool- properly.

 

about 1.5 weeks in, i notice its stopped flashing without me doing anything*!

 

*the ciggy lighter wasn't working for my sat-nav and the fuse seemed ok, i took it to the usual guys and they fixed it(wiring problem or something)....now I couldn't remeber when it actually stopped flashing but i know it definitly stopped after fixing the ciggy lighter- could this have anything to do with it?

 

 

No idea, mine aleways flashes on startup..then it might be ok..then it will flash again..temperamental i guess like most teens!!Prob needs regassing, ill get that done when it no longer works i guess!

[seatkid]

No idea, mine aleways flashes on startup..then it might be ok..then it will flash again..temperamental i guess like most teens!!Prob needs regassing, ill get that done when it no longer works i guess!

This is strongest evidence yet of climate change.... :D

[mumof4]

No idea, mine aleways flashes on startup..then it might be ok..then it will flash again..temperamental i guess like most teens!!Prob needs regassing, ill get that done when it no longer works i guess!

This is strongest evidence yet of climate change.... :(

 

 

 

:D :D :D :( :( :(

[Alhambra]

Deciding that today was the day to sort out the CC issue I decided to open the bonnet, remove the 2 black dust covers & press in the "valves" of the two pipe.

 

When i did that there was a faint Hisss from the 1st valve but when i pressed in the 2nd valve I heard nothing.

 

I rang Halfords for a re-gassing kit, approx

[Guest Cepheus]

Hi Alhambra, and welcome to the forum.

 

To assist other members in answering your questions, please can you put your vehicle details in your signature?

 

Secondly, heroin is brown ... erm ... so I'm told lol

 

Thirdly, if you use the search facility at the top of the page you'll find many helpful threads that provide all the Air Con and CC answers you are looking for.

 

:lol:

[raymac]

I've had weird behavior wit my gal as well...

when i bought it 3(?) weeks ago, the CC used to flash on start up but it still used to cool- properly.

 

about 1.5 weeks in, i notice its stopped flashing without me doing anything*!

 

*the ciggy lighter wasn't working for my sat-nav and the fuse seemed ok, i took it to the usual guys and they fixed it(wiring problem or something)....now I couldn't remeber when it actually stopped flashing but i know it definitly stopped after fixing the ciggy lighter- could this have anything to do with it?

 

 

No idea, mine aleways flashes on startup..then it might be ok..then it will flash again..temperamental i guess like most teens!!Prob needs regassing, ill get that done when it no longer works i guess!

 

Having been at the regas shop yesterday and reading up on the way aircon works and the reasons it fails it be would advisable to get the regas done before it packs up as they have to put oil in the gas which in turn lubricates the compressor if you run your aircon all the time and there is insufficient oil in gas then you will be putting the compressor at risk and that is a megabucks job :lol:

[Ogben Schmutzel]

Been through all this!!

 

Climate unit flashing means that something IS wrong, commonly low gas.

 

I know mine is empty because I can't afford to have it fixed as it is looking like its the evaporator having already spent several hundred pounds on fixing leaks in other places.

 

On mine the climate unit flashes sometimes and not others. I reckon if I kept a log it would turn out that it stops flashing after a so many starts, and then after a few more it starts to flash again.

 

I have to say that I am currently considering trading in the vehicle and getting something with a decent warranty and that doesn

[NikpV]

NikpV

[Ogben Schmutzel]

:( No need to apologise - look on the positive side, you will then be able to engage in all the climate/aircon discussions from a position of experience!!

 

Regards.

Oggy.

[Triple Trouble]

My CC works sporadically at best but no flashing control panel. When it decides to play ball it is coooling but not 'freezing' and the air is definitely drier. When it throws a strop nothing but normal outside air comes though BUT I have noticed when driving a slight hesitancy from the engine every 5-10 seconds, and at idle this is pronounced as almost a judder through the car and a slight rumble. Anyone got any ideas please before I get the stealers to look at it!

[Alhambra]

Went to local Halfords todays & spent

[Ogben Schmutzel]

At least with a leak of that magnitude detection should not be a problem. Mine is so slow and intermittent it is impossible. The garage that looks after mine are trying to find the leak rather than go through a very expensive schedule of replacing everything like the dealer would do!

 

To do that they have used a 'sniffer' device, but the leak is so slow that the results are not conclusive. Also they have used a sort of leak detector gel (bit like a fairly liquid solution but the bubbles get much bigger). Still need to be able to see everything and certain components are very difficult to get a seal on so that the leak can be physically seen.

 

Also they are able to pressurise with nitrogen which is cheaper than a regass, especially when it only lasts 30 mins or so.

 

It all comes down to the fact that unless you can lay you hands on some specialist kit you are in the hands of the garages.

 

One of the first leaks that I had was very visible and easy and relatively cheap to fix but there are others that can

[Alhambra]

I would have thought that after pumping at least 2/3 of 500g grams of refridgerant, which has oil & a sealant in it, into the a/c sytem it would have produce a visble oily leak..... not the case.

 

What can i use to pressureise it, cheaply, 7 then detect the leak?

[Ogben Schmutzel]

To state what I am sure is obvious, I am not an expert but based on my own experience I have lost all my refrigerant as follows.

 

1. Just lost pressure. Could not find a cause. Regassed and system stayed full for months, albeit over winter, but with CC running.

 

2. Small hairline crack in one of the pipes leading up to the refill valve. There was the slightest of fluorescent green smudges in the place that it had gone. Nothing else.

 

3. Current problem is yet to be located but possible areas are pipe work, but that has been leak tested as well as can be.

 

4. Could be the evaporator. I understand (have not done it myself) that if you remove the tray under the engine you should be able to locate the drain for the condensation that forms around the evaporator. If the evaporator has gone then there should be oily residue in that pipe or on the tray. However I have been told that it is possible for the evaporator to go near the top and not actually leak oil, just gas and pressure.

 

5. Could be the Condenser, which I have been told that is more than likely the culprit when a leak cannot be pin pointed.

 

Best of luck and let us all know how you get on.

 

Cheers.

Oggy.

[Guest smurf]

Hi everybody i know i dont give a lot to this forum but this is something i do know about having just had the same problems, but i was sneaky and aquired a ford mechanic at less than half the price. Right, the cc unit flashing is to let you know theres a problem? normally running out of gas most frequent leak is from the main pipe sited on the front left side as you open bonnet and running down and around the N/S wing fords want

[TinTentTourist]

Count us in on this too. :D

3 years and 3 month old Gal with 53k miles on the clock, and as soon as we get a bit of hot weather we find the climate control is trying to cook us.

Checked the forums and went to our friendly NON Ford main dealer garage for a regas. He wanted to have a go with his fairly new piece of kit.

So on the fancy little Sun aircon reconditioner we find we have 0.08 of a Kg of gas in the system!! Which by any standard is not very much.

NO oil comes out and a vacuum test shows we have no leaks - so there is hope.

Then, it starts

[Bigjeeze]

There are two differing figures for oil & gas depending on whether you have Dual Air con - The dual system requires the higher figures. If you have roof vents in the passenger cabin - IE 3 in the first row and 2 in the back then you have the dual Air con - if not then you have the standard and the lower figures should be used.

 

The other problems I can't ehlp with but there is a ton of info on this site - Air Con is the most talked about subject!!

[TinTentTourist]

There are two differing figures for oil & gas depending on whether you have Dual Air con - The dual system requires the higher figures. If you have roof vents in the passenger cabin - IE 3 in the first row and 2 in the back then you have the dual Air con - if not then you have the standard and the lower figures should be used.

 

The other problems I can't ehlp with but there is a ton of info on this site - Air Con is the most talked about subject!!

Noted thanks - I have trawled the forum and it is broadly helpful. Looks like I have the single system, so I probably have too much gas in it now! (is that a bad thing considering it leaks out????)

There are no independents advertising locally so I may have to go to the Ford main stealer. Thing is I only have a month 'till I holiday in France towing my tin tent and the "little darlings" are set to boil unless I get it sorted.