Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

Ok, my MY98WRX air con does not seem to be working.

I have tested to see if the system has pressure and it does. Not sure how much it should have tho.

When I press the AC button there is no load put on the engine like there used to be.

Checked all fuses and they are ok. Dont know where the relay for the air con is. Any ideas?

Cheers,

Wayne.

GlenBec

wayne

Difficult to see how much pressure is in there without putting a/c gauges on the ports
IIRC there is a single wire going to the a/c clutch which connects on top of the compressor, put a live feed to that wire while the car is running and it should bring in the clutch. Leave it in for a short while and check the low side pipe (fatter one) it should go really cold. If it doesnt there probably isnt enough gas in the system, if it does there is a number of electrical faults it could have, like faulty pressure switches. Sometimes if it has not been used for a while, manually bringing in the clutch can get the system working again. But dont bring the clutch in for to long, if there's no gas in the system in can burn out the compressor.

Hope that helps

Glenbec

crusher

Halfords are now selling various aircon refill kits...with pressure gauges etc...you could try checking the pressure/refilling yourself for a fraction of cost of getting it done in a garage...

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

yeah but if it needs gas regas then you have wasted your money!
Wayne,
when you put air con on do both engine fans start, and compressor clutch engage ?
if fans run and front part off compressor is running probably low pressure!
bet you dont use during winter
bring it up i will put gauges on and check pressure for you!
main Fuse is in dash behind coin cubby, Relays are under bonnet in relay/ fuse box

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

No fans or air con clutch engaging. Its as iff no power is getting there.

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

Ok, tested some more stuff today.

Continuity checked every fuse and they are all ok.

Tried hearing for the relay kicking in in the main fuse box and it doesnt. Swopped it over with another and still the same.

There is a block of 3 wires going to the compressor. I put a 12v feed to the single one that goes to the front and the compressor buzzes. The air con did not kick in and the engine speed remained the same.

What is the unit next to the IC? Shown here.


http://www.zen24039.zen.co.uk/Scooby...IC/Welding.JPG


What is the little window for at the top, a level? Also, do the 2 wires going to it create a level switch to let the air con kick in?

I'm thinking that I should be able to see something through the window but it is just clear.

Any other ideas, or does it sound like a gas problem?

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

Sorted it!!

I would imagine that the air con system has a built in pressure circuit that shuts it down in the event that the gas escapes. So, Ive bought one of those refill cans from Halfords and refilled/pressurised the system. It was at zero psi or there abouts. Its now between 24 and 45 psi which according to the can is about right. It blows cold like it never did before so I would imagine it has always been on the low side since I have owned it.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys.

One last question. Is it normal for water (at least I think its water) to be coming from the hose in the bulkhead, the one that points downwards?

Cheers,

Wayne.

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

unit at side of intercooler is filter /drier. it filters out crap and moisture.
wires on top go to low pressure switch .
it is normal for water from bulkhead ,this is drain for evaporator , condensation drails there!
only thing is, without pressure testing, if you have a leak it will just all p*$$ out again .

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

I will let you know if the pressure holds up. I may yet have to pay you a visit if this hasn't sorted it permanently

crusher

glad the halfords cans at least go it started..
silver sonic.. I thought these Halfords refills had a mix of gas+lube?...but probably not the real mackoy then?...

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

Apparently they include ,lube, dye ,sealant and refrigerant, so for a small leak may be ok!
never used them tho!
don,t know much about them but surely when you connect ,you have air in applicator tube , using gauges you vac out so everything is under vacuum before gas goes in, so no air whatsoever!

poo2y

iTrader: (2)

The little window is for inspection I was told today when mine was getting a regas, exactly the same symptoms as yours. If you see nothing then your system is empty ,bubbles means a leak and green (on mine) means everything is ok . The aircon needs to be switched on . Hope this helps, Nigel.

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

bubbles can also mean moisture! which is not recommended

adcar

Used a Halfords refill yesterday and all seems to be well when i checked it today . Gauge and filler £25 and refill can £15 , didnt use all the can .

Kroy

This Refrigerent from Halfords is PANTS!! and will soon be banned. All it means is that people will just keep buying the Gas to top up leaking fridge circuits which is ilegal, and against up to date Refrigerent handling regs. Best advise to give you is check you havent over charged the system with refrigerent, by looking in the little sight glass on the drier, bubbles will mean overcharged or not condensing, which will envolve cleaning the condenser with a pressure washer, or could mean undercharged and leaking. Check the 2 pipes that go to the bulk head, and make sure the flairenuts are tight these are the most common place for them to leak on a scoob. The bubbles could also mean moisture, which is quite possable cause you havent Evacuated the system. TBH even though you saved a few quid on the gas, I would concider taking it to a garage to get it checked out, cause it will be cheeper than a new Compressor in the longrun. Best of luck

Kroy

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

Ok, air con no longer working!!!

It would appear that I have a leak somewhere.

Silver sonic, where are you located? I could drive up/down tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wayne.

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

Found the leak now that the car is dry and I can see whats happening. The air con rad/condenser has a couple of small leaks where the vains meet the end tank. Now I can get to them and use some chemical metal type sealer, but will this hold at 40psi?

Wayne.

[Davey]

Doubt it the specialists must have an aircon version of radseal??

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

air con system needs to hold 10 bar (145psi) thats what we pressure test to!
new condensor is the only way im afraid.
don,t want to say i told you so but halfords regas systems are crap and i dont know how they get away with it ,as gassing up a system knowing it may have a leak is against the EPA and potentially illegal.
leak sealant wont do compressor or filter/drier any favours either.
im 1 mile from junc 40 of m1 i have pm,d my number call me by all means!

AlanG

Not sure what you really mean by saying how they get away with it silver sonic. It's intended to enhance the cooling capabilities from what i can see than claim to repair leaks.

I felt my Landcruisers aircon wasn't at its best recently though the system still pulls down temperature below ambient, though not as cold as i remembered it can do, so looked at these kits and ended up buying one.

In my case, i don't have a leak as such, so the system just needed a top up.
Carried out the top up as per instructions and checked how cold the system was after doing it. I can certainly say that there's been an improvement, so much so that i wish i had checked air temps with aircon on and off before i topped up the system as i now have an air temp coming into the cabin via the vents of 25 degrees with aircon off and 10 degrees with the aircon switched on, so an improvement there. If i set the heater control to recirculate, the temp drops further to 8 degrees at the vent.

As an engineer myself, i recharged refrigerant plants 20 years ago (R22) and as kroy said, you would vacuum the system out before charging up again. I've forgotten more than i remember and so charged the aircon in the Landcruiser quite happily then read the above post and thought "oh ****" "forgot about that!", so checked the manufacturers site and all they say about vacuuming the system is that if the pressure in the low pressure side is below 10psi, then you would be advised to vacuum the system before pressurising. It makes no mention of how the kit can purge the pipe of air before pressurising the system by their method. All i can comment on is that when you press the button on the top of the can to fill the system, it purges gas out of the top when you release the button. After the event methinks..
Either way, it's working fine just now after using the "Halfords" kit, remains to be seen if there has been any air entering the system.
Only thing i'd like to ask though (cause i've forgotten), why do you connect up both high and low pressure sides in a refrigerant system?

And to anyone else that might use the "Halfords" kit, DO NOT connect the container to the high pressure valve! AT ALL!! It could blow the can. (Manufacturers words, not mine)

Taken from the interdynamics site

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

not read the instructions of the product before , only gone by comments , and was led to believe that this can be used to fill systems that have had a leak (hence the sealant).
under the uk 1990 enviromental protection act (EPA,)" it is an offence to add refrigerant to a leaking system before thoroughly examining the system , locating and remedying all known leaks"!.
if not pressure testing this has not been done!
you only connect to both sides for vaccing out and pressure testing!
charge with vapour on low pressure side , liquid on high !
not saying don,t buy theses , but can be a false economy ,if you have a major leak anyway!
p.s just read the site , and it implies you can use to retro to R134a from R12, , pipes should be changed as older pipes are not made for R134A which has a smaller molecular profile and can work its way through the rubber, and you will still have mineral oil that does not mix with R134A

AlanG

Thanks for the feedback silver sonic.
I've got to say if i had an aircon system that worked, then didn't, i would suspect a leak of some form and wouldn't have used the DIY kit at all.
Air con by their very nature do lose their charge over a period of time and so in my situation i bought the kit than be bothered to find out reputable companies that charge reasonable prices to do the job as i'm not able to access the equipment that i used to be able to in the past.

I'm still bothered about what was said regarding the air in the connector hose as the kit doesn't purge the hose from what i can see before putting more pressurised vapour in the system.
Having said that, you can fit the hose to the low pressure side and read the pressure off the gauge without having the other end of the hose connected to the can of refrigerant which means there's only about 3" of hose with air in the system.. but it's still connected to atmosphere..