Air Conditioning

it has a leak, which is why it needed topping up, the trick is to get the leak repaired and then get it filled, it is not rocket science, any competent air con place can do it.

Was the weather cold when you tried the A/C?

Thus spake John ( snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

It sounds like your problem is very similar to that with my '00 Astra, where the a/c compressor runs for about 10 seconds and then stops. I've had to have it regassed at considerable expense at my local Vauxhall franchise three times in as many years, ever since I had the a/c "serviced" after it had been working perfectly for the previous 5 years, and each time even though they said they can't find any evidence of a leak (eh?). This time I shall take it to an a/c specialist.

I was advised that I should run the a/c for at least 10 mins at least once a week so as to (their words) "prevent the seals drying out". I've done this to no apparent avail. And yet, before I first had the a/c serviced in 2006, I would maybe run it once a month unless actually required, and it was perfectly OK all the five years since I bought it.

Weird, weird, weird.

It was cold when I tried it.

I believe the latest fill included a dye that will fluoresce under U/V light.

Hoping to sell the car on Sunday - I may have to own up and drop the price.

I owned a Renault Laguna from new for about 10 years, and hardly used the air conditioning anytime else but for the extremes in summer. Never serviced the AC, but it was working perfectly when I was preparing it to be sold. Everything else was near to packing up though, power steering especially.

Are there different types of AC, some with better reliability than others?

Back to my Honda - the first time I had it re-charged was when I noticed a fall off in its performance - but the compressor and fan used to operate - it just wasn't as good as it used to be - and I didn't get the slushing / gurgling noises behind the glove box.

On this latest occasion - it seems that maybe the low pressure has shut down the mechanism (for protection) as the compressor clutch and the fan doesn't cut in.

As I see it one of the best reasons for regassing car air con is because it will always slowly lose pressure, that is an insecapable fact due to the nature of the rubber hoses and compressor design. If the pressure gets low enough and the system is run and a vacuum is created on the low side of the pump then damp air can get drawn in. Dampness is a real killer for air con systems. So an air con service where all the gas is removed, deep vacuum applied (which pulls out moisture from the system) and then a regas with uv dye, is the best thing to have done every couple of years on a modern vehicle (modern vehicles use 'thinner' gas and much less of it than the older systems, particularly R12 systems. A quick top up alone for an ailing system is rarely a good idea.

Checked again today - it will run for about 5 seconds every 2 minutes. Is this a symptom of low gas?

Sounds about right, about the only thing kwik fit are good for if you don't have a convenient real aircon specialist is their vacuum & regas machine.