Air conditioning

In all probability, if you havent used the a/c since last year, and/or you felt it wasnt as cold as it used to be the last time it worked, then you need the refridgerant re-charging. This is normal every ~2 yrs on a fit and regularly exercised system.

Of course you may have a leak which will need finding, and will add to the cost, but for a re-gas alone you would be looking at around 60-90UKP, shop around - prices vary, and so does competance!

Anyone (with the right gear) can stick more gas into a system, but doing it correctly and eradicating leaks if present is another thing.

Don't forget you must exercise the a/c every couple of weeks for 10-15mins all year round, else you will loose the gas more quickly (seals dry out)

Tim..

Most likely, but it's a specialised job as it's under high pressure and dangerous stuff.

Costs about 50-100 quid.

Yup, sounds normal.

If you're near Newcastle I'll do it for £50.

Indeed it is. However, if they take weeks to lose pressure, they can be very hard to detect on a short test.

Be prepared to pay for a regas, fill with dye, and then repair again later on.

That depends on the system. Many new systems tend to use poor grade aluminium pipes, and they can get porous with the road salt from winter use.

Yes - my SD1 just about lasts the summer.

Is it possible to get compressor seals replaced, or is there likely to be other wear?

I guess so, although compressor seal failure is not actually that common, they normally suffer with bearing or clutch failure first.

Most a/c leaks are from the condensor or a pipe joint.

Thanks a lot for the advice - this is the first car I've had with a/c and I just wanted to check whether I should be doing anything obvious before I booked it in.

Russell

Ok - I'll try and find another specialist. I paid for a dye check, but the last one said no leaks. But it only lasted a couple of months or so - as it did the year before.

Sound like the same problem on my wifes Mazda 323, got recharged 2 or so years around but it only lasted around 2-4 weeks. It's recently been recharged again and had a dye put in - after around 3 weeks it got took back to the dealer for them to source the leak. They said they'd not put enough dye in (FFS), so they recharged it again and put in more dye, 3 weeks later when it stopped blowing cold air back it went - they couldn't find any leak :-/ At least they didn't charge for the 2 recharges etc. It'll most likely be taken to an AC specialist now.

Could be worth checking inside the car, in case it's the evaporator.

Can't you get DIY fills here in the UK? I know in the US they exist.

I've been round this circle myself (as Andy knows). Two recharges, the first with a dye check, the second a pressure test. On the third investigation (again about 3-4 months after the previous one), a leak in the condensor was found promptly, and this was replaced FOC even though the car was 9 months out of warranty and had done over 55K. Can hardly complain about the cost of the two investigations as I now have a (partly) brand-new system. The technician who found the leak had also been the one who'd not found anything earlier and was sure he'd not missed anything. I suspect small leaks may be prone to opening up under stress and are not necessarily easily found on a static test.

Even sold in Walmart, I'm told. But a search of ASDA revealed nothing. ;-)

Yes, there's obviously a large difference in temperatures with a/c systems, and they do have pretty high pressures when running too.