Air con service

[jupiter2step]

How many folks get their aircon serviced every two years?

I ask because my car is currently being serviced and the garage has offered to recharge it for £50.

I last had it done two years ago and, to be honest, I hadn't noticed any problem with it (though haven't had the climate control on a low setting since last summer).On this basis I am inclined to leave it until the summer to see how well she performs.

Any thoughts?

 

[bob6600]

Personally, I would leave it. I doubt alot of people get their brake fluid changed every 2 years, let alone getting their air con serviced

 

[BlackC55]

I would get it done. It keeps the system operating at optimum. Same as bake fluid. It's every two years for a good reason.

 

[nrg220]

How many folks get their aircon serviced every two years?

I ask because my car is currently being serviced and the garage has offered to recharge it for £50.

I last had it done two years ago and, to be honest, I hadn't noticed any problem with it (though haven't had the climate control on a low setting since last summer).On this basis I am inclined to leave it until the summer to see how well she performs.

Any thoughts?

If its not leaking or not working leave it. This 2 year service is a marketing thing to make money. Best thing is to use it regularly, winter as well. When it doesn't work get it serviced then

 

[clockspring]

As part of the air con service the old gas is recovered and new r134 is put back into the system to a specified weight, the most important thing to consider is that new oil is added to the system to lubricate the compressor which is probably why its a good idea to get it done every 2 years. You wouldn't leave you engine without an oil change for 2 years.

 

[A150]

I've just had A Class serviced. Including a brake fluid change and the air con recharged. All per schedule of 2 years.

My air con had lost almost half its contents in that time. All through natural causes with no leaks detected. So I wouldn't want to leave it any longer and let it run dry and cause possible compressor and air con problems.

 

[b1g1an]

Healthy a/c doesn't need regassing as they don't leak when in good order. Usual reason is lack of use damaging the seals and if they're not too knackered you might get away with a year or two between regassing but all is definitely not OK.

Don't believe anyone who tells you it's normal to need a top up. With climate, leave it on auto permanently and it will stay healthy for many, many years.

 

[nrg220]

lubricant

You can leave refrigerant/oil in for very many years, its not a problem as long as you don't get a leak, the other Must is to ensue you run it ALL year round if only for 10 minutes a time, the idea you get new when and if they extract is a fallacy, sure if the AC isn't as good as it was then by all means get it checked. You can run a can of bacteria spray around the car whilst on AC but it doesn't need a regular service if its working, just another addition to your bill like engine flush etc LOL


lockspring;1683563]As part of the air con service the old gas is recovered and new r134 is put back into the system to a specified weight, the most important thing to consider is that new oil is added to the system to lubricate the compressor which is probably why its a good idea to get it done every 2 years. You wouldn't leave you engine without an oil change for 2 years.[/QUOTE]

 

[markjay]

When I had my Vauxhall, the dealer checked the temp at the vent during service but said the aircon only needed attention if the temp at the air vent dropped below a certain point. So in the 7 years I had it the aircon was never serviced.

My current 2006 car never had an air con service either. It seems to be working fine.

Or rather it was, when I last checked - while I do try to run it during winter from time to time, it is not always possible to do do because the aircon will not switch-on in cold (sub-5 degrees I think) weather.

 

[b1g1an]

Exactly my experience

Haven't owned a car more than seven years to know if they suddenly implode after that though.

 

[E55BOF]

If you're running a car on the Bangernomics principle, you can get aerosol kits off the 'Bay among other places to top up R134a. I had to do this on my wife's MX-3 every Spring, despite running the aircon once or twice a week in the winter, for the five years we had it, and it worked a treat. (The first owner said he hardly ever used the aircon, so presumably the seals were past their best). The aerosols also include a small quantity of oil which is sucked into the system.

Reading this thread prompted me to go and check the aircon pressure on my recently-acquired W210 (digital heater display, hence self-diagnostics). It read 3 bar. That seems fine to me; does anyone disagree?

E55BOF

 

[Mike Edwards]

My 639 Vito lots it's aircon pressure regularly. No sign of any leaks even when the dealer used a dye in the system. Eventually they replaced the a/c radiator and the problem went away. Still have no idea where it was leaking from.

 

[sinewave]

My company supply, fit and maintain commercial Air-conditioning.
All this regular service required every 12-24months on the gas side of things is ******!

ANY A/C system in good condition should not leak it's charge and hence should never require a top up or re-charge.

Vehicles do have a tendency to leak far more than static A/C systems mainly through dried out seals through lack of use (hence why it's recommended to leave on all year) or holed Rads at the front of the vehicle or worse case scenario a fecked heat-exchanger behind the dash which in older cars can write em off due to the labour costs of stripping a dash.

Contrary to popular belief Oil is not added when a system is re-charged, that is a separate procedure.
Also most garages will just top up a system until it passes the Coke Test!
The mechanic will add gas until the suction line (the bigger one) is sweating like a Can of Coke straight out of the Fridge, and feels nicely chilled to the touch.

A good system will have an Air Off temp of around 8-10 degrees C at the max cooling setting.

 

[clockspring]

My company supply, fit and maintain commercial Air-conditioning.
All this regular service required every 12-24months on the gas side of things is ******!

ANY A/C system in good condition should not leak it's charge and hence should never require a top up or re-charge.

Vehicles do have a tendency to leak far more than static A/C systems mainly through dried out seals through lack of use (hence why it's recommended to leave on all year) or holed Rads at the front of the vehicle or worse case scenario a fecked heat-exchanger behind the dash which in older cars can write em off due to the labour costs of stripping a dash.

Contrary to popular belief Oil is not added when a system is re-charged, that is a separate procedure.
Also most garages will just top up a system until it passes the Coke Test!
The mechanic will add gas until the suction line (the bigger one) is sweating like a Can of Coke straight out of the Fridge, and feels nicely chilled to the touch.

A good system will have an Air Off temp of around 8-10 degrees C at the max cooling setting.

The procedure to regas a vehicle aircon system is to recover the old gas through a refrigerant recovery machine, weigh the refrigerant recovered to check for losses, vacuum the system to extract air and moisture for at least 10mins. I leave vacuum pump on for 20mins to make sure. (moisture in system can cause blockages in the expansion valve and possibly damage the compressor in extreme cases), whilst system is under vacuum add approx 1oz of oil to system (depending on vehicle), to replace oil depleted through refrigerant recovery, regas system with the correct weight of refrigerant. Giving you a system with the manufactures recommended weight of fresh gas, 1oz fresh oil and no air or water in the system.

The other key point is the gas in the system is weighed in, its not to do with pressure. You don't have to put much gas in at all to show standard pressure it just wont work efficiently until the correct weight of gas is in the system. These Halfords cans of r134 are dodgy if you ask me as you have no idea how much gas is in the system and can cause over gassing and over pressure on the high side causing the compressor to cut off from triggering from the systems pressure switch.

Its ok saying a good system shouldn't leak but how do you know if you have a leak free system unless you get your air con serviced.

 

[sinewave]

The procedure to regas a vehicle aircon system is to recover the old gas through a refrigerant recovery machine, weigh the refrigerant recovered to check for losses, vacuum the system to extract air and moisture for at least 10mins. I leave vacuum pump on for 20mins to make sure.

Its ok saying a good system shouldn't leak but how do you know if you have a leak free system unless you get your air con serviced.

Two points here me old Clock Spring!

1) Deep Vacuuming an A/C system should be done using a dedicated Vacuum gauge to a pressure of 2 Torr minimum, it should not be done using a 'Time method' as that's just guess work done by non-qualified Techs who probably haven't got their CAT 1 F-Gass 2029-11 like what I have!

2) How does getting your system 'Serviced' at the majority of Garages show you you have a leak or by how much?
As already stated most Garages just W@nk a load more 134a in till it's 'Cold Mister' and hand you an Invoice for £50-100.

 

[clockspring]

Two points here me old Clock Spring!

1) Deep Vacuuming an A/C system should be done using a dedicated Vacuum gauge to a pressure of 2 Torr minimum, it should not be done using a 'Time method' as that's just guess work done by non-qualified Techs who probably haven't got their CAT 1 F-Gass 2029-11 like what I have!

2) How does getting your system 'Serviced' at the majority of Garages show you you have a leak or by how much?
As already stated most Garages just W@nk a load more 134a in till it's 'Cold Mister' and hand you an Invoice for £50-100.

I'm sorry did I not describe my vacuum system accurately, I have a gauge on my vacuum pump thank you. And have been certified refrigerant engineer and safe handling for many years.

Ok lets cast your mind back to your training. When you recover a system you are supposed to weigh the refrigerant recovered. If vehicle should have say 800g of r134 and you only recover only 300g, guess what. its escaped! so that tells you may have a slow leak and maybe you should be considering a OFN pressure test. Or maybe just W@nk some gas in and hope the problem was just your imagination. yiiiiihaaaa.

 

[sinewave]

Two things again me owd Clock Spring!

1) A Gauge on a Vac pump is not deemed suitable in most circumstance to be accurate enough for a true Torr reading, a dedicated stand alone gauge is the way to go.
A lot of 'Techs' just use a negative -30 psi pressure on their standard R22 gauges for Vac purposes which yet again is no good.

2) There's no need for any 'casting back to my training days' for a proper recovery and weigh out of a static charge. I and any other true Ref Eng would not dispute this method as the only way to prove system integrity.
What you have miss-interpreted in my description of what actually happens in 95% of vehicle dealers who advertise Air-con services.
If you were to actually take your vehicle to a proper Refrigeration or Air-con firm such as our selves then you'd get the proper procedure.
It certainly wouldn't be a £50-100 Invoice though!

 

[Andy - TFA]

Clockspring, your posts are absolutely bang on...
We try and vac for a minimum of 30 mins - 45 if poss.
We also add around 15ml fresh oil per service.

E55BOF: The correct way to measure pressure in the A/C system is by measuring it on both the high pressure side and the low pressure side. It's done through the service ports (under the bonnet). The low side is the fatter pipe and is the cold one. The high side is the thinner one and is the hot one. It's something to definitely NOT try at home....At fast idle, AC on: low side should be around 2 bar, high side 12 bar.

 

[sinewave]

Clockspring, your posts are absolutely bang on...
We try and vac for a minimum of 30 mins - 45 if poss.


Lol!


How much do you pay for OFN?

What Size bottles do you use?

What pressure and how long would you pressure test for?

 

[b1g1an]

It's quite simple to tell whether you have a leak...it doesn't get very cold!