Air conditioning issue...

[mr tibbs]

Not sure which forum to put this in, so please move it if this is incorrect.
We have just returned from a trip to the south coast in our new (to us) W210 E320 estate and half way home we heard a kind of clunky type noise, not loud, and the air con fans seemed to be pushing out less air. It ended up that there was hardly any air coming out of any of the vents so I turned to system off and let it settle down for a few minutes and then turned it back on. The air flow seemed to be improved a little but on pos 5 it definitely was not howling out the way it had done. The air itself felt cold, so I am under the impression that a flap is out of position and blocking the flow from the fan(s) to the vents??? Is this possible? Can anyone think of another reason (hopefully inexpensive as we have just bought the car) that would cause this to happen.
The outside temperature was reading 27 deg at the time it went pear shaped...
Looking forward to your replies

Keith

 

[martyz]

Sounds like your fan or regulator is playing up(v common) its under the passenger side lower dash panel.remove the 3 screws take off panel,un clip multi plug,slide 2 clips on cover and remove.you will now see the fan,it is held in with 4 torx screws this will drop the fan and regulator.possible faults; bad connections(oxydise) faulty regulator,brushes in motor(can be bought for £5 on ebay).good luck.

 

[mr tibbs]

Sounds like your fan or regulator is playing up(v common) its under the passenger side lower dash panel.remove the 3 screws take off panel,un clip multi plug,slide 2 clips on cover and remove.you will now see the fan,it is held in with 4 torx screws this will drop the fan and regulator.possible faults; bad connections(oxydise) faulty regulator,brushes in motor(can be bought for £5 on ebay).good luck.

Wow, thanks for that. I will have a shufty as soon as I can this week....
Once again, thank you.

Keith

 

[bing]

Check the cabin filter first (also quite common if clogged it will restrict air flow thru the vents) which is located as "martyz" described.

 

[Charles Morgan]

The filter was replaced at the last service, so hopefully not that.

Good luck - after spending nigh on £2k on sorting the aircon so it was joyously cold, hopefully it will be something minor!

 

[mr tibbs]

Thanks Bing and Charles. Well at least I don't need to check the filter....
I am also hoping that a minor fix as suggested by Martyz will bring it back to life.
Hopefully I will soon have it sorted.

Keith

 

[mr tibbs]

Thanks Bing and Charles. Well at least I don't need to check the filter....
I am also hoping that a minor fix as suggested by Martyz will bring it back to life.
Hopefully I will soon have it sorted.

Keith

Well this morning we went to collect a couple of things that we had left commission bids on and the fans worked great for about 20 minutes and then they started to blow at somewhat less than half speed, or so it seemed. When we got home I pulled down the passenger side footwell lower dash panel and pulled out the filter as it seemed easy to access. It was absolutely full of twigs and leaves. I blew it out with the compressor until it appeared clean. I reinserted it and my wife drove it about 20 miles in each direction (picking up more furniture....) and the fans blew at a constant speed as they had previously, so I believe that the filter was the culprit. I will try the car on Thursday with a run out to Saffron Walden for a job, so that should be plenty long enough for them to go wrong if they are going to...
Fingers crossed.
I am now worried that this filter was supposed to have been replaced a few weeks ago and it should have blocked (if in fact it has) so quickly, what is the life expectancy of these items? And where do I get another one from? maybe Ebay?
Thanks again chaps

Keith

 

[Dieselman]

Just cut half the pleats out, you will notice a significant improvement in air flow.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I certainly watched a filter being replaced in the lower passenger footwell, unless there is more than one, when Olly did the B service in June.

How very odd. It was also done only a couple of weeks before my hand op, so it's hardly been used at all since. Is there some area ahead of the filter in which these things can build up?

 

[mr tibbs]

Just cut half the pleats out, you will notice a significant improvement in air flow.

Seeing all the debris in the folds of a filter that has only been installed in the car for a few weeks makes me frightened to cut out any of the surface area as I don't want all that rubbish getting into any other parts of the air system and causing more difficulties.
I am not sure Charles, regarding the layout of the filter arrangements. This is in the long, capped section next to where I believe the fan motor is located, behind the passenger side lower dash panel, towards the center console.
I did take some pictures on my phone but they don't really show the rubbish to well as it was lodged down in the valley of the filter material.

Keith

 

[Dieselman]

Seeing all the debris in the folds of a filter that has only been installed in the car for a few weeks makes me frightened to cut out any of the surface area as I don't want all that rubbish getting into any other parts of the air system and causing more difficulties.

What used to happen to such debris before filters were fitted?

It's probably only there as a result of the intake being disturbed.

My old cars haven't got pollen filters, but do have great air-flow.

 

[Ted]

You can wash them in warm soapy water.

They need to be completely dry when they go back in otherwise the airflow will be severely restricted until it dries out.

 

[mr tibbs]

I have just driven over to Saffron Walden, about a 150 mile round trip and the fans behaved themselves, so I can only think that the cruddy filter was the source of my problems. Thanks for the help and advice, and thank goodness it was a cheap and simple cure. I have ordered a new replacement from my local motor factors, so I will have that in tomorrow hopefully.

Keith

 

[SavMan]

If it has an activated charcoal filter then there will likely be two filters.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Which it does. Having checked the B service requirements today, it was that on the schedule. So it may well be the other filter has not been changed in a long time which would account for its condition.

 

[tonyc280]

well my w 202 had a fsh when i got it and the first thing i did was check the cabin filter and was completely amazed at all the crud in there as if it had never been changed. Is it an option on a full service to have it changed or replaces as a matter of course ? Cheers, T.

 

[mr tibbs]

I don't know the answer to that Tony, but the filter in mine was disgusting. It was also discoloured as well as being full of crud, and I simply cannot believe that it would fill up in a couple of months, especially as I understand that the car has not covered many miles since it was changed. On my 210 E class changing it is pretty straightforward, jus two screws to drop the passenger footwell upper trim panel, disconnect the courtesy light and remove the panel. Slide two clips out of the way and the filter access panel drops out and then simply pull out the filter and replace it in the reverse order. The new filter that I got was about half the thickness with some spacer lugs built in to take up the space in the housing, but it came up as a direct replacement part number and was made by Fram, so not a cheapo copy...

HTH

Keith