W245 - B Class 2007 with AirCon Issues

[Jason1145]

Hi all.


Bought my B Class in November 2015.... never used the aircon set to cold until it got warm around April this year and the air was only luke warm - not cold at all..... so I took it to local independent garage and they re-gassed it for me and it was ice cold.


All fine for the next few months up till the weekend just gone when the sun came out and temps rose to 28 degrees in London.


2 days ago all of a sudden the aircon is not cold anymore.... the pump comes on as normal... light on dash indicates the aircon is working as should... just no cold air.


Took it back to the same garage, they said it must have a leak as it had been gassed 3 months ago by them.... so left it with them.


Just got it back with ice cold a/c but they couldn't find a leak on it anywhere.... they mentioned they had a UV light under the hood and couldn't detect escaping gas.... and whilst re-gassing it held the same volume of gas for 15 minutes with no loss.... so what's up with this? Anyone had similar?
Is it possible it's got a very small undetectable leak that over the course of 3 months would all leak out?
I use the aircon about 2-3 times a week for a good 20 minutes each time so I don't think it's from under useage causing the issue?

 

[GLK]

On the W169 the a/c condenser is a known weak point, due to lower grill not providing sufficient protection from small stones. I suppose it might be similar on the W245.

I had my a/c condenser replaced by Olly @ PCS - brilliant job, as always, and luckily this was done under RAC Gold Warranty I had when I bought the car, so didn't cost me a penny.

This was done in May last year - the a/c has been ice cold ever since (a life saver in recent weather), and I never turn it off, although it is mostly on 1 - I just adjust the required temperature accordingly.

I bought a finer mesh to instal behind the OE lower grille, to protect the condenser, but haven't got around to do it yet - the bumper needs to come off for that ...

 

[Benzowner]

Just had the condenser replaced on my B Class, the part is relatively cheap, but fitting it is another matter. You need to remove the front bumper and a few other bits, The guy who did mine took about 3-4 hours to complete the job.

The condenser has a weakness at the bottom where all the road salt get and rubbish gets trapped behind the intercooler pipe and corrodes the rad.

GLK, watch for that fine mesh, it will also severely restrict the air flow, and may cause other problems.

 

[GLK]

GLK, watch for that fine mesh, it will also severely restrict the air flow, and may cause other problems.

Yes, thank you, that has been on my mind, apart from bumper off job, and it seems not unsubstantiated either.

I guess I might just brave it, and leave as it is ...