[Silent1]

No car should ever require its air conditioning to be serviced, when they try and sell you this it's not required. In fact it's more likely to do more bad than good.

The gas should never need topping up or replacing unless there is a leak, in which case the leak should be fixed., the unit should then be put on vacuum for atleast 24hours to remove any moisture from the system before any gas is put in. If this isn't done when the air conditioning is turned on the moisture will freeze in the system and either break the compressor or split another section in the system.

Because of the systems used by many dealerships they will not have the facility to vacuum a system thoroughly, or if they do they regularily wont do it for long enough.

The company i work at is the largest refrigeration company in the UK. When they service a unit even the most thorough of services does not touch any of the cooling system, the only servicing done is on the diesel engines that drive it.

So if you are asked if you want it done please don't. The most it'll ever need is disinfecting which is done via a spray set off in the car and the system set to re-circulate.

To stop the air-con failing, use it for atleast 10 minutes once a week to stop the seals perishing and to keep the compressor lubricated.

If you still feel that you must get your air con serviced, please either get it done at a main dealer or a specialist air conditioning company, as places like kwik fit wont be so careful on making sure the right pressure is in the system as the difference between 450g and 500g is the difference between it being frosty cold and broken.

Also please be aware that the oil used in the compressor goes acidic when exposed to air, so if you do have a re-gas and they don't change the oil in the system it will eat through the seals and you'll end up back at square one again. As a lot of people experience when they end up going back year on year to have a "top-up"

With regard to units leaking/losing gas, it is illegal for a unit to leak or be designed so it could leak through normal use. So if your air con is leaking , there is a problem, it shouldn't be leaking at all so before you get it topped up, have them high pressure test it using nitrogen and fluorescent dye.

[Freon Warrior]

Very good advice indeed, my only question would be, why does a system lose performance over time?

[Silent1]

It can be quite a few things but usually it's either:

a) the air con not being used for a long time and then put into overdrive and buggering all the seals i.e. not used at all in winter and maxed out in summer

b) air con systems on cars tend to be an afterthough and as such they tend to be cheap components, so through use things wear out like, solenoids, compressors etc

c) simple things like the drain tubes get blocked so the compressor gets too cold and the thermal cut out kicks in and it warms up and repeats the cycle

d) incorrectly filled at the factory, if anything they sometimes come under filled causing the system to work, ok, when the unit is perfect but once things become worn it starts to lose performance

[Freon Warrior]

Thanks. What are you thoughts on the quality of the Mini system or shouldn't I ask? ;-))

[Silent1]

sorry for the late reply been away on business.

Overall the mini unit is OK but it's a little small for the size/amount of glass the cabin has so it does have to work quite hard to get it down to temp / keep it at temp in sunny hot weather

[DaFlake]

Great post and solid information. Thank you for that.

[Silent1]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaFlake (original)

Great post and solid information. Thank you for that.

Thanks very much

[3rdpillar]

i work for a fridge/airCon company. I am sure they used to do car units in the workshop. I might find out more if anyone interested.

[Jenkins]

Quote: Originally Posted by 3rdpillar (original)

I might find out more if anyone interested.

I am!

[-=cHiLli=-]

Interestingly enough, my mates merc aircon seemed to die the other day and having previously read this thread:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...ored-cold.html

We went to halfords today, bought the £40 aircon refill can with the pressure gauge included, found the low pressure arcon point (case of the only one we could find and that it was the same size as the MINI one), tested it with the pressure meter first and found that the pressure was low, followed the instructions on the can, 5 mins of cold hands later and the aircon was back up to pressure and working great!

Not really sure what the problem could be but for the money it was cheaper than a trip to the "squeelers" and sorted the problem, after that we tested every car we could find and all were great....

So the fact that

Quote:

No car should ever require its air conditioning to be serviced

is not entirely true.....

Your choice folks, worked for me!

_-=cHiLli=-_ ()

[JAMIE1131]

Quote: Originally Posted by Silent1 (original)

No car should ever require its air conditioning to be serviced, when they try and sell you this it's not required. In fact it's more likely to do more bad than good.

The gas should never need topping up or replacing unless there is a leak, in which case the leak should be fixed., the unit should then be put on vacuum for atleast 24hours to remove any moisture from the system before any gas is put in. If this isn't done when the air conditioning is turned on the moisture will freeze in the system and either break the compressor or split another section in the system.

Because of the systems used by many dealerships they will not have the facility to vacuum a system thoroughly, or if they do they regularily wont do it for long enough.

The company i work at is the largest refrigeration company in the UK. When they service a unit even the most thorough of services does not touch any of the cooling system, the only servicing done is on the diesel engines that drive it.

So if you are asked if you want it done please don't. The most it'll ever need is disinfecting which is done via a spray set off in the car and the system set to re-circulate.

To stop the air-con failing, use it for atleast 10 minutes once a week to stop the seals perishing and to keep the compressor lubricated.

If you still feel that you must get your air con serviced, please either get it done at a main dealer or a specialist air conditioning company, as places like kwik fit wont be so careful on making sure the right pressure is in the system as the difference between 450g and 500g is the difference between it being frosty cold and broken.

Also please be aware that the oil used in the compressor goes acidic when exposed to air, so if you do have a re-gas and they don't change the oil in the system it will eat through the seals and you'll end up back at square one again. As a lot of people experience when they end up going back year on year to have a "top-up"

With regard to units leaking/losing gas, it is illegal for a unit to leak or be designed so it could leak through normal use. So if your air con is leaking , there is a problem, it shouldn't be leaking at all so before you get it topped up, have them high pressure test it using nitrogen and fluorescent dye.

Do you work for an Automotive air con company or building air con?

[Silent1]

I work for Thermoking who work in the automotive side of things, from car air conditioning right up to articulated trailers

[Silent1]

Quote: Originally Posted by -=cHiLli=- (original)

Interestingly enough, my mates merc aircon seemed to die the other day and having previously read this thread:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...ored-cold.html

We went to halfords today, bought the £40 aircon refill can with the pressure gauge included, found the low pressure arcon point (case of the only one we could find and that it was the same size as the MINI one), tested it with the pressure meter first and found that the pressure was low, followed the instructions on the can, 5 mins of cold hands later and the aircon was back up to pressure and working great!

Not really sure what the problem could be but for the money it was cheaper than a trip to the "squeelers" and sorted the problem, after that we tested every car we could find and all were great....

So the fact that is not entirely true.....

Your choice folks, worked for me!

_-=cHiLli=-_ ()

Without wanting to come across as arrogant, the point i made was that it shouldn't require servicing unless it has a leak, if it has a leak topping it up will not fix the problem, it will merely delay the inevitable

[caesar]

All the previous car I have owned with Air Conditioning, the Handbook states to run the A/C for at least 10 minutes per month. Failure to do this will cause the seals to leak as the coolant contains a lubricant. There is no mention of this in the MCS Handbook ?

[Restyle]

Here`s the Air-con servicing leaflet I was recently sent by my dealer

[caesar]

Restyle, thanks for the leaflet which I presume you get if you have Climate Control ?

As I have manual A/C then did not get one......but it does say as per my thread " Use it as much as possible".

[Restyle]

Quote: Originally Posted by caesar (original)

Restyle, thanks for the leaflet which I presume you get if you have Climate Control ?
As I have manual A/C then did not get one...

Doesn`t Matter whether you have Auto Climate or Manual AC, {I have Manual}, they basically consist of the same components, other than the Climate has an led temp display & "feedback loop", so it will maintain a pre-set temp.
I used to have "climate" in a previous MCS but couldnt really justify having it again, as whenever AC is used its because its HOT & so is naturally turned down to the lowest setting whatever system

[caesar]

Hi,
That's why I asked, as the leaflet must show the Climate Control instruments.

Thanks