air con

uptheanti

Hi i have a 1999 mitsubishi carisma not had it long it has air con been trying to figure out if its working or not but hard to do in cold weather any tips on how to find out if its working i dont think it is as its not blowing very cold and i dont think i can hear the compressor working if it needed a re gas would the compressor still work or not also anyone know any deals where i can get it re gassed if needed? thankyou in advance

marksandsparx

the best way is to heat up the car interior too as hot as possible, then turn your aircon on. you should hear a click (almost a thud) and the fan at the front should start (unless the pressure isn't high enough).

You should then feel the vents, the vent temp should be about 5c in this weather after about 5 min.
If not then you may have a fault.

However, some cars won't turn on the aircon if the outside temp is low enough to be used to cool the interior. the only option then is to locate the ext temp sensor.. somewhere near the front, or sometimes in the mirror casing, and cover it with your hands or breath , so it gets a false reading..

Most garages are geared up to do re-gasses, and charge about £50. some may do it alot cheaper if they have some old stock gas, but it has gone up now.
(but ask if they are "F" gas registered, if not, try somewhere else)

Hope this helps

vikingaero

Much as it pains me to say this: Take it to Kwik Fit for a re-gas. They have a Recharge or No Charge Policy. I took my mums car there and they found a hole in the condenser, but there was no charge.

mikey72

vikingaero wrote: »

Much as it pains me to say this: Take it to Kwik Fit for a re-gas. They have a Recharge or No Charge Policy. I took my mums car there and they found a hole in the condenser, but there was no charge.

Very true, it does appear it's one thing they are good at.

uptheanti

thanks guys will give kwik fit a try thanks again for the advice

Flyboy152

marksandsparx wrote: »

the best way is to heat up the car interior too as hot as possible, then turn your aircon on. you should hear a click (almost a thud) and the fan at the front should start (unless the pressure isn't high enough).

You should then feel the vents, the vent temp should be about 5c in this weather after about 5 min.
If not then you may have a fault.

However, some cars won't turn on the aircon if the outside temp is low enough to be used to cool the interior. the only option then is to locate the ext temp sensor.. somewhere near the front, or sometimes in the mirror casing, and cover it with your hands or breath , so it gets a false reading..

Most garages are geared up to do re-gasses, and charge about £50. some may do it alot cheaper if they have some old stock gas, but it has gone up now.
(but ask if they are "F" gas registered, if not, try somewhere else)

Hope this helps

I'm curious, which cars do this?

moonrakerz

Get 3/4 friends into the car with you, preferably when it is raining. Put the ventilation system on re-circ - wait for the windows to mist up. Switch air con "on", set ventilation to "normal" - see how quickly (or slowly !) the windows clear .......................

marksandsparx

Flyboy152 wrote: »

I'm curious, which cars do this?

In my experience,

Mercedes, BMW, Focus, Most hybrids (to save fuel) and I think VW bluemotion range.

Also,

Any coach with modern carrier and thermoking systems.

Flyboy152

Again, curiosity begs; how does this work? Because from I understand, air conditioning is not there just to "cool" the air, it is also there as a dehumidifier.

DUTR

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Again, curiosity begs; how does this work? Because from I understand, air conditioning is not there just to "cool" the air, it is also there as a dehumidifier.

There will be a temperature sensor on the car, marksandsparx is correct most modern cars disable the aircon below a predetermined temperature, I have VW (not bluemotion) and iirc it's about 4c.

marksandsparx

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Again, curiosity begs; how does this work? Because from I understand, air conditioning is not there just to "cool" the air, it is also there as a dehumidifier.

Been a certified air con engineer for 7 years

There will be a special button to use that will turn the heating AND air conditioning on for demisting.