Air Con Regas Problems

haribo85

Hi,

About three weeks ago I took my car into ATS Euromaster to get an Air Con Regas as it was blowing warm air.

I was told that the system had been checked for leaks (as they have to check by law) and none were found, the gas had been topped up, and it was blowing cold air again, lovely.

But less that three weeks later it is now blowing warm air exactly as it was before.

Where do I stand with this? Obviously they have provided me with a service and it was cold to begin, but less than three weeks later it is now not working. If it had no leak how could all the gas escape?

Thanks

lesalanos

What have they said when you asked them?

haribo85

I'm awaiting a response, but was looking for anyone else around here who may have been in a similar situation, hence the post.

Slowly_does_it..

My car (Focus, 2006) developed a couple of REALLY small leaks like pin pricks in the back of the condenser, right up close to the radiator. They were small enough for their equipment to not notice them, and as they were on the back of the condenser the UV light did not really show them up.It took a month to drop enough pressure to stop working.

It was found by adding about 3 times as much UV die into the system as it should have, then leaving it for another month, then it showed up under the light.

What car have you got? - When I had mine fixed it was noted this issue was fairly well known on certain cars.

haribo85

Thanks for your response,

Would you believe mine is a 2006 Focus TDCi.

Can I ask how you went about getting it found and fixed? Obviously I have already paid for one regas, know there is a problem somewhere and want to fix it as cheaply as possible!

If I end up having the same outcome as you, it looks like you paid for one regas and UV, then another regas and UV, then somehow had it repaired, then for another regas, sounds expensive.

Just out of interest, what was the repair process for yours? Is it a replacement of the condensor? Are there any other bits involved? If you don't mind me asking, can I ask what price you paid please?

Thanks

Nagme

I've got the same problem with my '04 Fabia; I had it regassed last month and when they tested it it showed up a fault. When they put the dye through though, it didn't show anything up. The aircon stayed cold only for a few days.

I've spoken to the garage, they said it could be something as cheap as an o ring or as expensive as a compressor.

I'm just going to open the windows for now.

Slowly_does_it..

I was not the kleverest and had the car re-gassed 3 times before I found someone decent.

I found one person who drives around north east Scotland and repairs them from the back of his van. I requested a new dryer at the same time as a new condenser, total cost was 228 quid. If he had not changed the drier, it would have been 162 quid. He did an amazing job, and really looked after what he was doing.

I requested a new drier as the car had an unknown past, and had at least 2 new condensers before I got it.

The AC is still icy cold and the work was done in August 2013.

jbainbridge

I had mine re-gassed at Kwikfit last year. It lasted less than a day. They were happy to refund without question.

For it to loose pressure over 3 weeks the leak must be quite small ... I would say it is not quite so clear cut. Does the advert / paperwork make any promises?

Slowly_does_it..

Sorry, cannot remember the exact wording. However, he did insist on finding the leak before fitting anything new. If the leak had been in the evaporator then he would have declined the job. The extra UV dye from the previous attempts did help, as you could just see it glowing through the condenser. Once the condenser was out, you could definitely see where the leak had been, oil marks etc.

forgotmyname

The issue is their machines vacuum test the system, But it doesnt work in a vacuum state it works under pressure so their leak test is not foolproof.

Their topup may have a dye included to help trace leaks though.

Muscle750

Seals on the compressor