Fiesta aircon not working

pineapple

Hi all
I noticed a very slight hissing noise when I turned on the air con in my Fiesta Zetec recently and now it barely cools. I've read up on a few possible causes and am wondering if there is a leak somewhere. I'm not really capable of doing any repairs myself and understand it can be pretty pricey to fix. I can do without the air con and am wondering if there are any possible causes which might damage the car if I continue to run it without taking it in to a garage.
Cheers

System

None at all. Although the air con pump is driven by a belt that's constantly moving when the engine is running it uses a clutch so unless the aircon is turned on the pump doesn't turn so a lack of gas in the system wouldn't affect that.

agrinnall

On my last Fiesta the aircon compressor was diagnosed as having an imminent bearing failure that would cost around £600 to repair. I simply turned the switch off and opened the window when I needed to cool down, and eventually sold the car to WBAC who never tested it

pineapple

Thanks folks. I lived long enough without air conditioning so it will be no great hardship. The thing is I've read that sometimes it's the labour involved as much as the cost of any parts. I'll get it sorted when I'm feeling a bit more flush, Maybe.

jimjames

I had a problem with the aircon on my car. Diagnosis was that a new compressor was needed and would be £450 including fitting.

I did some investigation and it was true that the compressor wasn't working. However the cause was a broken wire. Fixed that and it worked and no cost to sort - result!

https://youtu.be/utyCcrWKCPg