Air Con/Climate control in this really hot weather

Manxman_in_exile

takman wrote: »

If you find this necessary then i think your A/C isn't working as efficiently as it should.

Even in this hot weather i can get in my car, start the engine and the climate control will get the car to a comfortable temperature easily in 1 - 2 minutes without messing about changing the fan and opening the windows.

The key to keeping A/C in a good usable condition is to use it all year round. My car has it on by default and you have to go into the climate control menu to turn it off, so it's left on all year. It's 10 years old and is as cold any new car i have driven.

Hmmm... I'm wondering about our AC. We used to have a Toyota Avensis and it was like sitting in a freezer when the AC was on full blast.


We bought a two year old Mondeo three years ago and the AC is definitely not as cold but you can tell it is working. (And I don't think we ever have the AC turned off).


There's a service coming up. Is it worth asking for the AC to be checked? I don't particularly want it to be re-gassed (or whatever it is) if not necessary. (I've noticed on Wheelerdealers that Ed checks the AC by simply using a thermometer and says that 5 degrees is good. Should I buy a digital thermometer?).

Marypoppins349

sounds just like what happend to us last year. took it to the garage for an AC check over and re-gassing and it's been good as new ever since

motorguy

roddydogs wrote: »

Why is it so poor , I might as well just wind the windows down. Do they think that British cars don't need it to work very well. PS their's nothing wrong with it, and yes, I know all the tricks such as winding the windows down for a few minuits & not having it on full, etc, and yes its "better than nothing" if youve got the windows up.

Mines been fine. Thats manual air con in a Passat and digital climate in a Merc.

Both working perfectly, both blowing out more than enough cold air.

motorguy

daveyjp wrote: »

Also depends on engine output. Smaller engines may struggle to lower temperatures by a significant amount in very hot weather.

That wont be down to the engine size.

takman

Manxman_in_exile wrote: »

Hmmm... I'm wondering about our AC. We used to have a Toyota Avensis and it was like sitting in a freezer when the AC was on full blast.


We bought a two year old Mondeo three years ago and the AC is definitely not as cold but you can tell it is working. (And I don't think we ever have the AC turned off).


There's a service coming up. Is it worth asking for the AC to be checked? I don't particularly want it to be re-gassed (or whatever it is) if not necessary. (I've noticed on Wheelerdealers that Ed checks the AC by simply using a thermometer and says that 5 degrees is good. Should I buy a digital thermometer?).

If you ask them to check it then usually they will suggest re gassing and checking for leaks. If you have your A/C on all the time and the car is only 5 years old then it shouldn't need to be re gassed unless there is a leak.

Personally i would get them to regas and check for leaks because this is usually quite cheap (less than £50) then you will at least have an idea of the problem.
Even if you ask them to check it without re gassing it then you still have to pay for their labour so you might as well have had the regas done as well.

Manxman_in_exile

takman wrote: »

If you ask them to check it then usually they will suggest re gassing and checking for leaks. If you have your A/C on all the time and the car is only 5 years old then it shouldn't need to be re gassed unless there is a leak.

Personally i would get them to regas and check for leaks because this is usually quite cheap (less than £50) then you will at least have an idea of the problem.
Even if you ask them to check it without re gassing it then you still have to pay for their labour so you might as well have had the regas done as well.

Thanks. From a "Money Saving" point of view, is it worth trying to check the temperature myself (I'd have to get a digital thermometer of some kind) or is that likely to be more hassle for me than it's worth?

Sam_Fallow

Short journeys = windows open (and sunroof)

Longer runs = air con on.

These days it's worth getting in the car just to cool down
This afternoon I was out on my motorbike, nothing beats that.

Sam_Fallow

takman wrote: »

If you ask them to check it then usually they will suggest re gassing and checking for leaks. If you have your A/C on all the time and the car is only 5 years old then it shouldn't need to be re gassed unless there is a leak.

Personally i would get them to regas and check for leaks because this is usually quite cheap (less than £50) then you will at least have an idea of the problem.
Even if you ask them to check it without re gassing it then you still have to pay for their labour so you might as well have had the regas done as well.

Halfords, I know but give me a chance here, will do a regas and if there is no temperature drop there is no charge. I've never used them but they do advertise this service. I used an 'indie' guy who charged me the full rate for the job even though my fan was broke and didn't charge me for the gas fill after I'd fixed the fan.

Manxman_in_exile wrote: »

Thanks. From a "Money Saving" point of view, is it worth trying to check the temperature myself (I'd have to get a digital thermometer of some kind) or is that likely to be more hassle for me than it's worth?

A way to test it (in my car with climate control) is to run it for a while and as it blasts away on 'LO' setting increase it step by step up to 18, 19 or 20 and the blower should slow down as it approaches the ambient cabin temperature.

takman

Manxman_in_exile wrote: »

Thanks. From a "Money Saving" point of view, is it worth trying to check the temperature myself (I'd have to get a digital thermometer of some kind) or is that likely to be more hassle for me than it's worth?

Well if you test it with a thermometer and the temperature shown is acceptable would you be happy with the A/C?. If yes then you could try testing it if you can get a cheap thermometer but if your not going to be happy with it even if it shows the right temperature then there is no point in doing it.

Chrishazle

Groupon/ATS Euromaster have a deal running at the moment, £29 for a regas or £33 for regas and antibacterial clean. I'm having the latter done to the s204 Friday.

Don't know if it's still valid, but Kwik Fit used to test your AC output temp, regas the system then retest the output temp, and if they had not achieved a lower temp they did not charge you.