Testing A/C compressor?

JustAnotherSaver

AdrianC wrote: »

A second hand compressor is quite likely to be dead, especially if it's been off the car for a while, even if it was working before the car was scrapped. Seals dry out when it's out of use, which is why cars that haven't had the aircon used over winter tend to lose their gas very quickly in the summer.

Ok thanks for that. I knew the majority of what you said but wasn't aware it applied to the compressor also.

Out of interest does the A/C even work in winter? I kicked it in every couple of weeks or so during winter but one time i asked about it because when i plugged in opcom my kPa reading was so low i wondered if i had a leak and i was told it was because it was winter and something to do with the air pressure or whatever it was (it's been a long time so i forget) and that when it turns summer the reading is higher.

But annoying as all in i must've paid somewhere around £500 to get the condenser fixed somewhere around 2009/2010. I would've liked the system to have lasted another few years until i replaced it. Oh well.




On a side note, i was looking at getting my wifes car regassed as the A/C does work but it's not super cold. We've had it 2 years now and god knows when it was last done.
We were looking at Kwik Fit. Now i know the knee-jerk reaction is to say stay away, but for just an A/C regas? Surely any 'specialist' could make a meal of it just like Kwik Fit could. I imagine it must surely be the same machine, program it to do the same thing and that's it?


Just that the A/C place i've been to in the past is 30 miles away and we have to book in like a proper garage, so it'll mean doing it on my hols at the end of Aug.
With Kwik Fit it's just around the corner and we can just turn up, and it's £30 cheaper.

AdrianC

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Ok thanks for that. I knew the majority of what you said but wasn't aware it applied to the compressor also.

The compressor's the worst-affected, because it's the only part of the system with moving parts that need sealing.

Out of interest does the A/C even work in winter?

Of course. It dries the air, which you can then heat - GREAT for demisting windows. If ambient temperature affects the pressure sufficiently to make a difference, then your system's already way down on gas.

JustAnotherSaver

AdrianC wrote: »

The compressor's the worst-affected, because it's the only part of the system with moving parts that need sealing.



Of course. It dries the air, which you can then heat - GREAT for demisting windows. If ambient temperature affects the pressure sufficiently to make a difference, then your system's already way down on gas.

Strange then because that happened not long after i had it gassed tbh and the kPa reading had been over 1000.


My Ford Escort, as old as it was, was superb at demisting windows in the winter and was super icy cold in the summer. The Astra isn't a patch on it.

Oh and to an earlier comment, the picture was just as a rough guide. It looks like the one i have. My Astra is actually the MK4, not 5.

Geoff1963

Diagnosing car faults needs a detailed understanding of how that particular one works ; more like being a vet, than a doctor. There are some basics, but enough differences that general advice can be misleading.

m_c

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Oh and to an earlier comment, the picture was just as a rough guide. It looks like the one i have. My Astra is actually the MK4, not 5.

An Astra-G then.
Is it a diesel by any chance?

JustAnotherSaver

m_c wrote: »

An Astra-G then.
Is it a diesel by any chance?

Some call it by the letters other by the numbers. I prefer saying MK4, MK5

It's the 1.8 engine. Petrol.

AdrianC

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Some call it by the letters other by the numbers. I prefer saying MK4, MK5

The Astra G could be seen as the Mk2 Astra - if you consider Opel Astra-badged cars.
It could be seen as the Mk7 or Mk8, if you consider Opel Kadett or Astra-badged cars.

It's only the Mk4 if you take a peculiarly UK-centric attitude, which is kinda pointless when you're looking for parts in a modern internet age. Probably best to go with the manufacturer's description, eh?

JustAnotherSaver

AdrianC wrote: »

The Astra G could be seen as the Mk2 Astra - if you consider Opel Astra-badged cars.
It could be seen as the Mk7 or Mk8, if you consider Opel Kadett or Astra-badged cars.

It's only the Mk4 if you take a peculiarly UK-centric attitude, which is kinda pointless when you're looking for parts in a modern internet age. Probably best to go with the manufacturer's description, eh?

But we're not going out of our way to be awkward though are we. We're not talking about Opel's and we're not talking about Kadett's and we (or at least I am anyway) are UK based. Hop on to any of the Astra owner forums and they'll be referred to as both G & MK4, H & MK5, J & MK6 etc, parts sold online as the same.

When we know what someone is referring to it's probably best to just accept that we know what they're referring to for a simple discussion eh?


Your comment reminds me of a guy i work with. He came from a similar type of company. We have a product in stock called pipe bedding. He's a driver and will sometimes come to get loaded with this product. He's a strange guy and he will just stand there for an age .... every single time .... arguing that he calls this product pea gravel. Yes, whatever, it's pipe bedding to us. But i call it pea gravel, where i came from called it pea gravel. Yes, wonderful, but we don't. It's the same thing, you know it, i know it so let's get on with it. But i call it pea gravel he'll say again.

Every...single...time...

m_c

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Some call it by the letters other by the numbers. I prefer saying MK4, MK5

And I'll stick to using what the manufacturer uses, as it avoids any confusion ;-)

It's the 1.8 engine. Petrol.

IIRC it should be controlled via the engine ECU. Diesels used a separate cooling control module, which controlled the AC and cooling fans, and they were prone to corrosion due to their location.


Since you've got opcom, what is the kpa reading with nothing running, and the AC switched off for long enough for pressures to equalise through the system?

What do the other AC related values say? There should be ones for AC request, Compressor command, and possibly ones relating to anything that may cause the compressor not to be commanded.

AdrianC

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

But we're not going out of our way to be awkward though are we. We're not talking about Opel's and we're not talking about Kadett's

Well, yes, you are. They're the same car from the same factory. It just happens that this one market out of all those the cars are sold into changes the badges and tries to pretend they're something else.

and we (or at least I am anyway) are UK based. Hop on to any of the Astra owner forums and they'll be referred to as both G & MK4, H & MK5, J & MK6 etc, parts sold online as the same.

And those UK forums don't include people in Ireland, where the cars have always been Opel badged?
Nobody buys parts from the internet?

When we know what someone is referring to it's probably best to just accept that we know what they're referring to for a simple discussion eh?

And that's my whole point. You think you know what you're referring to. You think you know what somebody else's referring to... But you might be talking at cross-purposes.

Your comment reminds me of a guy i work with. He came from a similar type of company. We have a product in stock called pipe bedding. He's a driver and will sometimes come to get loaded with this product. He's a strange guy and he will just stand there for an age .... every single time .... arguing that he calls this product pea gravel. Yes, whatever, it's pipe bedding to us. But i call it pea gravel, where i came from called it pea gravel. Yes, wonderful, but we don't. It's the same thing, you know it, i know it so let's get on with it. But i call it pea gravel he'll say again.

Every...single...time...

Perhaps he has a point? One day, you'll order "pipe bedding", and what you get won't be what you expect. You'll describe what you expect... "Oh, pea gravel? Why didn't you order that, then?"