Air con testing?

fred246

Maybe Seat think that the 3 year service is the last time they will see your car so it's the last chance to make a bit more profit out of you.

Ditzy_Mitzy

Frozen_up_north said:

Thanks Ditzy, I think you have probably hit the nail on the head. The cars in question are a 2017 Leon with climate control and a 6 month old Ibiza with more basic air con. The Ibiza feels noticeably cooler, even though the measured air temperature is a lot higher.

You're welcome - and in my experience cars with automatic climate control always seem to have less obtrusive air conditioning than those with manual 'hope for the best' setups.  

Manxman_in_exile

We've got a 12 plate Mondeo (bog standard) which replaced a 53 plate Avensis.  The air con in the Mondeo "feels" nowhere near as cold as it used to in the Avensis.  We've got no real complaints about it, but we both often comment on it not being so cold.  Is it actually likely that the air con on the Mondeo is better/more efficient/morecomfortable than on the older Avensis, despite not feeling as cold?

Ditzy_Mitzy

Manxman_in_exile said:

We've got a 12 plate Mondeo (bog standard) which replaced a 53 plate Avensis.  The air con in the Mondeo "feels" nowhere near as cold as it used to in the Avensis.  We've got no real complaints about it, but we both often comment on it not being so cold.  Is it actually likely that the air con on the Mondeo is better/more efficient/morecomfortable than on the older Avensis, despite not feeling as cold?

I've got a particular personal interest in car air conditioning, as it tends to irritate me and leave me with headaches.  As I noted earlier, modern systems do seem to do away with the icy blast effect of older setups.  I think it's a combination of humidity sensors, which reduce the drying effect, and more sophisticated temperature regulation.  The point of the system is to cool the whole cabin, not to give freezer burn to anything within three inches of the air vents.

shaun_from_Africa

fred246 said:

I took my 2004 VW to an air-conditioning specialist for a regas in 2010 before a Grand European Tour. Cost £50. They didn't seem to add much. I returned in 2019.

But I thought you detested garages and did all of your own servicing:

fred246 said:

This is why I keep my car well away from garages. 30min for an MOT test every year is quite long enough.

And

fred246 said:

You are better just servicing your own cars from new to stop this sort of silliness.

fred246

Most tools and equipment are mega cheap these days. However to do the job properly the machine was going to be £2.5 to £3K. I did consider it but it really didn't make sense to purchase one. I could see the attraction of the DIY cans in that you will have lost refrigerant over the years and a can will probably be OK but I really like a job to be done properly. The guy who I went to had a family member who lived in Texas. He had gone working over there with him and came back and set up a business retro-fitting aircon to prestige vehicles. He really did know his stuff and expected the customer to watch the work being done. £50 and £60 seemed a reasonable price although I don't think I had actually lost that much refrigerant. I thought the aircon would be noticeably different which it wasn't. Yes it's true I didn't DIY it but it wasn't the normally stressful experience of taking your car to a garage.

Goudy

If the air con system has been open due to a leak it can saturate the desiccant material in the receiver/dryer.
The desiccant material sometimes leaks as well, blocking the filter part of it and sending material around the system and the part it's self can leak and as the system lubricant tends to pool in it, you often notice drips from it if it is.
So it's best to have it replaced when the air con system is serviced.

They aren't that expensive, thirty odd quid or so, but the trouble is they are usually buried in quite inaccessible places and get overlooked due to the time and effort getting to them.

mcpitman

facade said:

mcpitman said:

Best get mine topped up/checked then - 10 yr old car, owned by me for nearly 7 years and never touched it.

I thought Air-con was a sealed system, so a leak is a leak which could be terminal?

There are leaks and there are Leaks

Will be mostly slight porosity of the flexible hoses I'd have thought, then the rotating seal at the pump.  Mind you, the metal pipes are so thin walled nowadays I wouldn't be surprised if refrigerant could migrate though them

https://support.accuvio.com/support/solutions/articles/4000040366-annual-leakage-rate-for-the-refrigeration-air-con-hvac-

I think the easiest way to avoid leaks is to run the air-con very very regularly or all the time. I am informed this keeps the rubber seals lubricated and the seals are the bits that perish when they dry out.

I have never switched mine off since owning it and never move the temp off 21deg, seems to run fine.

As a learning, which if the categories in your links do cars fit into?