oh dear the aircon`s stopped working

[metalguru]

hi all,
as luck would have it the week i decide to put the truck in the autotrader the aircon stops working. There was a puddle of liquid on my drive last week which disappeared as quickly as it came - refrigerant possibly?
Anyway it`s still under warranty but I`ll bet those sneaky dealers have got something up their sleeves to make me pay!
Does anybody know if there`s a getout for the dealers i need to be aware of???
It`s been faultless for 10 months so I`m still not put off buying the Navarra.
By the way drove a Mitshubishi Warrior just as a comparison before having a go in a Outlaw spec Navarra.
Oh dear - Mitsubishi, you have got a bit of work to do to catch up!!!!!

 

[JonathanM]

hi all,
as luck would have it the week i decide to put the truck in the autotrader the aircon stops working. There was a puddle of liquid on my drive last week which disappeared as quickly as it came - refrigerant possibly?
Anyway it`s still under warranty but I`ll bet those sneaky dealers have got something up their sleeves to make me pay!
Does anybody know if there`s a getout for the dealers i need to be aware of???
It`s been faultless for 10 months so I`m still not put off buying the Navarra.
By the way drove a Mitshubishi Warrior just as a comparison before having a go in a Outlaw spec Navarra.
Oh dear - Mitsubishi, you have got a bit of work to do to catch up!!!!!

The refridgerant is a gas as far as I know at normal temperature ie if there is a leak it won't be a liquid leak, it will be a gaseous leak.

But it may be that the system just needs a proper regas, as the pump won't work if there is insufficient gas in the system.

Kwikfit have a full purge, pressure test & regas service for £45, what they won't do is repair any leaks in the system - but if they can't regas the system, they don't charge. So it might be worth your while if you can afford £45 to try a Kwikfit regas, then if they can't you can go to the dealer for warranty work, if it is covered. I'm not sure a dealer will consider a regas a warranty item, as the aircon should be "serviced" regularly anyway - even though it isn't a standard dealer service point, if you follow.

The worst case could be damage to the condensor, which if it is stone damage etc won't be warrantied anyway. On the 2.7TDis there are also some aircon pipes in the engine bay, stand with the bonnet up, looking in, and there are 2 metal/rubber pipes running from the aircon pump & condensor back towards the cab area. There are a couple of joints on these pipes (visible near the air filter can on a 2.7) that can work loose. Mine were loose on purchase, so needed tightening, and then zip tied together to stop stop them turning & slackening off. So before you head to Kwik fit just check these unions are tight and have not slackened off. Not sure if the 3.0 will have the pipework in the same place, but worth a look.

 

[jace]

u going new d40 outlaw? lot lads over on navara.net saying good deals to be had on 07 cars at mo!

 

[Toolbox]

If you get a large leak in the air con circuit i.e. a pipe rubbed through, it will appear as a liquid not just gas.

As JonathanM more or less stated, If there has been a leak caused by a part failing then the repair and the subsequent re-gas should be under warranty.

Please note that any leak of refrigerant is actually dangerous to your health as it is carcinogenic.

 

[weatherman]

Air con leak

I teach airconditioning. If refrigerant leaks through a large hole it can come out as a liquid and quickly evapourate. The average system contains 750gr of 134a. If your system still ha r12 it cant be recharged using 134a.

When you go to certain garages that advertise refills, they only do a vacuum test which is useless as the systems should have a leak test of 1.1 times normal operating pressure using oxygen free nitrogen. They dont have the equipment to do this.

The other solution is to use one of the new dyes into the system and use the special torch to pick up the leak, This is sold by a number of refrigeration wholesalers. You must run your aircon once per week all year round to keep the seals lubricated.

 

[JonathanM]

Well, learn something new everyday, I didn't know that refridgerant would be seen as a liquid. Seems odd that we constantly refer to a re-gas etc then!

 

[weatherman]

Airconditioning

The basic refrigeration system works on the principle of changing states from gas to liquid and back to gas.

The compressor takes in gas (refrigerant) enters the compressor at a low pressure/tempreture. The compressor pumps the gas to a higher pressure which at the same time increases its tempreture to a point where the surrounding air is colder than the pumped gas. This is called its condensing tempreture. So the hot high pressure gas enters the condenser where its latent heat is removed. Latent heat is the heat required to change state. As an example if you boil a kettle of water you can see the tempreture rise to 100c on a thermometer. This is called sensable heat. If you keep the heat on all the water will change to steam. You are still adding heat but the tempreture does not change until all the water has changed to steam. Then by adding further heat to the steam you can increase its tempreture to become superheated.

 

[weatherman]

Airconditioning part 2

Once the gas enters the condenser the air passing over the condenser removes the latent heat and turns the gas into a liquid. This liquid passes through an expansion or metering device into the evaporator. The hot air passing over the evaporator from the air blower has heat extracted from it causing the air to become cold and causing the refrigerant to turn back to a gas as the heat removed from the air is passed into the refrigerant to be reused in the cycle. Remember the higher the revs of the engine the more the compressor pums giving more cooling. If there is insufficient gas the system will cut out for its protection. If there is to much pressure again the system will cut out so system charge is important. The switch controling this is sometime refured to as the trinity switch which stops the compressor clutch operating.

 

[JonathanM]

I was aware of the basic principles, but assumed if the refridgerant was leaking it would have reverted to a gaseous state without being seen as a liquid.

 

[bigjim]

Well, learn something new everyday, I didn't know that refridgerant would be seen as a liquid. Seems odd that we constantly refer to a re-gas etc then!

Blimy jace not heard of liquid gas :lol: :lol: :idea:

 

[bigjim]

Well, learn something new everyday, I didn't know that refridgerant would be seen as a liquid. Seems odd that we constantly refer to a re-gas etc then!

Blimy jace not heard of liquid gas :lol: :lol: :idea:

sorry jonathan i miss read the thread for some reason i thought your comment was jace's.
Blimey Jonathannot heard of liquid Gas, there got it right this time OK i'll shut up :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: -banghead- -banghead- -banghead- -rotfl-

 

[jace]

isnt lpg liquified petroleum gas?

 

[JonathanM]

Well, learn something new everyday, I didn't know that refridgerant would be seen as a liquid. Seems odd that we constantly refer to a re-gas etc then!

Blimy jace not heard of liquid gas :lol: :lol: :idea:

sorry jonathan i miss read the thread for some reason i thought your comment was jace's.
Blimey Jonathannot heard of liquid Gas, there got it right this time OK i'll shut up :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: -banghead- -banghead- -banghead- -rotfl-

:?:

Yep, heard of liquid gases, LPG is liquid petroleum gas, and most gas cylinders contain liquid. My (wrong) assumption was that an ac leak wouldn't be seen as a liquid because it would mean the system was venting to the atmosphere so no pressure or circuit to maintain the refridgerant in a liquid state.

 

[weatherman]

Air con

If the leak was in the condenser or any part of the system containing liquid, as soon as the liquid comes out you will see it evaourate off as a white mist.This mist will also contain oil as oil circulates with the refrigerant. Get a lpg bottle crack valve open and turn the bottle upside down. You will see the liquid evapourate as it comes out. Danger do not burn your self. Wear gloves and glasses.

 

[jace]

put yer fag out first!