Trewithy Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 I don't think the the air from the air con in my Fiesta is as cool as it should be so I am thinking of having it serviced. I have looked at a couple of websites and they refer to air con re-gas and air con servicing, is there a difference or are they different terms for the same thing? And what cost should I expect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryPL Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 A service will just involve them using a £3 part in your car and charging an extra 20 quid for it. Get the regas at a reputable place and 'service' it yourself. All it'll be is a can that sprays deodoriser in the car whilst it's running with the air-conditioning on recirculation mode. It's one of the biggest mark-ups and cons in the motor industry. Unfortunately we have to rely on these same licensed con artists to handle the recharge gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiexen Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Air Con Service: Initial system test Check system components such as hoses, belts, condenser,compressor, fans, electrics etc Check internal system controls, flaps, heating etc Recover any existing refrigerant and oils from the system Vacuum A/C system to detect any leaks or blackages Regas (recharge) A/C system with refrigerant to vehicle specific levels Add A/C oil and leak detection dye Leak test components Full post re-gas system test 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pragmatix Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 4 hours ago, GaryPL said: A service will just involve them using a £3 part in your car and charging an extra 20 quid for it. Get the regas at a reputable place and 'service' it yourself. All it'll be is a can that sprays deodoriser in the car whilst it's running with the air-conditioning on recirculation mode. It's one of the biggest mark-ups and cons in the motor industry. Unfortunately we have to rely on these same licensed con artists to handle the recharge gas. Wrong a lot more involved than that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryPL Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 That list of stuff is what I have would expect on a "regas" (which is used almost interchangably with the term "service" as it is easier to sell to customers). At a reputable establishment, which is where I suggested the OP visit, much and if not all of the stuff on your list should be being done routinely. It is mostly visual checks and I would be alarmed if a garage were not doing it frankly. Stuff like checking the condition of things like pipes, the connectors, the operation and so on, prior hooking up the machine is just what a half decent vendor should be doing with every car. Much of the other stuff on your list is done automatically by the machine that they hook your car up to. Like purging and recovering existing gas and lubricant, leak testing, etc. The machine isn't sitting there doing nothing for the 40 minutes it is hooked up. And pretty much every garage will take a before and after temperature reading at the vent, which naturally enables interior operation checks too. Essentially a regas is a system service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pragmatix Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 1 hour ago, GaryPL said: That list of stuff is what I have would expect on a "regas" (which is used almost interchangably with the term "service" as it is easier to sell to customers). At a reputable establishment, which is where I suggested the OP visit, much and if not all of the stuff on your list should be being done routinely. It is mostly visual checks and I would be alarmed if a garage were not doing it frankly. Stuff like checking the condition of things like pipes, the connectors, the operation and so on, prior hooking up the machine is just what a half decent vendor should be doing with every car. Much of the other stuff on your list is done automatically by the machine that they hook your car up to. Like purging and recovering existing gas and lubricant, leak testing, etc. The machine isn't sitting there doing nothing for the 40 minutes it is hooked up. And pretty much every garage will take a before and after temperature reading at the vent, which naturally enables interior operation checks too. Essentially a regas is a system service. Sorry still got to disagree, I've had regases done in the past by these plug in machines and the system have had leaks that have not been detected, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 You need to check the wording on individual places, some class a simple clean as a 'service', some call a regas a 'demist service'. The machines don't find leaks. They just hold a vacuum on the system which is what takes the majority of the time of a regas. A slow leak will obviously hold vac pressure for longer. So it may not show up if the vac is only held for 15 mins. My original leak only showed up as the garage forgot about the car and it ended up on the machine for an hour...in this time it only dropped a tiny bit of pressure which wouldn't have shown up in half that time. It is illegal for them to vent AC gas to atmosphere so also illegal to fill a known leaking system which is partly why they do the vac test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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