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Fiesta MK6 Air Con Question


chris301up
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I own a 2008 Fiesta Mk6 1.4TDCI and have just noticed a strange thing about the air conditioning. When in use it switches itself on and off regularly every 4 - 5 seconds or so. I use the air con all the time, including winter months, but I have to say, I have never noticed this before. When listening carefully you can hear the relay in the fuse box compartment switching on and off.

Anyone else had a similar issue or is it supposed to be like this? 

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Is it actually blowing cold?

On my mk6 I had a fuse go on the cooling fan which meant that a/c was overheating and would trip off, cycling on/off like that. Would work ok when moving due to cooling air flow, but wasn't blowing cold when stationary, with compressor switching on/off.

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Hi. Yes it blows cold for 4 -5 seconds, switches off for a couple seconds, back on for 4 -5 seconds and so on.

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Hmmn, doesn't sound the same as mine then if its blowing cold when stationary.

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No it doesn't really. I've just checked it again and still as I mentioned. 'Cycling' on and off and you can hear the relay clicking at these times. Hmmm??

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the system is very low on R134a. This requires a recovery , vac out system and a full recharge will solve it. Do not use until its done as the compressor may be low on oil due to low gas flow

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I had the air-con serviced / recharged at the end of 2017, so would suspect this is not the issue? I could take it back to the garage who did the job and ask them to recheck just as a matter of course. In fact, I've got the MOT on Monday and the garage is only just up the road from there, so will perhaps pop in and ask them.

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The problem is most garages just recharge the A/C system without confirming the system has no leaks !   .   I always find the leaks first and then recharge . Finding leaks takes time of which garages do not want to do. The price of R134a is now expensive so as well as being a legal requirement to find the leak first it also saves money on gas and better for the planet.

 

 

No 1 Leak is often the Condenser with a pin hole .

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Surely when drawing off old refrigerant there would be a pressure reading to verify that the system is sealed?

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

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I actually watched the guy vacate and recharge the unit and, If I recall correctly, he did check for leaks at the time before doing the recharge. Not to say a leak hasn't developed since of course. The only thing he wouldn't let me do is stand too close to it whist recharging. Something to do with Health & Safety. I've sent him an email and see what he says?

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No 

If the system is empty (not in this case) that almost always means it has a leak. The pressure (static) is almost the same if it has 80g of gas or 600g . The only way to ensure the correct charge is always recover , vac out system and recharge by weight of r134a. The leak test can be found with tracer dye / electronic leak detector or pressure test with Oxygen free nitrogen before recharging. 

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5 minutes ago, chris301up said:

I actually watched the guy vacate and recharge the unit and, If I recall correctly, he did check for leaks at the time before doing the recharge. Not to say a leak hasn't developed since of course. The only thing he wouldn't let me do is stand too close to it whist recharging. Something to do with Health & Safety. I've sent him an email and see what he says?

was the system empty last time ? If so he should of pressure tested first but I expect many garages do not have the equipment to do this. Gas is not safe to handle unless you have a licence. R134a boils at -26.3 deg

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I don't think it was completely empty, but close to it. I remember him doing something before recharging but, as I'm not very familiar with this modern stuff, couldn't confirm one way or the other. I know I was there for around a hour and half whist he completed the job. Lets see what he has to say tomorrow? 

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Right. I called in to the garage where I had the air con re-charged and, after the guy checked the system, he said it wasn't particularly low on refrigerant. However, I think I am going to have it vacated and re-charged again just as a matter of course and see what happens.

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sounds like he does not understand aircon systems !    The only way to confirm the charge level is RECOVER and note weight , VAC system for 30 mins , RECHARGE R134a buy WEIGHT for the make model of car. If he put his gauge set / machine onto the car the pressures would be low when running but the only 100% way is above and then if still faulty see what the pressures are and you will be able to fault find.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi,did you solve the issue on the Aircon. Mine is doing the same on yours, switching on and off every few seconds.

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Hi. Yes I think I have. I had a re-gas last week and it seems to be working fine now

 

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Ok. How much does it cost. I've never regassed an air con before.

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Hi. Where I live they charge anything from around £60 to £80. However,  our local Formula 1 Autocentre charge £59 but give a discount of £5 if booked online. So £54. Reasonable I think? This involved vacating the system, lubricating and re-gassing which took around 40 minutes or so, Just check around and I'm sure you'll get a good deal. So glad I had it done particularly in this hot weather.

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F1 were doing AC recharges at £40 (online booking) a few months back, but they didn't check properly before filling the gas and it all fell out within an hour.  Protyre were doing it for £25, I was gutted I paid £40 lol.  Trouble is the best deals will have all gone now we are into the height of summer.  ATS are doing a Groupon offer for £35 which is about as good as you'll get atm.

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I think it also depends upon where in the country you live? Different places doing different deals. Higher prices now during summer months. <ind you, on saying that, just under two years ago I had a re-gas and it cost just over £40 so the price I got it for was reasonable in my opinion. I will tell you that when I spoke to a chap at Halfords local to me, he said they would do a top-up at £40, but that didn't include vacating the system. That obviously cost more. You get what you pay for I'm sure!

https://www.halfords.com/advice/motoring/service/halfords-car-air-conditioning-services

 

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You don't always get what you pay for these days...with all the various voucher codes, cashback sites and online deals you can often get the same product or service much cheaper than other people.  In my experience paying a lot for something doesn't usually make it any better...I'm a bit of a bargain hunter myself lol! :biggrin: 

I'd say £35-£45 is about right for an AC regas during the summer.  The tech doesn't even do much, just stick the pipes on and let the machine do most of the work.  It means they can be doing another job at the same while your car is on the AC machine.

The Halfords top up is done with their refill cans, they can be bought from there for £30 on trade but don't work well at all, I've tried a couple of their cans.  Evacuation and vac test should always be done so best to have it done properly imo. :smile: 

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Hi. That's not strictly true. The cost of re-gassing would normally be around £35 - £45 but unfortunately the cost of R134a refrigerant is now very expensive and it's this that as caused a spike in the overall cost. £40 - £60 is now the standard price for a decent job to be done.

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Halfords are around £60 for full AC service, regass, pressure check, leak test and leak warranty.

Newer cars use a different gas to R134 I am told and it is nearly double the price.

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Double and a bit more. The cost of a bottle of r134a not long ago was around£100, now it's not far off £400. And the new gas r1234yf is £1200 equivilant bottle . And the air con equipment is 

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