car: ford fiesta 2009 zetec
 

Hi, months ago there was an issue where the radiator was broken and caused some issues, we had it replaced and there were no issues for months. Not sure if it’s relevant to the situation but I’ll move onto the main details.

Since a month or two ago, the air con would cut out occasionally maybe once/twice a week. Since then, it got to the point where the air con would only work rarely during a trip (long and short). It would still turn on when the fan was set to 1 or 2 but eventually cut out and you’d hear a sound similar to a fan slowly stopping and rattling. To fix this, we would turn the fan level to 3 or 4 and it would stay on constantly for longer - this has changed since last week. The air con now does not turn on at all, the lights are illuminating on the control with no issues, but the air con doesn’t blow anything out. This is an issue because the car windscreen keeps misting up from condensation and sometimes we have to pull over and wipe the screen on the inside. 

The AC Clutch fuse is working, I’ve tried getting the AC relay out of the engine fuse box but it is solidly stuck in, all of the relays are - no matter how much force I am pulling, the relay won’t come out of the fuse box. So im not sure if the AC relay is blown.

With the bonnet open and the ignition (not engine) on, you can’t hear any fans or noises spinning even with the AC on. When the engine is on and we try to turn the AC fan on, we hear something start up and spin in the engine but there is just no air blowing inside. It’s apparent that something is spinning (with engine and AC on) inside the engine, but there’s no airflow coming through. 

I’m not sure what’s broken but does anyone have any ideas what could be going on internally? Sorry if this is long and confusing, feel free to ask questions. 

48 minutes ago, t0m.mm said:

long and confusing

Yes !! 🤣

In short, sounds like the AC has run out of gas and has turned off the compressor to save it from damage. Get the system re-gassed, places like KwikFit will do it.

It shouldn't run out! It's a sealed system. If you've no gas, then you've got a leak.if you get it filled, then it'll happen again till you've had the leak fixed.

Figure of speech, not intended to be taken literally 🙄

The point being is the AC system is out of gas, and it may well have a leak but until it is tested the OP won't know.

So today I’ve noticed that pressing the AC button ON with the fans up (but not blowing due to fault) will make a hissing sound for a couple seconds. 
 

where should I be looking if there is a potential leak?

a hole 🤣

20 minutes ago, unofix said:

a hole 🤣

Bit uncalled for.  It was a reasonable question.  

😃

What @unofix meant to say (LOL) was if you take it to an A/C specialist, they'll be able to run a UV dye through the system which will highlight exactly where you have a leak. Impossible to tell at home! (Unless it's a big & very noticeable hole in a pipe)

Thank you that’s what I wanted to hear.

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

was if you take it to an A/C specialist, they'll be able to run a UV dye through the system which will highlight exactly where you have a leak.

I was just using 'short hand' 🤣

Reading between the broken English or odd way of describing fault. I'm reading the blower fan resistor is broke or fan or both more likely. Or am I reading the original post wrong @unofix

3 minutes ago, iantt said:

I'm reading the blower fan resistor is broke or fan or both more likely.

I think your observations are most probably right. At first I thought it could be the resistor pack, but then noted the references to the AC not working. It is as you say most likely both are faulty. 👍

Hi thanks for the comments. Sorry for the broken english in the original post🤣. 
 

Today I replaced the resistor (old one pictured) which was clearly corroded and knackered. I’ve installed the new one and there’s no change in improvement.

I did however notice that there is a puddle underneath the car which shows that there is clearly a leak in the engine somewhere (pictured this). This is on the passenger side underneath the engine. I heard a trickling from inside the car (how on earth I heard that I don’t know🤣) which prompted me to look for a leak.

On top of this; the clutch now drops to the floor when pressured and the gearbox is stiff to engage gears when the engine is on, the boot is releasing itself when unlocked, brake pads need changing, battery light has been on dashboard for a good while now - at least 120k miles on this car now.

I can’t decide whether it’s worth paying the money to fix all of this which will be a financial pain at this time of year, or if scrapping it and finding a new car is the way to go. Such a shame because it’s a lovely car.