2 minutes ago, unofix said:

How much will it cost ????????

A very good question, but something that can't be answered until the system is looked at by an A/C specialist.

It might just need some of the seals replaced, but some of them are nearly impossible to reach without taking half the car to bits. It might need a new condenser. If you are very lucky then you could  just need a regas and some easy to reach seals replaced, so maybe £200. If it needs more work than that you could be looking £600 to £800 which would not be worth spending.

thank you again

what do i say to the AC specialist? do i just ask them to check my system for leaks?

7 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

what do i say to the AC specialist? do i just ask them to check my system for leaks?

You say as little as possible !!!!

Take the car to an A/C specialist and just tell them you would like the system "Regased"

It is up to them to check for leaks before trying to fill the system. They should put the A/C system on a machine to place the system under a vacuum, which it has to be able to hold for a given amount of time. I expect them to to you it has failed and can't be refilled. They will then offer you some options of what they can do to see if it can be repaired.

13 minutes ago, unofix said:

You say as little as possible !!!!

Take the car to an A/C specialist and just tell them you would like the system "Regased"

It is up to them to check for leaks before trying to fill the system. They should put the A/C system on a machine to place the system under a vacuum, which it has to be able to hold for a given amount of time. I expect them to to you it has failed and can't be refilled. They will then offer you some options of what they can do to see if it can be repaired.

brilliant!

will update with the outcome 🙂 

1 hour ago, unofix said:

You're getting confused with what Air Conditioning is. It has nothing to do with temperature, it is a system the conditions the air. ...

Great point, well made, wish I'd have said that... oh, wait a minute 🤣

10 hours ago, froggy8 said:

this is the first car i got with an AC, i didnt know you had to keep it on all the time, i just thought like everything else, just use it when you want sort of thing.

You don't have to keep it on all of the time, the problem though, as already pointed out, is that if you forget and leave it off for too long a period then damage can develop. Plus there are benefits to using it all year round.

9 hours ago, froggy8 said:

so from now on, i will leave the AC on right? even in winter? how does that work if i wanted to have heat on? i am guessing put the temp to maybe 22 degree but leave AC on at same time?

Don't think of the A/C on/off button like a light switch, whereby it's running constantly when the switch is on, think of it as a 'permission' switch. By switching it on you're telling the vehicle that it's allowed to run the A/C system when it wants to. By switching it off you're disallowing use. The A/C on/off switch is perhaps only present due to the nature/legacy of it being a power hungry system, and manufacturers feeling the need to enable owners to disable it completely if desired in order to save using up precious fuel they paid for on something luxurious.

If your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system allows you to specify a target temperature in degrees then presumably it must have the more fancy 'climate control' feature which essentially means that when enabled ('auto' is on) it will automatically utilise HVAC facilities to achieve and maintain the specified temperature/climate. Thus it will turn on/off/up/down heating, A/C (cooling + dehumidifying), fans, etc automatically as needed. During the winter there won't be so much need for cooling, but dehumidifying may be desirable so it may turn it on for that, in which case it would presumably need to boost heating to counteract the unwanted cooling. It may also occasionally turn on A/C briefly as a measure to protect it from damage. By turning off A/C you're forbidding climate control from choosing to utilise it.

So yes, turn on A/C, set your climate settings and you can forget all about it.

With an ordinary HVAC system (no such fancy automatic climate control), you'd just have a hot<->cold dial with the position on the dial presumably adjusting frequency and duration of the A/C system being cycled on/off. If you turn it to max cold then A/C might run constantly, turn it down a bit and it'll cycle on and off to some degree, and if turned to hot then it may not come on at all, except if briefly just to protect the system. Note that HVAC controls cannot change the degree of cooling by changing the speed of a belt-driven A/C pump, the speed is directly dependant on the rotational speed of the engine, the HVAC controls can only turn the pump on/off (done via an electromagnetic clutch mechanism at the pump). Frequency/duration of on/off cycling may also vary as engine speed varies to avoid over pressurisation at higher speeds and/or to maintain consistent output.

The A/C system is a heat removal system, essentially the same as a refrigerator. Refrigerant is pumped around a circuit that includes two radiator like components. One (the 'evaporator') is located in the dash and absorbs heat, and the other (the 'condenser') is located at the front of the vehicle alongside the radiator (the radiator actually known as 'the radiator') and gets rid of the absorbed heat, transferring it to the air that flows over it (just as 'the radiator' does). It's also a dehumidifier system (hence air conditioning not just cooling). As heat is taken out of the surrounding air by the evaporator, moisture in the air cools down such that it returns to liquid form on the surface of the evaporator. It then flows downwards where it collects in a drain and then leaves the vehicle onto the ground beneath via a drain hose.

When it comes to heating there are two possible sources of heat available. One is engine coolant. The engine generates a lot of heat that needs to be gotten rid of. Coolant circulates through the engine picking up heat and then through the radiator getting rid of it. What you may not know is that the hot engine coolant also flows through something else, the 'heater matrix'. The heater matrix is essentially another radiator located within the dash alongside the A/C system's evaporator. Air flowing through the HVAC ducting can be directed to flow over the heater matrix to pick up heat and/or over the evaporator to get rid of it (plus moisture) before flowing into the cabin compartment. A second auxiliary supply of heat may be available in some vehicles in the form of an electric heater element in the dash, for when there's not enough heat available from the heater matrix, such as just after the engine has been started, or perhaps if the engine is not running.

Update guys 

Took car to kwik fit and they told me there was no gas or oil so they filled it up and now it's all working. Happy days 😊

I will make sure I switch it on every day.

They measured the temp at 9 celcius

 

Ok another update

Just drove back home and parked up but wanted to switch ac on. After few minutes uses there was a bang and smoke came out from the engine bay. Had a look and there was abot of green liquid on some pipes and the engine cover at the bottom. 

I rang kwik fit and they said the green liquid is the dye and that the bang was a pipe got disconnected and the dye and gas leaked out. 

They have asked me to go back for a refund and they will see if they can fix it 😔

42 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

Ok another update

Just drove back home and parked up but wanted to switch ac on. After few minutes uses there was a bang and smoke came out from the engine bay. Had a look and there was abot of green liquid on some pipes and the engine cover at the bottom. 

I rang kwik fit and they said the green liquid is the dye and that the bang was a pipe got disconnected and the dye and gas leaked out. 

They have asked me to go back for a refund and they will see if they can fix it 😔

To be fair, it needed gased as all the gas would have leaked out. Although they test for leaks before filling, if it's very small, it can remain undetected. Once the system was filled and then under high pressure sounds like something give way. Hopefully it's an obvious and not too expensive a fix.

i do have a feeling its the pipe that has been split, i have attached the picture of the culprit:

 

not the big pipe with the sleeve on, its the pipe with the metal sort of crimpers?

could anyone tell me if its that pipe, will it be a big job to replace? from where im standing, it really does look very awkward to get to.

Looks like the hose between drier & compressor.  Not the worst one to replace but also not a 5 minute job.

Laughably expensive from Ford.  Much cheaper used, but of course a used one may be on its last legs as well.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393396563156?

cheers tom

i rang them as soon as it happened and they told me they will refund me and have a look at where it has split then give me a quote on how much i need to pay.

the thing is lets say the repair would be 300 and that is not including the regas, do you personally think its worth it? 

I think that's a decision only you can make. I couldn't be without the aircon in the heat we've experienced recently but if you're young and fit perhaps you could put up with it by throwing all the windows open.

If you're not particularly bothered about working AC then no it's not worth it.

If you want or need AC during the heatwaves then you'll have to pay to get it working.

If it was mine I probably would risk a used part to cut the costs down.  I can't tolerate heat so working AC was a must in my more recent cars.

(Though at the risk of triggering Stephen, I never found any need for it during the cooler months)

thank you guys

i think i will just wait and see what kwik fit says first after inspecting it. never know what they will charge but if cheap enough then i may pay to get it done.

i think i can live without air con but i really dont like if something is broke. 

@TomsFocus i just copied your descripion and pasted it on ebay search and found this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156038031954?epid=1409748016&itmmeta=01J4CSKTT0A1H64JYYDFTZ3QD3&hash=item2454976a52:g:rRMAAOSwLdJcYct7&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAKV21kaYVLuQlYPj%2BWgGQymaBGjykL1K41CPhW1cjRwifZK%2BgXykzQZyMxZMnan1FFG3P2BO68hk9FTHQm6E8yacf%2Fn0GEAQAzIAZmfcqYwkEjIUoD9qgExSrHApSvmiXuH7aGPEbyXU%2FDP8oGOfhtsQGnKp6INzdbnlkpD4dDSKaTzaUQ6RlzcF0XEHquZU5jSdm30gcdXpyU5%2B0vgi41Ai49JMCiOz22CbOVmpDKUOxFgCkblzLmKdU4Su%2F6phzrMwhzXjkXUv89d8ImuWum5JheldsBLuEW6WOcij2%2BnfrsLDhAr%2BA2LHjy56bWePcfA68dhjN%2BruDtk5aZ5ZOvk%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4qtz5mjZA

it does look similar but no sure.

ignore that link, just had another look and they dont look the same now

12 hours ago, froggy8 said:

ignore that link, just had another look and they dont look the same now

Correct.  Not even close lol.  The Ford part number for the one I linked is 1741659.