I bought my 2012 Focus 1.6 TDCI 2 month ago and i noticed the A/C didnt work. I recently got it re-gassed at KwikFit last week and it was great for that 1st day and the next day it didnt work. I took it back and they tested the gas and it was still full however my compressor wasnt kicking in so surprisingly they refunded me for the re-gas. I read up on testing the relay which is in fully working order because i swapped it with the horn relay and it worked. I have now tried by-passing the relay with wire and the clutch engages and the A/C kicks in. Any suggestions on the next part i need to check would be appreciated.

Cheers

I'm also surprised they refunded with all the gas still in there.

Next step in this case sounds like the pressure sensor.  If the car thinks the pressure is low then it won't power the relay.

On older cars it was a simple on/off switch that could be easy bridged out but I'm pretty sure it'll be a 3-wire sensor on a Mk3 Focus.

Thanks for the reply

Is there anyway i can check if the sensor is faulty?

If i was to replace the sensor would that mean i would lose all the gas thats been put in and then require another re-gas?

Thanks for the reply

Is there anyway i can check if the sensor is faulty?

If i was to replace the sensor would that mean i would lose all the gas thats been put in and then require another re-gas?

Forscan might show you what pressure the sensor is reading.  But there isn't a quick way to determine whether the sensor is faulty, like there was with the old switches.

Sometimes ports are fitted with a one way valve that closes as you remove a sensor, so the gas doesn't come out.  Though I'm afraid I don't know whether that's the case with these or not.

For reference, it is illegal to knowingly vent AC gas to atmosphere, so you would need to have the gas professionally removed first if you intend to open the system yourself at all.

Yeah i definitely wouldnt be attempting a job that that. Ive checked online and it is a 3 way switch which is a shame as i could have bridged it if it was a 2 way and that would give me the answer im looking for

4 hours ago, Heslop92 said:

... I took it back and they tested the gas and it was still full however my compressor wasnt kicking in so surprisingly they refunded me for the re-gas...

One of the reasons I constantly recommend KwikFit for A/C regas. It's a £500+ Million turnover company. Not like an independent local garage that could not afford to refund an errant regas.