Air Conditioning - Possible Woes!

[lloydyyy]

Firstly, hello! This is my first post. I'm looking forward to becoming an active member of the club :D

My car's air conditioning has been acting-up for a while. The only way I can describe it is this...

It used to switch itself off fully (complete shutdown) and then start back up X amount of time later and cycle fully on and off, and sometimes it wouldn't start back up at all. Ariazone in Port Talbot diagnosed the problem as the compressor clutch air gap was out of kilter, and a new compressor was required. They re-gassed the system and let me go on my way.

I took the car to Red Dragon Air Conditioning Ltd in Bridgend a few weeks ago. The director said the compressor was absolutely fine and does not need replacing. He checked the system pressure and it read within normal range. I had the system re-gassed.

The system still turns itself fully off and on. When I say 'fully', you can hear the car's engine fans turn off and the compressor shutting down.

Sometimes, the air conditioning won't turn on at all. I've started making a record about the issue. I've own a few Fiestas and none of them displayed any symptoms like this; once the air conditioning was turned on, it stayed on and you could hear the compressor clutch plates constantly cycling between engaging and disengaging (normal). The air conditioning system in my current Fiesta just seems to cycle fully on and off, which I've never heard of or experienced before.

The car is a 2008/08 Ford Fiesta Style Climate, 1.25 petrol, manual, 37k miles, standard manual blowers (not climate control).

Here is today's record:

19/12/2013

Left the house at 3:05pm in the car.

Heater on fully hot.

Air conditioning failed to switch on upon demand. The button was turned off and back on but the system still failed to switch on. The button was left engaged (LED light on) throughout the journey. The heater was adjusted between hot and cold but made no difference.

Car parked at 3:18pm but left running.

Air conditioning switched on itself at 3:18pm. The engine fans switched on and the compressor started. The air conditioning system cycled on and off (not the clutch engaging and disengaging when the system is working normally, but the system powered off fully with the fans and compressor turning off and back on fully) as follows, with roughly 30 seconds between on and off cycles:

Off 3:18pm.

On 3:19pm.

Off 3:20pm.

On 3:20pm.

Off 3:21pm.

On 3:21pm.

Off 3:22pm.

On 3:22pm.

Off 3:22pm.

On 3:23pm.

Off 3:23pm.

On 3:23pm.

Off 3:24pm.

On 3:24pm.

Off 3:24pm and back on, less than 5 seconds later.

Off 3:25pm and back on, less than 5 seconds later.

Off 3:25pm and back on, less than 5 seconds later.

Off 3:26pm and back on, less than 5 seconds later.

When the air conditioning system is working normally, the engine fans remain on and I can hear the compressor clutch plates engaging and disengaging in a cycle until I turn the air conditioning off.

19/12/2013

Left the house at 10:00pm in the car.

Heater on fully hot.

Air conditioning failed to switch on upon demand. The button was turned off and back on but the system still failed to switch on. The button was left engaged (LED light on) throughout the journey. The heater was adjusted between hot and cold but made no difference.

Car parked and turned off at 10:15pm.

Car turned on at 10:15pm. Air conditioning failed to switch on upon demand. The button was left engaged (LED light on). The heater was adjusted between hot and cold but made no difference.

Car parked at home at 10:23pm. The air conditioning still failed to turn on at this point.

The air conditioning button was turned off and on several times but the system still failed to switch on. The system eventually turned on itself at 10:24pm. The engine fans switched on and the compressor started. The air conditioning system cycled on and off (not the clutch engaging and disengaging when the system is working normally, but the system powered off fully with the fans and compressor turning off and back on fully) as follows, with roughly 30 seconds between on and off cycles:

Off 10:24pm.

On 10:25pm.

Off 10:25pm.

On 10:25pm.

Off 10:26pm.

On 10:26pm.

Off 10:27pm.

I think it has been pretty cold outside but I'm sure it was playing up during the summer.

The manual does say that the air conditioning operates only when the temperature is above 4 degrees Celsius.

My car is supposed to show a red light by the speedo when the outside air temperature is below 1 degree Celsius and an amber light when the outside temperature is between 4 degrees Celsius and 1 degree Celsius. This light has never shown since I've had the car, and we've had some pretty icy mornings. Would this be related to the air conditioning issue? Is my Fiesta Style Climate supposed to show the red/amber light on the dash to reflect the outside temperature?

It's only been a few weeks since it was re-gassed, unless there's a major leak. I've emailed Steven (director) at Red Dragon Air Conditioning Ltd to let him know the recent details and to ask if he can give the air conditioning system a thorough check.

Some people have said it could be a dodgy connection and/or dodgy pressure sensor/switch.

Any idea why the system is turning itself fully on and off sometimes? I'd be very grateful for any advice.

[btmaldon]

I was thinking it could be a dodgy low pressure sensor as the behaviour is that of a car that is low on gas. If the temperature was below 4 degrees it simply wouldn't switch on. I dont think the icon is linked to the system.

[lloydyyy]

The car was fully re-gassed a few weeks ago. Unless there's a major leak in the system.

I've had a response from Red Dragon Air Conditioning Ltd (who have been very good to me):

You will need to bring it in for us to check Lloyd. The system is supposed to switch off and on so it sounds like its doing what it is designed to do.

Try keeping a record of the 'set temperature' and the 'cabin temperature' as the a/c system will not operate if the cabin is either close to (within 1-2 degrees), at, or below the set temp.

Remember to turn the temperature control switch to fully hot, then back around to fully cold as it was sticking when you last visited.

The a/c system should not stay fully on. This is a fault condition and is usually associated with a lack of refrigerant but could also be due to other fault conditions.

If you are not happy, you will need to book it in with us for us to run some diagnostic checks on the system.

[Nathan_M]

When mine was low on gas due to being unused for 7 years the LED would come on but the unit would start, then I had it re gassed and it works, I have written this far and just realised its of no help to you so I hope you enjoyed the story. Sorry.

Sent from my LT30p using Ford OC mobile app

[btmaldon]

When mine was low on gas due to being unused for 7 years the LED would come on but the unit would start, then I had it re gassed and it works, I have written this far and just realised its of no help to you so I hope you enjoyed the story. Sorry.

Sent from my LT30p using Ford OC mobile app

:)

[lloydyyy]

It's only been a few weeks since it was re-gassed, unless there's a major leak. Steven (director) at Red Dragon Air Conditioning Ltd has offered to run diagnostics on the system.

20/12/2013

Left the house at 2:45pm in the car.

Heater on fully hot.

The AC turned on upon demand and stayed on throughout the journey. The AC compressor clutch engaged and disengaged as normal. The engine fans stayed on.

Car parked and turned off at 3:20pm.

21/12/2013

Journey 1

Town/rural journey.

Left the house at 4:59pm in the car.

Heater on half cold/half hot.

The AC turned on upon demand and stayed on throughout the journey. The AC compressor clutch engaged and disengaged as normal. The engine fans stayed on.

Car parked and turned off at 5:10pm.

Journey 2

Motorway journey.

Travelled in the car at 6:30pm.

Heater on fully hot.

The AC turned on upon demand and stayed on throughout the journey. The AC compressor clutch engaged and disengaged as normal. The engine fans stayed on.

Car parked and turned off at 7:40pm.

Journey 3

Motorway journey.

Travelled in the car at 11:30pm.

Heater on fully cold.

The AC turned on upon demand and stayed on throughout the journey. The AC compressor clutch engaged and disengaged as normal. The engine fans stayed on.

Car parked and turned off at 12:30am.

If the outside temperature was below 4 degrees Celsius, I would expect the system not to come on at all (which is normal). However, on some occasions it has been cycling between fully on and fully off.