DIY Aircon fix

[David.buck84]

Hi,

I am trying to fix my air-conditioning on my 07 transit. 4 years ago it stopped working and the garage quoted me over £1k to fix it so i said don't bother. I think the pressurised the system disconnected some pipe work.

I am now going to repair it myself, I have located the Accumulator, Condenser, Evaporator and compressor, plus all the pressure switches.

What part do i have to replace now its been open to atmosphere, is it the Accumulator? or is there a separate Drier?


Thanks for your help

David

[STEVE P]

The drier will be saturated so that will need replacing.

Once back together you will need to have the system pressure and vacuum tested before any gas goes in. DONT just buy one of these kits from Halfords to put some gas in. If there is any moisture in there because it has not be vacuumed out it will turn to ice and could damage the compressor or some other parts.

Replacing A/C parts is perfectly doable as a DIY job but checking and filling the system is best left to the professionals and I don't mean Halfords. They will plug you van in and leave there machine to do its worse, if it fails to work they will blame your van and not actually know the cause. There are a lot of very good mobile A/C engineers about but it will take them an hour to do a proper job including putting the correct oil in and most will charge including the refrigerant at least £100 for the service.

If the garage quoted you a £1000 what did they think was wrong with the system?

Steve

[the dutch guy]

If the garage quoted you a £1000 what did they think was wrong with the system?

blown fuse.

[andz327]

If the garage quoted you a £1000 what did they think was wrong with the system?

blown fuse.

Must be 2 blown fuses for that price

[steviebee]

I bought a Rover 25 several years ago with known fault of Air con not working. I found a relay in glove box which was the Air con one. plugged it in and it lasted 4 years until head gasket went. So first IA is to check all fuses and relaies before you fork out on any bits.

[STEVE P]

A friend bought a Galaxy a couple of years ago with non working A/C and it is needed on one of those in the summer, we had a look and found a leak on the condenser at the hose connection. A new O ring and no more leaks. In the paperwork the previous owner had been quoted £450 for a new condenser, shocking how many vehicles have non working A/C through lack of knowledge.

Most A/C systems loose at least 10% of the refrigerant annually even if they are in 100% good condition, the very same A/C system will work with as little as 25% of its total refrigerant in the system. Don't forget if you have gas put in they also need to put some oil in.

Finally if you have an A/C system use it for a minimum of 15 mins every week to keep the seals lubricated and it will last a lot longer than only switching it on for the few hot months we get in the UK.

Steve