First hot day of the year and surprise surprise, the aircon doesn't
work. Anybody here worked on one of these? It's a 98 S plate with
the 1.8 engine.

I've traced it as far as the compressor solenoid / clutch / whatever
isn't getting any power when the A/C is turned on. The light comes on
on the dash, but the wire going to the compressor is dead (checked
with a test lamp and voltmeter). All the other heater functions work
OK, and the fuses (there seem to be three associated with it) are all
intact.

If I run a wire directly from the compressor to the battery I can hear
a 'clunk', the idle drops a bit, and it starts to blow cold - so it
looks like wiring / relay / control PCB fault. Any pointers for
getting at the heater controls, preferably without pulling the entire
dash out?

Even after running it for 5 mins with the wire to the battery it was a
bit feeble - so it'll probably need a re-gas as well sometime soon.
Anybody tried the £30 kits you can get from Halfords etc? Or would I
be better off going to an aircon specialist to get this bit done?

wrote in message
...
First hot day of the year and surprise surprise, the aircon doesn't
work. Anybody here worked on one of these? It's a 98 S plate with
the 1.8 engine.

I've traced it as far as the compressor solenoid / clutch / whatever
isn't getting any power when the A/C is turned on. The light comes on
on the dash, but the wire going to the compressor is dead (checked
with a test lamp and voltmeter). All the other heater functions work
OK, and the fuses (there seem to be three associated with it) are all
intact.

If I run a wire directly from the compressor to the battery I can hear
a 'clunk', the idle drops a bit, and it starts to blow cold - so it
looks like wiring / relay / control PCB fault. Any pointers for
getting at the heater controls, preferably without pulling the entire
dash out?

Even after running it for 5 mins with the wire to the battery it was a
bit feeble - so it'll probably need a re-gas as well sometime soon.
Anybody tried the £30 kits you can get from Halfords etc? Or would I
be better off going to an aircon specialist to get this bit done?

I would put £10 on the low pressure switch has disabled the compressor due
to a low charge. Get it evac'd and recharged first, or at least the low side
pressure read with the system at rest.

Tim..

wrote:
First hot day of the year and surprise surprise, the aircon doesn't
work. Anybody here worked on one of these? It's a 98 S plate with
the 1.8 engine.

I've traced it as far as the compressor solenoid / clutch / whatever
isn't getting any power when the A/C is turned on. The light comes on
on the dash, but the wire going to the compressor is dead (checked
with a test lamp and voltmeter). All the other heater functions work
OK, and the fuses (there seem to be three associated with it) are all
intact.

If I run a wire directly from the compressor to the battery I can hear
a 'clunk', the idle drops a bit, and it starts to blow cold - so it
looks like wiring / relay / control PCB fault. Any pointers for
getting at the heater controls, preferably without pulling the entire
dash out?

Even after running it for 5 mins with the wire to the battery it was a
bit feeble - so it'll probably need a re-gas as well sometime soon.
Anybody tried the £30 kits you can get from Halfords etc? Or would I
be better off going to an aircon specialist to get this bit done?

Take it to an AC specialist. It probably only needs recharging, but as
it's only £40 odd quid for a vac / dye / gas then you may as well let
someone who knows what they're doing sort it.

--
Pete M - OMF#9
Range Rover V8 Turbo
Range Rover 4.6 HSE
"Professional Petrolhead"

On 7 May, 22:23, "Tim.." wrote:

I would put £10 on the low pressure switch has disabled the compressor due
to a low charge. Get it evac'd and recharged first, or at least the low side
pressure read with the system at rest.

Tim..

OK, thanks, I'll have a look through the yellow pages tomorrow.
Anyone got any recommendations for who to use? (Or who to avoid for
that matter). I'm in Gloucester/Cheltenham area.

"Pete M" wrote in message
...
wrote:
First hot day of the year and surprise surprise, the aircon
doesn't
work. Anybody here worked on one of these? It's a 98 S plate
with
the 1.8 engine.

I've traced it as far as the compressor solenoid / clutch /
whatever
isn't getting any power when the A/C is turned on. The light
comes on
on the dash, but the wire going to the compressor is dead
(checked
with a test lamp and voltmeter). All the other heater
functions work
OK, and the fuses (there seem to be three associated with it)
are all
intact.

If I run a wire directly from the compressor to the battery I
can hear
a 'clunk', the idle drops a bit, and it starts to blow cold -
so it
looks like wiring / relay / control PCB fault. Any pointers
for
getting at the heater controls, preferably without pulling the
entire
dash out?

Even after running it for 5 mins with the wire to the battery
it was a
bit feeble - so it'll probably need a re-gas as well sometime
soon.
Anybody tried the £30 kits you can get from Halfords etc? Or
would I
be better off going to an aircon specialist to get this bit
done?

Take it to an AC specialist. It probably only needs recharging,
but as it's only £40 odd quid for a vac / dye / gas then you
may as well let someone who knows what they're doing sort it.

Seconded.
All auto a/c systems leak. Could take years but eventually when
the gas pressure drops below a certain point it trips out to
protect the compressor.
Unless you're very unlucky, a professional evacuation and refill
with gas and oil, will restore it to full working order.
Mike.

Mike G wrote:

"Pete M" wrote in message
...
wrote:
First hot day of the year and surprise surprise, the aircon doesn't
work. Anybody here worked on one of these? It's a 98 S plate with
the 1.8 engine.

I've traced it as far as the compressor solenoid / clutch / whatever
isn't getting any power when the A/C is turned on. The light comes on
on the dash, but the wire going to the compressor is dead (checked
with a test lamp and voltmeter). All the other heater functions work
OK, and the fuses (there seem to be three associated with it) are all
intact.

If I run a wire directly from the compressor to the battery I can hear
a 'clunk', the idle drops a bit, and it starts to blow cold - so it
looks like wiring / relay / control PCB fault. Any pointers for
getting at the heater controls, preferably without pulling the entire
dash out?

Even after running it for 5 mins with the wire to the battery it was a
bit feeble - so it'll probably need a re-gas as well sometime soon.
Anybody tried the £30 kits you can get from Halfords etc? Or would I
be better off going to an aircon specialist to get this bit done?

Take it to an AC specialist. It probably only needs recharging, but as
it's only £40 odd quid for a vac / dye / gas then you may as well let
someone who knows what they're doing sort it.

Seconded.
All auto a/c systems leak. Could take years but eventually when the gas
pressure drops below a certain point it trips out to protect the
compressor.
Unless you're very unlucky, a professional evacuation and refill with
gas and oil, will restore it to full working order.
Mike.

Use AC-Automotive Ltd Gloucester (01452 309983), they are the company
that we use at work for the difficult jobs that our basic a/c kit cannot
deal with! They are on LLantony road gloucester near the new college but
also opperate a mobile service.

wrote in message
...
First hot day of the year and surprise surprise, the aircon doesn't
work. Anybody here worked on one of these? It's a 98 S plate with
the 1.8 engine.

I've traced it as far as the compressor solenoid / clutch / whatever
isn't getting any power when the A/C is turned on. The light comes on
on the dash, but the wire going to the compressor is dead (checked
with a test lamp and voltmeter). All the other heater functions work
OK, and the fuses (there seem to be three associated with it) are all
intact.

If I run a wire directly from the compressor to the battery I can hear
a 'clunk', the idle drops a bit, and it starts to blow cold - so it
looks like wiring / relay / control PCB fault. Any pointers for
getting at the heater controls, preferably without pulling the entire
dash out?

Even after running it for 5 mins with the wire to the battery it was a
bit feeble - so it'll probably need a re-gas as well sometime soon.
Anybody tried the £30 kits you can get from Halfords etc? Or would I
be better off going to an aircon specialist to get this bit done?

The kits from Halfords are a waste of time. I got one when they were £20 to
use on an Astra 1.6.
The adaptors supplied would not fit and the gas didn't do anything.
I would be tempted to see if the switch comes away and if the wire is broken
anywhere. Check
near to the compressor, see if it has a break and maybe join a foot or so
on - chopping a piece
out. If you don't want to go to any expense, check the feed and fuse to the
compressor. If all else
fails - fit your own switch!
The aircon specialist is probably best to visit. He will be able to
pinpoint comon problems on
various cars.