air con

[Steve]

The compressor for the air con in my ford fiesta keeps turning on and off. I will just be driving as normal, and its on and off ever 5-10 seconds. Sometimes it will stay on for 3-4 mins. It is cooling OK, but I am concerned this rapid "cycling" may be damaging the compressor? I let it idle on the drive for about 5 minutes, and it was cycling then, I could see the revs drop when it came on, i opened the bonnet too and saw the engine shudder when it came on and off. I know compressors are meant to cycle, but this seems excessive. There is a click from the heating control every time it goes on/off.

Its a ford fiesta 1.4 TDCi 53 reg. Any ideas?

 

[davieboy]

pretty average on the fiesta. cycling times vary depending on the temperature in the car and the weather (outside temp). compressor runs longer the more cooling reqd. your gas charge may be getting low. ford recommend you service/regas the aircon every year. most people dont. you car's what, 2.5 years old? maybe worth thinking of an air-con service/regas. for info, i take 70 + vat for a service/regas and clean of the interior air ducts with an anti-bacterial spray (cuts down funny smells) and usually fit a new pollen filter.

edit- forgot to add, i'm doing 3-4 regasses a day at the moment, sun's come out up here

 

[Steve]

Its due for a service soon, another 3000 miles i think. Will get the air con looked at. Will an independant garage have the facilities to re-gas and service air con? Its an MOT/service centre, pretty big place that i take it to.

I suppose i could just wind the windows down . . .

 

[davieboy]

most main dealers have a regassing machine. some independants (like me) do. i tend to do the air-con work for most of the garages in our town, so best to ask. some bodyshops have machines too. often cheaper than a garage. tbh, the machine does most of the work itself after you connect it

 

[Steve]

My dad has a 54 reg Focus, practically the same car under the bonnet but a 1.6 diesel, and his air con stays on constantly, it doesn't cycle, and i'm assuming its the same air con setup as mine.

Would low refrigerant cause the cycling in mine? What else could be wrong? As i said, it sometimes will stay on for a good few minutes, but most times its constantly clicking on and off, it gets a bit irritating watching the rev gauge shudder about. And the inside of the car does get cold enough.

 

[breezer]

i would have thought it is supposed to cycle, no point in it being on if its not required

 

[hoofhearted]

Davieboy, I have a S2 reg renault trafic, aircon performance has been diminishing for about 12 months now. ( use it a lot on recirc to keep edinburgh fumes out of cab).
It doesnt seem to be cooling at all now.
Is this likely to be be needing re gassed or something more sinister.

 

[Steve]

Davieboy, I have a S2 reg renault trafic, aircon performance has been diminishing for about 12 months now. ( use it a lot on recirc to keep edinburgh fumes out of cab).
It doesnt seem to be cooling at all now.
Is this likely to be be needing re gassed or something more sinister.

52 reg? it will need regassing by now, have a total air con service done.

And my air con is getting right on my t*ts now, there is a considerable variation in power while the compressor is doing its backflips under the bonnet, it causes the whole car to shudder if a gear is engaged (ie. most of the time), surely its not meant to do this so often. Still cools well, but its soooo annoying doing this.

 

[davieboy]

52 reg is now four years old. probably never been recharged in its life. would expect a regas will sort it if its been gradually getting worse. some systems can loose as much as 25 percent of charge a year through the hoses/seals so four years doesn't leave much gas left.

most decent companies will only charge if they recharge the system.
i.e. if there is a leak and the system wont take gas, you dont pay as much if anything.

 

[hoofhearted]

where are you based about
and how much would a check and recharge be.

The van is 3 1/2 years old but Iv'e done 70,000 miles.

 

[davieboy]

i'm in sunny dunfermline.

charge £70 + vat for a recharge

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