Faulty Air Con

[Johnysmall]

Hi,
I bought a seat alhambra 1.9 diesel 4 years ago. The seller said the air con needs to be re-gased. This was the first time I had a car with air con so was not sure as to what to expect in terms of 'how cold' it should be. I took it to a local "car air con specialist" who charged me £80 to re-gas it. I must say I didn't notice much of an improvement.
The following week I took it to my local seat dealer to have a few minor issues sorted (speaker grilles/mats etc) and asked them to check the air con whilst I was there. They checked it, said it was working ok and charged me £20. I still wasn't convinced. It wasn't until the arrival of summer that I found out how poor it was, it's cooler with all the windows down and the blowers on full blast, than having the air con on. Apart from that I was very happy with the car so didnt mind so much. Now I want to get it sorted..........any ideas??

 

[Steve]

When you turn the air con on, can you hear the compressor engage (revs drop slightly) and the gas whoosh thru the system? (put the fan on low and turn the radio off, then engage the AC, see what you hear). If theres a lack of gas sound, but the compressor engages, you could have a leak.

To test its performance, turn the engine on on a warm day, put the AC on, and in 5 mins the car should be freezing. Actually, the alhambra is a big car - make that 10 mins (in other words, give it chance to do its job before making judgement)

Putting the air on recirculate mode is a good idea with air con - it works more efficiently.

£20 to tell you the air con is ok?

 

[Johnysmall]

Sorry for not replying sooner, been without comp for a few days (NTL are crap)

When you turn the air con on, can you hear the compressor engage (revs drop slightly) and the gas whoosh thru the system?

Yes, revs drop slightly. Can hear gas, not sure about whooshing though, more gentle than that.

turn the engine on on a warm day, put the AC on, and in 5 mins the car should be freezing. Actually, the alhambra is a big car - make that 10 mins (in other words, give it chance to do its job before making judgement)

Tried it for 20 mins, definately felt colder than outside, but freezing? No.
It always seems like it will be adequate for the hot days, during the colder months of the year but come summer, its cooler to have windows down, normal blowers on.

Forgot to say before, the manual says if the climatronic display flashes for 15 secs when ignition is turned on there is a fault in system and take it to a seat dealer. This has always been the case but seat said there is no problem.

 

[panteraman500]

Just thought I'd add a word of warning to anyone reading this post and considering buying a 'top up kit' for their car a/c system.

You can buy 'top up kits' in motorists shops that come with a small can of R134a, sufficient for about 10% of your car's a/c system and a hose with connectors to the 'low pressure' connector of your cars a/c system and the can.

Problem is that a lot of modern cars only have one connector and that is to the 'high side' of the a/c system which is a different size to the 'low side' so you have wasted £30 'cos it won't fit.