Air Conditioning 'Recharging' - DIY?

Raiser

My Air Con has gone a little bit tepid over the past while.... Was wondering what's the best way of getting it sorted, have heard there's kits in Halfords but I distrust them and 89% of their iffy, overpriced product base.

- Should I do this myself, am willing to take on most stuff if theres a reasonable chance of sucess!!!

If I'd be better off paying someone, then how much should I expect to pay and where should I go, am in Limerick.

- All advice appreciated

Esel

if you have a leak though, you'd only be wasting money regassing it yourself....

[edit] Have a look anyway http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10151&categoryId=-1&action=listrefine&constraints=ese||i:1;258;;air+conditioning;air+con;1,2;%2B0||sea||air+conditioning||rpp||30

Raiser

esel wrote: »

if you have a leak though, you'd only be wasting money regassing it yourself....

[edit] Have a look anyway http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10151&categoryId=-1&action=listrefine&constraints=ese||i:1;258;;air+conditioning;air+con;1,2;%2B0||sea||air+conditioning||rpp||30

Should be safe as regards leak - Its actually cold-ish at the minute and has been a slow decline since I got the car 4-5 years back.

- Read elsewhere that theres a Guy in Dublin that does a call-out for €60, checks system re-charges on your Driveway. Seeing as that's not much more than to buy the kit in Halfrauds I suppose I'd be looking for similar locally......

Bodhan

I was just about to ask the same thing. I'm in Laois and my Air con is gone, it's not cold at all even the compressor never gets cold no matter how long it's on.
I tried the Halfords thing and no luck, still broke.
Does anyone have a number for someone in Laois who's not a chancer?

knifey_spoonie

What i do wonder about the halfords diy system, is how its gets the r123a into the system.
I know that the high pressure end of a a/c system can run upto 7/8 bar, is it possible for a aersol can to have pressure above this level.

Mc Love

Some of those call-out guys can be dodgy - as told from someone in the know

Anan1

knifey_spoonie wrote: »

What i do wonder about the halfords diy system, is how its gets the r123a into the system.
I know that the high pressure end of a a/c system can run upto 7/8 bar, is it possible for a aersol can to have pressure above this level.

AFAIK, the sustem is charged through the low-pressure side. I had an Audi once that needed charging and the guy couldn't get at the low-pressure side. He recharged the system through the high-pressure side but it took a lot longer than normal.

knifey_spoonie

I have some basic knowledge of A/C sytems, The machine i have used is fully automated. Just connect to the system ( Usually both high and low ). Set the amount of R134a and let the machine do its work. There are a number of steps.

1ST : Recover any gas in the system
2ND : Cleaning the AC system
3RD : Vacum the system for about 20 min
4TH : Refill with gas, uv dye and Pag oil
5TH : Pressure test the system
6TH : System check(Involves inputing HP & LP + Temp from the Veny & Outside Temp)

If it all checks out the machine tells yous it OK.

If theres a leak it will Tell you, and its a matter of tracing your A/C Pipes with a UV light for the leak. Replacing O rings and the likes.

EDIT

Heres a check list to see if your system is working properly

Mc Love

Does the aircon have to be on when you are re-charging?

Bodhan

Are you around Laois? Wanna hook that machine up to my car like?

knifey_spoonie wrote: »

I have some basic knowledge of A/C sytems, The machine i have used is fully automated. Just connect to the system ( Usually both high and low ). Set the amount of R134a and let the machine do its work. There are a number of steps.

1ST : Recover any gas in the system
2ND : Cleaning the AC system
3RD : Vacum the system for about 20 min
4TH : Refill with gas, uv dye and Pag oil
5TH : Pressure test the system
6TH : System check(Involves inputing HP & LP + Temp from the Veny & Outside Temp)

If it all checks out the machine tells yous it OK.

If theres a leak it will Tell you, and its a matter of tracing your A/C Pipes with a UV light for the leak. Replacing O rings and the likes.

EDIT

Heres a check list to see if your system is working properly

Anan1

Mc Love wrote: »

Does the aircon have to be on when you are re-charging?

Yes.

h3000

Raiser wrote: »

If I'd be better off paying someone, then how much should I expect to pay and where should I go, am in Limerick.

- All advice appreciated

Rapid Auto Care in Cathedral Place do it afaik, a friend of mine used them a good while back and they seemed to be okay. I have had no direct contact with them though.

Mc Love

Thanks worked that out eventually.

JHMEG

Rehcarged a friend's Civic with the Halford's stuff a while back. Worked fine, but it's not really cost effective when an aircon guy can do it for the same price.

Mc Love

Brought it over for quick look by Ford, mechanic said he couldnt see any leaks etc and said to try the recharge kit from Halfords.

Did this, it seems the gas level was pretty low in the car, so that has been re-charged, still dont think it has fixed it as the air is still warm (at least it was yesterday) - tried it again last night when it was a little bit cooler (engine was still lukewarm) and air con was cooler this morning but when i turned off ac it still felt as if i was using the blower.

Will test it again in few hours when its a lot hotter outside and see if its better

mlmcelligott

got a similar problem with my seat toledo, the aircon was working fine a month ago but when i turned it on over the last few warm days its not very cold. should you be able to notice the aircon being switch on and off by listening to engine at idle because theres no noticeable difference at all. Is there anyone around the lucan area that someone would like to recommend to have a look at it.

is there anyway to tell if the compressor is working or not. I open ed the dust cover on the gas valve and pressed the valve in for a second and gas came out so i know the system is holding the gas.

should one can of that air con regas can be enough to fill any air con system or would you need more than one?