Noise after aircon recharge

Voodoomelon

Hey all.
I got my E38's air-conditioning recharged on Saturday, left it into a garage in Dundalk, who turns out just drove it up the road to Fast Fit.

I don't think the aircon was ever recharged in 13 years, despite it working reasonably well.

Anyways, ever since it was done there's now a loud groaning noise that changes with the RPM of the engine. At idle, its near silent. Anything above 1500rpm and it groans quite loudly. Not non-stop, but every 5 seconds for 3-4 second periods.

As it changes with RPM, am I right to assume it's the compressor that's the culprit? I also have a pulley that's squealing on and off and the belts are original too (still only on 108k miles). Can the pulley/clutch on the compressor go bad, and can the belts condition influence how it grips the compressor?

The aircon is pretty cold but i can't say i've noticed much of an improvement since the recharge was done. I just hope to god some numpty didn't spec the wrong amount of freon and damage the compressor.

Thanks all.

Kencollins

Hi,

There is a good chance that it is compressor related. One of the main culprits for failure is the magnetic clutch in the compressor. If you can see the aircon compressor, grab the metal disk on the outside of the pulley and see if it's loose? Sometimes they can rattle/groan at different revs.

Also, ice may also be the issue. If moisture is present it can block the aircon system and cause the compressor to over-work.

Either way, its's a minefield when it comes to air-con, and I am yet to find a company in Limerick who are able/willing to diagnose air-con faults effectively.

Ken

renofan

My father got a refill kit in the motor factors for his 2006 E90 and got me to fill it. His made a noise after too but it has since gone. I think it was because I could have put too much in but I can't say for definite.