Air Conditioning not working - how to fix?

AlanD

Hi,

the climate control in my 2000 Peugeot 406 has just given up the ghost I think. It has worked perfectly up to now but recently a very noticeable growling noise can be heard when the a/c is on and stops when the a/c is turned off. I've discovered where the noise comes from, it's from the air conditioning pump which sits underneath the alternator in the engine bay.

What I am wondering is, do I need a new a/c pump? Do I need a fill of gas for the a/c system? do I need to go to the dealer? are there independent guys who can fix a/c systems? what should I expect to pay to get it fixed.

Coming in to the warm weather I'm starting to miss the a/c now.

Regards,

AlanD

lomb

i think u need a new pump, wont b cheap at over a grand. i think theres a cheap diy fix for it though, the clutch is gone inside the pump, thats what the noise was. i know it happens on vw golfs. the diy repair is possible without taking the coolant connections off the system so it still remains sealed. to find out more have a look at http://www.uk-mkivs.net/ and do a search on air conditioning.

i bet u the car has nearly 80 to 100 k miles though? a dealer will sent it to an air con guy they dont touch air con systems. u could bypass the dealer also and see the yellow pages and get some quotes.

edit: the search doesnt work on uk mkivs, ul have to go thru posts or see here http://www.golfmk4.co.uk/air_conditioning_pump.htm

http://www.uk-mkivs.net/forums/223435/ShowPost.aspx

AlanD

yeah the car has 120k on the clock and has just now stopped working. My parents have an 02 version of the exact same car and theirs stopped working almost from day 1. Don't know why they haven't got it fixed yet though. I think they thought the a/c was still working until I showed them mine before it stopped working. Now mine has gone the same way as theirs.

I heard the pumps are ultra expensive alright. So I'm in a bit of a fix really. I don't want to spend over a grand plus labour on a car I'm going to sell pretty soon but then how can I sell car that has a broken climate control system.

I'll check out that DIY solution and see if it will do the trick. Or I might see if I could pick up a pump from a scrap dealer for a lot less, hoping he doesn't know how dear they are to buy.

lomb

u should be able to buy the clutch/spline for 300 euros from peugeot, take out the pump and see.

lomb

this link explains how to do it without having to regas http://www.golfmk4.co.uk/air_conditioning_pump.htm