Climatronic Air Con Trouble

[barry_vrs]

Air con hasnt been very cold for some time so whilst at Halfords today i asked about it and they said it just needs re gassing and it was £40.00.

So gave the guy my keys and finished my shopping came back and paid and left.

1. There is no difference in temprature what so ever so its done nothing.

2. Looking ta the receipt they have used MAC-134A EZ Chill looks like a top up can.

Just started to look around on the net and they have another name "death kits" becuase they can bugger up ya air con system.

Has anyone heard of these before ring halfords and ask for a refund

[Kenny R]

I hate to say it,or even recommend them but Kwik Fit do a proper test and re-gas using a real machine that even a Kwik Fit Fitter should'nt get wrong.The machine removes all the gas and checks weight compared with what should be in system,draws vaccum to check for leaks and then re-fills with the correct amount of gas.After this if the vent temp has not reduced by 10 deg,you don't pay anything,normally i think it will cost £40 if temps ok. I have used a top up can before,and it did work,but as said,the amout of gas in system should be by weight and the correct amount is on a plate on the slam panel.Another point is my son is a mechanic,and he had to attend a day course and get a certificate to allow him to do any work on an air con system,as it is illegal to handle air con gas without this certificate.

Oh and Halfords web page says air con top up £9.99

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_14551_productId_757351_langId_-1_categoryId_173045#Link02

Edited 23 May, 2010 by kenny rsell

[rk696]

What he said.

£40 at kwik fit, and they can't really do it wrong!

[thebrasso]

What he said.

£40 at kwik fit, and they can't really do it wrong!

I've had mine done at Kwik Fit last week, had the service done though (they change the pollen filter and clean/anti bacteria the system). It is slightly cooler but more than that it goes cold much quicker than before.

Again they plug it into a machine and the machine does everything including the pressure test.

[VRS Mike]

How much was the full service? I'm looking at getting mine done this week.

[Thorfinn]

Another option is to find a local air con specialist. I've had various failures due to leaks over the last few years. It was about £50 for them to run through the procedure outlined above, as with Kwik Fit, but they also inject a UV active dye. You go back the next week and they can then check for leaks with a UV lamp. In my case they have replaced the offending/leaking parts and finally re-gassed for free. i.e only paying for one lot of gas. One of these repairs was actually done on my Approved Used warranty without involving a main dealer.