In April this the Air con on my 2008 Octavia 1.9 Elegance started to make a "swishing" noise from behind the dashboard,and it was clearly not cooling as well as it normally did. I took it in to be checked, it was regassed and dye added, but garage said it seemed to be holding its pressure and couldn't see any leaks with UV light. Now 4,000 miles later the noise is back and the cooling effect of the aircon is non existent. Obviously there is a fault or a leak which no doubt I could pour hundreds of pounds into tracing and repairing..

My question is - I am now running it in ECON mode, and winding the window down (like we did in the old days !), as this stops the very annoying noise. Will this cause damage long term ? I am concerned if it runs out of gas completely it might damage the compressor etc.

Thanks

If you've put Climatronic into "Econ" mode, the air con functions are disabled, and the compressor disconnected from the aux belt. It will eventually lead to the compressor seals drying out, but that's about all.

Rather than taking the car to "the garage", look in your local Yellow Pages for an "automotive air-conditioning specialist", since they do nothing else but, so are good on diagnostics, and cheaper on most parts (the heater/blender box is make specific, but most of the rest other than the control panel facia isn't).

Bump

Bump

Eh?? Take it Kens answer is not good enough for you.

Eh?? Take it Kens answer is not good enough for you.

Take it that I can translate the above to "Hi Classic, I also know all about air conditioning, and the 1st answer you got from Ken is 100% spot on nobody else's opinions or experience will be of any use or help to you. cheers, kenny rsell.

You come on to a forum,someone takes time and effort to offer a reply to your question,and all you do is bump him. And no you cannot translate the above to mean I know all about air con,but Kens answer appears an ideal solution to your problem. But hey ho it appears you are the aircon expert. :'(

The answer Ken gave you is the right one - take it to an aircon specialist.

The aircon compressor runs all the time on this car with the displacement controlled by a valve. Whilst the system is unlikely to lose all PAG oil and the compressor will be running at only 2%, it is bad to run the compressor with low refrigerant.

The noise you were hearing is probably the TXV and is often an indication of low refrigerant pressure. Get the aircon specialist to check the evaporator with a sniffer.

The answer Ken gave you is the right one - take it to an aircon specialist.

The aircon compressor runs all the time on this car with the displacement controlled by a valve. Whilst the system is unlikely to lose all PAG oil and the compressor will be running at only 2%, it is bad to run the compressor with low refrigerant.

The noise you were hearing is probably the TXV and is often an indication of low refrigerant pressure. Get the aircon specialist to check the evaporator with a sniffer.

Thanks KenOneil and Rwbaldwin - I wanted to know if it was safe to run it and not cause damage. Ken suggests its ok, Rw says its bad. Your answers have helped as I will probably now get it fixed, but know there is no rush to do it.

Kenny rsell - Today, fill your cup of life with sunshine and laughter