I have to re-gas my cars air con every 3 months as it runs out its been in on two occasions to have seals fitted only for it to run out again after around 2 or 3 months. The last time they re gassed it for free and it ran out again. Then it needed some valve replacing that was jammed in the shut position and was fine but now its run out again...

 

They used some dye and an ultra violet light and have found yet another seal that's leaking and to get to it requires the front bumper to be removed in order to replace the seal, Its going in on Thursday to get this done but as you can imagine Im thinking I will be back again in another 2 months.

 

Its the only things that's done my head in with the car, Why not just make the air-con a closed system without seals in various places. 

 

Just wondered how often should a properly working air con system need to be re-gassed.

 

Car by the way is a Toyota Corolla.

 

Thanks.

Edited 16 June, 201411 yr by justinbarrow

Our 10 year old Leon hasn't had a regas and is still cold.

How often do you use the air con?

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My 9 year old Octy is just like Trundle's Leon, never had an issue so far.

How often do you use the air con?

 

 We use it daily as we were told if its not used it can dry seals out - Seems like this has happened regardless. Just hoping after Thursday its ok for at least 2 years.

 

The guys at the garage say "its only air con just wind the window down" but we have a relative with breathing difficulties (copd) and they find the air con is refreshing for them and their breathing. Not only that but I like to stay cool in the summer and its great for de-misting.

Edited 16 June, 201411 yr by justinbarrow

I understand that if you use it properly, I am told at least 10 minutes per week, then it shouldn't necessarily need re-gassing. When I say 10 mins / week I am mainly referring to colder periods where you won't use it as often. I think the gas acts as a lubricant and keeps all the seals in good shape. 10 minutes allows it to fully circulate the system.

Usually if you ask a garage to re-gas they will do a system health check to detects leaks etc. Also if they do re-gas make sure they remove the old and completely fill with new and don't just top it up.

Edited 16 June, 201411 yr by austenw90

The aircon system is wrapped around the engine from the radiator round and into the cabin. It is made of multiple components and so needs joints. The engine (to which the compressor is attached) can move relative to the body so again joints and flexible sections are needed.

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Also I thought it was illegal to refill a leaking system as the refrigerant will escape into the atmosphere.

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Also I thought it was illegal to refill a leaking system as the refrigerant will escape into the atmosphere.

 

Ho, so did I. In Sweden it is a BIG no-no-no if you ask a legit and certified company to just do a refill without an extensive search for leaks and then repair whatever is necessary. Their policy is that if the system runs out of pressure, then you have a leak ... and after fixing the leak a new pressure test is conducted before any refill is attempted ... I really imagined that a leak like that, loosing pressure within 2 month's, should show up ...

 

Hope you get it fixed, couldn't imagine a life without AC in the car ... ;-)

Also I thought it was illegal to refill a leaking system as the refrigerant will escape into the atmosphere.

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No problem in the UK doing that, in fact its very commonly done. R134A used in modern cars is not an ozone depleting gas, only the older long since banned gas has to be controlled. One of my old cars had several refills until a leaking seal was replaced, was fine after that. I need to get my 10 year old Audi re-gassed as although its cold, my previous Audi was a lot colder.

I am assuming that you have not had the car from new.

You will most likely find that the previous owner did not use it much so now you are having the issues.

The seals are the weak link as you are finding out but.

If you fix 1 then that is now stronger than the next ones in the chain so unless you replace them all at once you will have issues.

 

A good air con system should never leak like yours I know 15 year old systems that are still running fine.

 

Personally mine is switched on all year round it is very rare that I turn it off and I spend a lot of hours in my car.

That's way too often; I've been told every 2 to 3 years by various automotive a/c people.

I am assuming that you have not had the car from new.

If you fix 1 then that is now stronger than the next ones in the chain so unless you replace them all at once you will have issues.

 

Thanks for the replies, How many seals are there as this will be the second seal and I am the second keeper of the car and when purchased the air con wasn't working so maybe it wasn't used a lot. The seals are cheap enough its mainly the labour charges that are making this a bit of an expense.

Lots!! Every joint in the pipework will have a seal.

You already have a dye in the system so ask the garage to carefully check all the seals for leaks and get them all changed at the same time.  In theory a regas then should last about 3 years on older cars. 

as said above there will be lots of seals all the joints on the rad, compressor, receiver/drier unit and all the connecting blocks so maybe 20 or more.

No problem in the UK doing that, in fact its very commonly done. R134A used in modern cars is not an ozone depleting gas...

HI, I know but it is still a gas that is acidifying the air and as far as I know it is also considered a greenhouse gas with several restrictions regarding how it's handled. Might be that the rules are different from country to country...

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My 2005 Fabia VRS still knocks out the cold, never been re-gassed..

People providing regas services say every two or three years, but a working and regularly used system can last for a lot longer than that.

My Bravo was 5 years old and still provided nice chilly air.

No problem in the UK doing that, in fact its very commonly done. R134A used in modern cars is not an ozone depleting gas, only the older long since banned gas has to be controlled. One of my old cars had several refills until a leaking seal was replaced, was fine after that. I need to get my 10 year old Audi re-gassed as although its cold, my previous Audi was a lot colder.

Discharge of R134a to the atmosphere is illegal.

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7 years on in my bmw and still icy cold

I couldnt live without a/c

Discharge of R134a to the atmosphere is illegal.

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Well, I stand corrected, but there are so many cars leaking R134a, and with most AC companies recharging with added UV dye knowing full well its going to leak out, it seems common place. Had experience of this myself. The company said to bring the car back when the AC stopped working again after topping up with gas and UV dye.

Well in the end they could not repair the seal as it required more than the bumper to come off and I was quoted £785 so ended up buying a can of refrigerant from halfords along with AC stop leak which claims to work on metal components aswell as seals Refilled last night with the ac leak stop and have checked the pressure this evening and its stayed the same as when I topped it up which may have worked.

 

Bit strange though this is the reading of the air con pressure when its running....

 

 

Then this is what it shows when the aircon is turned off...

 

 

 

Is it normal for the psi pressure to rise when its switched off and drop when turned on, Anyway I will check it regularly to check the pressure is the same to see if its holding.

Edited 21 June, 201411 yr by justinbarrow

I suppose it depends where in the system you are measuring it.

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I suppose it depends where in the system you are measuring it.

 

 The meter was attached to the low pressure valve point.