Got a mechanic with a box of tricks to plug in for me and its showing the aircon has very low pressure..... i think i have a leak, any common areas where they do leak from.

Likely a holed condenser

Low pressure, but not no pressure.

 

So how old is the car & has the System ever been Re-Gassed.  

Also is it regularly used to keep the system lubed & the seals not drying out?

Hi, I'm new to this forum though I have had my 2009 Fabia II Estate for a little over 2 years now. 

 

I have had a series of problems with my aircon, originally taking it back to the dealer when I found it failing during the first summer (2013). They regassed it and said they could not find any leaks and it worked fine for many months. Then last spring I noticed it was not working again (I HAD been using it during the winter for demisting purposes so I noticed when it stopped working), they took it in and worked on it 4 times during the spring and once again it worked fine throughout the summer (2014) but failed again in the autumn.

 

When I had it serviced by my friendly mechanic in January this year I asked his advice regarding the aircon and he suggested it is unlikely the dealer would be able to fix it at any reasonable cost (note, this is not a Skoda dealership but a well trusted family firm we have used for many years). Since we are going on a road trip in a couple of weeks I have booked it in for another re-gassing but this time just at a local ATS while I wait - worst case it doesn't last the fortnight while we are away and I lose £45.

 

I've never had trouble with aircon in any previous car but I gather from reading around that I may have just been lucky. Clearly there is some slow leak that the garage were unable to locate despite replacing a few hoses and doing extensive pressure tests over several days.

Is the fan coming on? I had fan failure and that makes the air con compressor cut out to protect itsself. Works if you drive and keep the car engine cool, stop in traffic, the air con goes off as the engine heats up!

BTW, when its about to cut out, the pipe on the compressor gets very hot. Too hot to safely hold. 

I have used it on a regular basis, i have never had it re-gassed but saying that my wifes Mk1 1.9TDI elegance (2006) has also never been regassed and her aircon is ' Dr Freeze' cold ! Its booked into an aircon specialist who only sorts out that kind of stuff (recommeded by my pal the mechanic), he did mention that most garages are good at re-gassing but fault finding is often out of their league, best to get any car with a persistant problem into someone who deals with this kind of stuff day in and day out.

Well, I got mine regassed on Saturday at my local ATS. They did not find a fault but said there was no oil in the compressor and no gas in the system, both were rectified and it is cooling nicely now - only question is how long for.