Recently I have noticed that when I press the accelerator with the air conditioning on I can hear an acceleration type noise from the centre vents.  If I switch to econ mode (no air con) then the noise disappears.  Any ideas as to what the cause of this is?  The garage where I have my servicing done are suggesting a re-gas, is this likely to be the solution or are they just selling me a re-gas without knowing what the problem is?

 

The air con works but the lowest temperature coming out of the centre vents is about 7-8 degrees which may bit a little warmer than when measured the cooling effect a year or so ago.  I always run the air con at least once a week or 15-20mins.

When did you have your last aircon service?

 

A good garage can check if there a need for a re-gas. With the correct pressure gauges and thermometers they can exactly measure the temperatures and verify if there is a lack of refrigerant. If so, they can empty the system, pressure it with nitrogen, check for leaks (Top of the condensor is a common place for leaks, or the condensor itself) and if there are no leaks, they can re-gas it.

 

Many garages who just have AC service for additional benefit don't obey the rules regarding regassing, they just do so, without measuring pressures and assume this will solve the problem (Which it does - for a certain time, depending on the leak if there is any). This is the fastest way to make profit, but definitely not the best (and actually not allowed, based on regulations you're only allowed to re-gas a system which has been verified to be leak-free)

 

Bottomline: try a regass, see how long it lasts, don't care about regulations and go for the cheap/quick fix, or go to a real AC specialist and got it professionally checked (Which I advise).

 

How to check for a good specialist? Well.. that's always hard. Maybe someone can recommend one in your area. Otherwise you still can 'test' their knowledge. If they don't know what superheating, subcooling and the pressures for common refrigerants are... well, than you're better off searching for another one.

Some knowledge at least seperates the guys from 'someone who knows which buttons to press and let the machine do its job' from the guys who actually know what they (the machine) is doing.

 

Note: If your system runs without refrigerant, it can cause damage to the compressor as well (The compressor is lubricated by the oil in the refrigerant. No refrigerant = no oil circulation and the compressor will eventually burn and fail -> 250-300GBP additional repair costs just for the compressor itself)

 

Edited 28 January, 20197 yr by DJSmiley