First bit of proper warmth today and I decided to set the a/c to low and wasn’t impressed

 

I turned the a/c on and off a few times with the bonnet open and I can see two fans and neither are spinning.

 

I admit I’ve neglected the system a bit as it’s 2016 and never been recharged so hoping it’s just that, my mindset has always been it’s a sealed system so shouldn’t need it but hopefully I’m just wrong.

 

I doubt there’s anything I can check or do without diagnostic equipment?

 

I believe the UK law is they empty it then fill it with oxygen and if it’s hold pressure they can then refill, if it doesn’t I guess there’s a leak.

 

 

When you say you turned it to low, do you mean the fan speed, or the temperature.

Or are you saying you had previously turned it off, and not used the a/c dryer to help demisting.

 

If you leave it off for months, tends to go wrong (bits can seize), or seals dry out then leak, and will cost lot more to fix, than having left it on and used a few pounds of extra fuel.

 

 

29 minutes ago, Danoid said:

 

I admit I’ve neglected the system a bit as it’s 2016 and never been recharged so hoping it’s just that, my mindset has always been it’s a sealed system so shouldn’t need it but hopefully I’m just wrong.

 

 

 

 

It’s anything but a sealed system and auto a/c systems are well documented as to loosing  up to 10% of the gas annually, through pump seals, o ring seals and rubber hoses.

Edited 8 April, 20233 yr by Kenny R

@Danoid As @SurreyJohn says, with the note that there is definitely something wrong if you don't have one fan running on low speed. I suggest looking up Air Conditioning Services or Garage Services in Yellow Pages (or on http://www.yell.com ), but don't waste your money on going to a Skoda Main Stealer.

56 minutes ago, Danoid said:

believe the UK law is they empty it then fill it with oxygen and if it’s hold pressure they can then refill, if it doesn’t I guess there’s a leak.

They tend to only test with dry nitrogen if there's obvious leakage during a vacuum hold period, or documented rapid leakage from a recent refill at same establishment or on the car's records.

1 hour ago, SurreyJohn said:

When you say you turned it to low, do you mean the fan speed, or the temperature.

Or are you saying you had previously turned it off, and not used the a/c dryer to help demisting.

 

If you leave it off for months, tends to go wrong (bits can seize), or seals dry out then leak, and will cost lot more to fix, than having left it on and used a few pounds of extra fuel.

 

 

I tent to have it on auto + ac and turned the temperature to low today as it’s been 20/21oC for last 6 months because of winter.

 

I’ll get it booked for a recharge next week and hopefully it’s just because it’s low.

 

I swear the Passat b5.5 use to turn ac off if there was a problem such as low refrigerant  whereas the superb still has the ac light on 😞 

 

I don’t think it’s worked properly for a while as I’m sure in winter I had some digging inside and it took ages to clear which should have been an indicator to me that ac not working doh

 

Will find out and update Tuesday or Wednesday when everything is open again

1 hour ago, Kenny R said:

It’s anything but a sealed system and auto a/c systems are well documented as to loosing  up to 10% of the gas annually, through pump seals, o ring seals and rubber hoses.

Oh I didn’t know it still loses some fluid, I guess as it’s just gone passed it’s 7th birthday it’s definitely time to rehash, I’ll stick to every 2 years in the future  

15 minutes ago, Danoid said:

I tent to have it on auto + ac and turned the temperature to low today as it’s been 20/21oC for last 6 months because of winter.

 

 

 

 

Every car I’ve had with climate I’ve set it to 19/20° a/c on and on auto 24/7 365, never had any need to put on lo, or make any changes to temp at all.

17 minutes ago, Kenny R said:

Every car I’ve had with climate I’ve set it to 19/20° a/c on and on auto 24/7 365, never had any need to put on lo, or make any changes to temp at all.

That’s usually where it’s at but I had just waxed the car and sweated to death so when I got in it I wanted to feel ice cold, then Sod’s law happened 😭

Edited 8 April, 20233 yr by Danoid

Two things to think about for those who think they run the A/C 24/7/365 - 

You don't cos it stops every time the engine does.

 

You don't gain much reliability by doing so because for the last twenty years or so Skodas have had variable displacement clutchless compressors which never reduce circulation down to zero even when nominally 'off'.

51 minutes ago, Danoid said:

I tent to have it on auto + ac and turned the temperature to low today as it’s been 20/21oC for last 6 months because of winter.

 

I’ll get it booked for a recharge next week and hopefully it’s just because it’s low.

 

I swear the Passat b5.5 use to turn ac off if there was a problem such as low refrigerant  whereas the superb still has the ac light on 😞 

 

I don’t think it’s worked properly for a while as I’m sure in winter I had some digging inside and it took ages to clear which should have been an indicator to me that ac not working doh

 

Will find out and update Tuesday or Wednesday when everything is open again

I doubt that the Passat b5.5 did that, I have had 3 Passats before switching over to the Superb and to the best of my knowledge the systems are identical.

3 hours ago, Danoid said:

First bit of proper warmth today and I decided to set the a/c to low and wasn’t impressed

 

I believe the UK law is they empty it then fill it with oxygen and if it’s hold pressure they can then refill, if it doesn’t I guess there’s a leak.

 

 

It is air conditioning - not air cooling. AC should be used all year round whether hot or cold - its purpose is to dry the air, clean the air and cool the air. After this it passes through the heater matrix to set the correct temperature. By not using the AC you are allowing the system to become dry causing seals to weaken and split allowing leaks. Use air conditioning all year round as that is how it is designed to be used.

 

Regarding the law, it is illegal to knowingly discharge a refrigerant gas into the atmosphere. No oxygen will be used to test the system - most places will run a simple vacuum pressure test to see if it holds pressure and although this will detect large leaks, it will almost be impossible to detect small leaks in the time they run the test, You need a OFN test which is oxygen free nitrogen, the system is pressurised to operating pressure with a gauge attached and the gauge is monitored over a matter of hours to detect a leak - OFN with a tracer gas is often used with a gas sniffer to determine the location of any leaks and pinpoint the component requiring repair or replacement.

1 hour ago, ApertureS said:

It is air conditioning - not air cooling. AC should be used all year round whether hot or cold - its purpose is to dry the air, clean the air and cool the air. After this it passes through the heater matrix to set the correct temperature. By not using the AC you are allowing the system to become dry causing seals to weaken and split allowing leaks. Use air conditioning all year round as that is how it is designed to be used.

 

Regarding the law, it is illegal to knowingly discharge a refrigerant gas into the atmosphere. No oxygen will be used to test the system - most places will run a simple vacuum pressure test to see if it holds pressure and although this will detect large leaks, it will almost be impossible to detect small leaks in the time they run the test, You need a OFN test which is oxygen free nitrogen, the system is pressurised to operating pressure with a gauge attached and the gauge is monitored over a matter of hours to detect a leak - OFN with a tracer gas is often used with a gas sniffer to determine the location of any leaks and pinpoint the component requiring repair or replacement.

I know they pressurised it but didn’t know what with tbh.

 

When they refill I’m sure it’ll be fine again.

 

Out or interest how often do you replace yours?

4 hours ago, Kenny R said:

It’s anything but a sealed system and auto a/c systems are well documented as to loosing  up to 10% of the gas annually, through pump seals, o ring seals and rubber hoses.

 

Really? SWMBO 2003 MKI Facelift Ford Focus has just had the AC regassed for the first time since we bought it at 9 months old. It was at 20%. We never regassed our MKI Superb in 12 years and it was as cold as ice. 
 

On the other hand, I had the 280 regassed at 7 years old as it was making some weird sounds. And it’s now doing the same again, so it’s back to the specialist again….🙄

Up to 10% includes 0, 1, 2 etc.

Sadly from what I've heard about the current/latest refrigerant, it's not only much more expensive but also leaks more easily! But not as damaging to the atmosphere...

Just your wallet.

 

Not sure if car under discussion uses this or older version.

Had my car booked in for a recharge, drone back lovely and cold, lifted up the bonnet to see the fan spinning lovely, then I heard a hissing sound

 

Saw where it was coming from and it’s by the cable which goes into the back of the headlights moved that and could see it all ****ing out

 

So I do indeed have the first ever problem in the car and looks an ass to fix doh

you can just about see the thicker cables for the headlight, could of have really made a hole from rubbing?  
 

p.S on that picture I moved the headlight cable slightly, might be worth everyone here moving the cables just in case.

 

Heard back from the dealer seems like £720 ish to sort, parts and labour, I hope that includes new refrigerant too 

Edited 11 April, 20233 yr by Danoid

No idea how that passed any sort of vacuum or pressure test prior to refilling, so ought to include refill after repair -  looks like an error in their process.

If you message me your VIN I may be able to find a price for that pipe, if you're curious.

11 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

No idea how that passed any sort of vacuum or pressure test prior to refilling, so ought to include refill after repair -  looks like an error in their process.

If you message me your VIN I may be able to find a price for that pipe, if you're curious.

Yeah not too happy about that, I found the pipe and it’s £270 or so on ETKA mine said £299 but not updated price in a while

 

No idea how much main dealers charge per hour but roughly £330 for Labour which I guess is a good couple of hours to replace as it does look fiddly

Well what an evening turns out my body doesn’t agree with a mouthful of Freon (R134a) and inhaling it, ended up in A&E!

Jesus, mate?? Yeah, that’s really not good for you. 

11 hours ago, Danoid said:

Well what an evening turns out my body doesn’t agree with a mouthful of Freon (R134a) and inhaling it, ended up in A&E!

😦

Are you OK now? 

I’m on the mend now I think, had really bad stomach pains all yesterday with bloody loose poops, rang 111 and is on the expected list. It took them hours to get back to me and they had a call with someone to  find this out before they got back me.

 

What a nightmare!

Can someone here please take a photo of the high pressure pipe on your car with xenons?

 

 I’d like to know if the headlight cable touches your high pressure pipe like mine did

 

thanks