Hi to All
I spotted this on ebay where they are offering kits to recharge your air conditioning. It's something I've never even considered, no doubt some of you may have already done so. Is it easy, or do you just send it in to your local garage?
This is the site address:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Car-Air-Condition...Kits_W0QQfsubZ2

shoestring

Hi shoestring,

There might already be some info on here about that. If not have a look on "Thefrenchcarforum" There is a dedicated air con section on there.

Easy peasy.

Many moons ago I watched an 'Air Conditioning Specialist' spend an hour recharging my system on my drive and present me with a bill for £75........hmmmmm, I thought, I could do that in 10 minutes if I could get hold of the gas.
I started doing my own recharging well before these products were available to joe bloggs in the UK. American Air Force bases in Germany sold tins of recharge gas (the yanks have recharged their own cars for years!), so I just used to get mine there.

It was just us stupid brits that think there is skill involved and 'It's best left to the professionals'!! But now it's caught on and UK suppliers have realised there is a demand for the tins of recharger.

Go for it, and spend the money saved on a nice meal with your missus.

/ I condition the above statement with - this is all fine with a partially functioning system that just needs gassing (95% of air con faults) - for the other 5% where some diagnosis is required you can buy some leak detector refridgerant and search out the leak yourself or call in the professionals - your choice.
Unless you're really unlucky and have a broken pipe or a split in your condensor, the problem will be dried out seals from a previous owner that didn't run the system enough (even through the winter- just 10 mins running every week will keep the seals lubricated). The seals are obtainable and (if you are competant to replace a suspension sphere) they are also easy to replace.

I wholheartedly agree Wirdy except that I have found a very nice air conditioning bloke who came out, tried some gas in my system and proved that it worked, found the leak in the condenser with a splendid gas detector, evacuated the test gas from the system to make it safe for me to work on and only charged me 15 quid. He allowed me to then strip the car in my own time and he will return to put in a new condenser, change the dryer and recharge the system. His price for a new condenser was better than GSF and he even said I might be able to pick one up off EBAY etc.

I can't see how he makes a living!

He is based in Gravesend, Kent by the way.

With that sort of service I would have been daft to try and diagnose the fault myself.

John

Thanks for the prompt replies.
The daft question I suppose, is which kit do I choose for the 2.5td estate air con system, with relation to gas types, quantity required etc..

shoestring

The Gas is R12 in a car of this year,
I have a new condensor for a 93 2.0 sei which i was going to fit to my car but it has unfortunetl gone the scrap yard sfter a unfortunet accident and therefore is available for sale if its any use let me know i am based in tilbury essex,
regards,
Norman

Hi all.

Just a little note of caution regarding diy aircon. While it is tempting just to put an aerosol full of what you presume to be the correct gas into the system, there are one or two issues you should consider.
Unless you have established and rectified the point at which the original charge of gas escaped, you will be wasting your time -- the new gas will also escape. Therefore it is sensible to have the guy with the leak detector check it first.
The fact that the original plate may indicate R12 is meaningless by the car gets to 10 or more years old; there is a significant probability the system will have been interrupted for other reasons and may have been purged and recharged with the later gas.
One of the absolute no - nos with air con is moisture in the system. This is one of the main functions of the high vacuum pump you will spot the air con man using; at maximum vacuum, any moisture within the system will boil off and be extracted. Equally, by leaving the system under vacuum for a period, the pressure gauge will show exactly if the system is sound or not.
Different refrigerant gases require different oils (also present within the system); if you really don't know what's in yours, the sensible thing is to have it properly purged and properly refilled. Incorrect mixes can cause internal corrosion. Those who have paid for air con service will also have spotted the man using scales or a volume measurement device; every system has a specific design amount of gas and oil. If you are simply 'topping up' an unknown quantity, it is impossible to be sure the system is functioning as designed.
Don't forget, these gases are nasty. You don't want R12 in your eyes; you don't want to inhale the current one. All in all, I'd do some serious thinking before having a go.
Just to balance the gloom, there is one myth to be laid to rest ---- absolutely anyone can buy refrigerant gas (much to the aggravation of the industry, I guess); probably easier than finding XM parts in some places !!!!!
Take care.

Mike.

To add my bit. I had my Air con renewed last month by a mobile operator (PM me if you are in the Bristol area). I have learned from experience that it is best to get yor air-con serviced before it breaks and moisture gets in.
This is on my 10 year old car.
The chappie spent about 3 hours testing, adding dye, regassing and checking the whole installation.
The results were that the air-con was down to about 40% gas and 20% of the required oil. [By the way different versions of the compressor require different types/amounts of oil]. He thought that if had never been serviced since new.

Anyway now i've a nice cold car now.

Some might think that £90 for a mornings work and materials is too much but I though it was worth it.

Steve

When I saw the thread title I thought it was /adding/ aircon to an xm, now that would need many bottles of vodka........

Given me a thought actually, I hated aircon, its a waste of fuel thus a planet killer, but with all the heat we seem to have had this past few years, I could be starting to think its worth having, even if to only use a few days a year.

(and I'll save carbon somewhere else to ease my conscience)

and I'll save carbon somewhere else to ease my conscience)<<<<<<

By eating the burnt toast instead of throwing into the bin?

Fat Lez, if only it were that simple (a few days a year). Need to run the a/c once a month(ish) to keep it running smooth apparently. The auto CC keeps wanting to turn it on, too, but you can manually override until you start the car again. On the plus side the demist setting does the job real quick. Also, if you've got leather seats you really do need a/c if its hot like were hopefully about to get again soon.

no I mean where I am you only really need it a few days per year, of course I know it needs running a few minutes a week just to keep it maintained.