Air con;

[liam.smart]

Hi all,

Not really a fault or a fix (i hope)...

My air con doesnt seem to be cold again this year with the good weather coming in. Kwik-Fit recharged it last summer and it worked great. I didnt use it all winter, but with the warmer weather past 3 days, I turned it back on to find it wasnt cold anymore.

Is it normal for it to run out of (i want to say air-con fluid but Im not sure if that is what they put in when they 'recharge' it) the stuff they put into it or do I have a leak?

I remember choosing kwit-fit because they had an offer of "if we recharge your air-con and it still doesn't work, you don't pay a penny". Does anyone know if thats still on or if any other companies have a similar offer?

Its due for MOT this month so thought I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone. My other option is to just drop it off at the BMW garage but paranoid it will cost heaps more there.

Thanks for reading all that!

Liam

[Gismo]

Sounds very much like you have a leak somewhere, best to get it checked.
Also, try to use the air con as much as possible, by not using it actually does it more harm than good

[liam.smart]

Ano ano im wishing it did use it reguarly now. Time to get onto the phone to BMW I think.

Thanks for reply.

Liam

[KenL]

AC must be run regularly to lubricate the seals. If not, they dry out and you lose gas. At least that is how I understand it.

I would ask K-F to re-gas you as per their guarantee.

[S7JGW]

I understand it the same way as KenL.
When I got my Red Cooper recharged the garage left it on for about half an hour to an hour to pressure test and check for leaks. I would imagine Kwik Fit would do that too.
Jim

[liam.smart]

KenL, (apologies for getting name wrong) who or what is K-F? Need as much info as possible before i get on the phone tomorrow phoning round.

I'm trying to dig out the receipt I got last year from Kwik-Fit as I'm sure it came with a years guarantee....

Hmmmm maybe not. Doesn't say anything on the receipt about a guarantee. Much would I be looking at for recharge from BMW?

[audrey]

It was KenL who replied to your post not Kent ;)

Sure that K-F means Kwik Fit :thumbs up:

Sorry cant help with a price for this but think you should go back to Kwik Fit surely this shouldn't have to be done every year :D

[liam.smart]

Phoned K-F and they say the work doesnt come with warranty. Strange thing about it is, if there were leaks in my system, the machine they use would have said so. I read on their website that they are supposed to give documentation stating figures before and after tthe work which I didnt get.

The guy did say he would do it again for £30 if I get my MOT from there at same time though. Now whats the betting my car needs some work done to get through its MOT? Or am I just being paranoid lol ;P

[GCA3N]

got to say i am not a kwik fit fan, i have my car insurance with them and have had no probs (they were the cheapest by a long way) I get a free mot with my insurance policy and did not use it (speaks volumes) I did however take my wifes car in. You are supposed to tell them in advance you have a free voucher (no way) So went through it's MOT and guess what 2 tyres and a wiper blade. I asked the guy how much that would cost to which he replied £339:eek: 50 for the MOT, 15 for one blade and 274 for 2 tyres. I cannot tell you what i replied. Went down there via auto shop (£7 for wiper blade) I asked about tyres, and within 5 minutes of haggling had the two tyres down to 160 fitted. I have not had many good experiences with kwik fit, but it could be a local thing, i am sure that there may be others who are better. :rolleyes:

[Purdie]

Hi sorry I'm an a/c engineer although not with cars but, it is possible that the aircon may not have been given the correct charge of gas. Go back to kwik-fit and make them recharge it. The a/c system should be vac'd out to remove moisture so it doesnt damage the compressor (you cant compress water) and recharged. ( if u no any ac engineers, ask them to pressure test it for you first if you can- its a very easy procedure ). generally i wouldnt advise recharging a/c systems unless a fault as occured which has caused an escape of gas. Air con systems can run for years on the same gas. You should also use your air con regularly as if not the compressors seize up etc.
By law you have to record gas escapes from air con and how much charge is put back in.

[KenL]

Good post Purdie :thumbs up:

Are you saying that MINI dealers should NOT be recommending an A/C service after two years at a cost of £80?

[Purdie]

theres a difference in servicing from recharging, servicing includes, filter cleaning, and cleaning your evaporator and condensor coils. After just being through an a/c apprenticeship we learned that you should never connect gauges to and a/c system( even to check pressures) unless there is a fault. as soon as u connect the gauges you release gas, thus releasing pressure and the air con loses its ability to remove heat from the car. The gas has a low boiling point and as the hot air passes over the evaporator coil, the liquid gas boils off by removing heat energy from the air, and this is where the cooling effect comes from. the gas is then takin to the condensor coil (outside coil) and releases the heat energy into the ambient air. lol if the amount of gas is too little it cannot cool as required. the systems have design charges which are the exact amount of gas needed to achieve the required comfort cooling effect

sorry if im gettin confusing, carried away with it.

I wouldnt recommend changing a/c gas other than in severe cases of damage or repair. The system should be pressure tested, vacuumed out and recharged.

[liam.smart]

Hi Purdie,

Thanks for reply. Car is going back into FK weekend after next and I will definately be sayig that to the guy and stay polite. I read that I was supposed to get documentation srtating facts and figures before and after their recharge which I didnt.

Hopefuly they will be helpful. Its not the fact of paying another £45. Its well worth that to have ice cool air. Its just worrying that it has stopped working within 10 months.

[Purdie]

No problem mate, let me know how you get on.

[liam.smart]

Hopefully a few of ous are still subscribed to this thread.

Anyways, was back at KW today for MOT and air-con recharge. Passed MOT without any work but with 2 advisories.

As for AC... They recharged it again. There were going to charge me but then I said that this was second time in less than a year so they gave me it free of charge. Unfortunately AC still doesnt blow cold air though. Had it on for 10 mins on drive home and its just blowing same cold air as not having the AC on.

I can hear a noise from the AC unit and not sure if thats normal? So there must be a fault with the unit itself. According to the KW AC machine it has no leaks. Call to BMW is my only last option i think.

2 advisories on MOT were rear right exhaust slightly corroded and oil leak. Will need to hand it in to BMW to sort all these things out and have a look at my AC when I have a bit of money :(

[lowrider]

BMW charge £80 to recharge which I think is not bad for a stealer. I would rather deal with a BMW garage than S**t Fit any day :D

My a/c is a bit smelly sometimes. BMW do an a/c clean for around £40. I wonder if that would cure the funky odour ?

[GCA3N]

BMW charge £80 to recharge which I think is not bad for a stealer. I would rather deal with a BMW garage than S**t Fit any day :D

Yes I like these miss spells;)