Air conditioner help/suggestions vs

[fonzo]

Ok i own a panther mica vs berlina. on a 45 Degree day it gets mighttttttty hot after a day in the sun while im at work...ive had the air con gassed and with the climate control set to "C" fan on speed 3 and fresh air vent closed it gets to about 9 degrees. it has no leaks compressor i beleive is the factory unit is there anything i can do to get the air con below 9 degrees or is 9 degrees normal and im just expecting too much out of my air con? if 9 degrees is not normal where do i start to get the temps down to below 9 degrees........thanks

 

[hako]

Is the 9 deg on LO/MED/HI setting?...and after how long? I have a white VS and on LO after 10 mins in a car in the shade it will get to 3 deg....but in the sun maybe 6 or 7. (thermo probe down centre air vent)
Dropping the air from 45 to 9 deg is pretty good. If the factory setup is tested as OK then you cannot improve on that (upmarket cars are no better or worse!)
To get the temp lower, the best thing you can do is change your car colour......other things more easily done is always use a windscreen sunshade which will keep the heat off the dashboard.....tinted windows help....in a hot car, drive with windows down for first few minutes....when parked in sun, leave windows down 3 or 4 mm to allow hot air to escape....try to park in shade. I lived in Charleville for 9 years, Mt Isa for 4 years and Townsville for 15 years so I know what a hot car is....and a few years in New Guinea.

 

[fonzo]

Sorry let me rephrase.....didnt quite explain

air con is on to the C setting on climate control so cold as it goes. fan is on flat nack. its 9 degrees all the time.....once it is at 9 degrees it wont get any colder. driving it for an hour or 5. so basicly. with my fan going fast as possible. the air con as cold as the climate will let me..it hardly cuts the mustard on a 25degree day.....last year i left it in the sun at work all day....come back out after work with a temp gauge from the speedo air con shop next door....the air con was 9 degrees and the cars internal temp was 83 degrees now obviously i dont expect it to work soon as i start the key but after half an hour of driving it gets quite uncomfortable when the ambiant temp is 45 degrees. the air con isnt working as well as other cars you drive (non holden) and u can hardly put the window down as that is **** too.

 

[fonzo]

P.S NO SHADE....aint got any in the middle of shopping centre surburbia.

 

[hako]

OK.....maybe block the heater hot water hose to stop hot coolant flowing thru the heater and mixing with the cold air - not sure how you'd do it with CC but it will be simple - this way you are assured there is no hot air mixing. Have the outlet vents directed to driver and front passenger....turn rear ones off. There is a thermostat on the evaporator coil that cuts the compressor when a certain temp is reached to stop the evaporator icing up - maybe that's fault or the actual thermostat that is keeping it at 9 deg is faulty...not sure if they can be asjusted (or bypassed). I'll ask around and see what they know.

 

[hako]

Word is that the system in the Commodores is as good as any other if correctly gassed...that's when new, but with age things change. Other suggestions were to fit another electric fan in front of the condenser to maximise the heat removal...also check the standard fan is coming on at it's high setting when A/C on.
Back when I lived out west and engines boiled when crawling thru sand, you could fit a spray setup that sprayed water over the radiator core and cooled it down beautifully - that's going to extremes of course. The same could be done for the A/C condenser with a windscreen washer motor and a water container.
But if you say the air gets down to 9 deg and never lower, then you would figure that 9 deg is the lowest the thermostat is allowing the air to cool to...so the limiting factor may be the thermostat....my old XF had an adjustable thermostat but newer cars probably have fixed ones.
Anyway, I'll keep looking.

EDIT the wiring diagram shows a sun sensor, 2 ambient air temp sensors, an intake air sensor and a A/C evaporative inlet control switch plus an air mix door motor.......maybe one of these is faulty or the "electronic climate control module" is faulty. Plenty to go wrong there!

 

[fonzo]

Thnaks. appreciate it. the standard fan is coming on at LOW setting when cc is turned on....i have a switch to turn it on flat out anyway thats what i usuasly do.

 

[fonzo]

waittttt a minute are you telling me to ADD a fan to the condensor.....or? cause there isnt a fan there now. is there ment to be?

 

[PhilSeymour]

My VS aircon stopped working and I have narrowed the problem to the aircon thermostat switch... can anyone tell me where the damn thing is located?

 

[woteva]

My VS aircon stopped working and I have narrowed the problem to the aircon thermostat switch... can anyone tell me where the damn thing is located?

Is that the one behind the glovebox ?