Air Conditioning Advice

[VN Commy]

Turns out my system has no gas in it. The guy thinks it would be leaking from the evaporator under the dash. He quoted me $1200+ to replace it. I'm guessing this would mostly be labour costs. Anybody know if it's possible to DIY (I know there are certain laws about working on A/C but theres no gas in the system anyway)? Because it's not really worth spending half of what I paid for the car on the A/C (not that I can afford to anyway).

 

[GLDNVL]

Ive got a problem with the Air-Con/Heater on my 97 VS Statesman.
I'll start with the Heating side of things. . . Its not very Hot when on, even after half an hour of driving. What are some of the problems causing this??
And Air-Con/Climate Control. . . It is Cold, but when on, it sometimes makes a "Whistling" sound, and makes that "Whistling" sound even when its not on. What are the problems causing this??
Finally, I want to know why its not powerful, as in it doesnt blow air out very fast, even with fan speed on 3 - (Max).

 

[Harvs82]

Turns out my system has no gas in it. The guy thinks it would be leaking from the evaporator under the dash. He quoted me $1200+ to replace it. I'm guessing this would mostly be labour costs. Anybody know if it's possible to DIY (I know there are certain laws about working on A/C but theres no gas in the system anyway)? Because it's not really worth spending half of what I paid for the car on the A/C (not that I can afford to anyway).

Yeah its usually a $1000 job, just like the heater core, because every last bit of the dash has to come out for the job... I would imagine that it would be possible to DIY, as long as you know how to put it all back together. I would also be changing the heater core over at the same time, just as a safe guard... because they often rust out at this age and you don't want to have to pull the dash apart again spending another $800 or so to have that done too.

 

[jas98]

I would suggest that the air conditioning system has either run out of gas, or is very low on gas, which means that there is a leak somewhere. I would suggest taking it to an air conditioning specialist, where they can add some dye into the air con gas, and see where it is leaking. The other issue is that the heater tap or control rod is not working properly, allowing hot coolant to still mix with the cold air. When you run the air conditioning, if you put your hand on the larger pipe going from the compressor to the firewall, is it ice cold, or does it have condensation on it?

ok what does it mean if it has condensation on it?? is it bad? as me vn has that... and im getting the gas toped up in a week as the air is blowing cool air (on 4) and not very cold

cheers

 

[Harvs82]

ok what does it mean if it has condensation on it?? is it bad? as me vn has that... and im getting the gas toped up in a week as the air is blowing cool air (on 4) and not very cold

cheers

If the bigger pipe is cold, and has condensation on it, then the airconditioning system is doing its job properly. If you aren't getting cold air in the cabin, then check your heater tap, and your heater control rod, behind the dash, as it could be allowing air to go via the heater core, allowing it to heat up.

 

[commsirac]

yeah mate I tried tightening the ac belt this morning. As I said, I pushed the last new belt to the point of it breaking, so Ive tightened as far as I dare before it breaks. The sound doesnt seem to change even when you tighten the belt. Ive had this with 2 new ac belts so far. Ive double checked its the right belt etc, but still I get this squealing.

When I turn the ac off and wind down the windows and have a listen, I get no noise at all, in fact it sounds great. The minute I put the ac on, the squeal comes back intermittently. Like I said, the ac seems fine in every other respect..

You have mentioned that the compressor seems free to move when you inspect it with the belt off, but that would be with the aircon clutch disengaged, unless you found a way of triggering the clutch without the motor running? It is quite possible that the compressor is the source of the probs. Is the squealing coming from the belt/pulley contact? One way to find out is to put a steady stream of water over the belt/pulley while it is making the offending noise and see what happens. If the noise disappears then it is a belt related issue.....could still be aggravated by restrictive compressor, however, if the noise doesnt disappear the problem is from within the compressor.

 

[chris smith]

how do you get the fan motor out off a vr comodore

 

[woteva]

Car - 94 VR Calais

Problem - air condition not operating.

In the past when the engine is idling and I press the button to start the air conditioning the following occurs - the compressor clutch engages, the thermo fans start and the idle speed of the engine increases slightly to compensate for the drag of the compressor.

When i do this now i get none of the above.

I have a VR exec and having exactly the same problem as above. My A/C was working, I parked the car for 5 minutes, then drove off and now the A/C is not working. I have checked the fuses under the dash, swapped the A/C relay under the bonnet and still nothing.
I was reading a manual that says the switch sends a signal to the computer, which then rises the idle speed and engages the compressor clutch. I will get out the manual again tommorow and trace the circuit out.

Anyone else had this problem ?? Standard AC controls, not climate control.

Many Thanks for any help received.

 

[Chirpstr]

I have a VR exec and having exactly the same problem as above. My A/C was working, I parked the car for 5 minutes, then drove off and now the A/C is not working. I have checked the fuses under the dash, swapped the A/C relay under the bonnet and still nothing.
I was reading a manual that says the switch sends a signal to the computer, which then rises the idle speed and engages the compressor clutch. I will get out the manual again tommorow and trace the circuit out.

Anyone else had this problem ?? Standard AC controls, not climate control.

Many Thanks for any help received.

checked the gas? maybe you mean you can't hear it...

 

[Chirpstr]

the IAC valve should control the idle when AC is on...