Mobile Air-Con Regas

[hookalaya]

I just bought a VE Calais 2006. Now the air con works gets cool but not freezing cold like other cars I've had. So I was thinking of getting it re gassed. Ive come across ads for mobile re gassing.? is this the same as taking your car in to get air con re gassed / serviced. Can it be done properly being a mobile service.? And if its got a leak am I up for more money than just the re gas fee or does that usually get fixed as part of the re gassing?

 

[greenacc]

Fixing leaks costs extra. If it has a leak someone needs to work out what is leaking to be able to quote you on fixing it. But if it's cold that is a good thing.

 

[whiskeytango]

Yes it's the same thing and can be done properly. You can do it yourself at home if you have some pressure gauges and a bottle of refrigerant.
Have a look on youtube at how it's done.
The benefit of mobile one is you can have them come to your home/work if you're busy and cant get time to drive your car in.

 

[hookalaya]

Thanks guys.. its weird kos the compressor sounds a bit noisy but only when the fan speed is below 6 crank it up over 6 the mechanical noise from under the bonnet gets hesps quieter or even stops.? Now common sense tells me the air blower has f#$k all to do with the compressor but it definitely has an impact on it somehow??

 

[greenacc]

If this was a guessing competition my money would say that switching the fan above 6 switches the compressor from economy mode into high gear/ high output or something like that? Subaru have an eco mode, not sure about Holden.

 

[LeighC]

I have also a 2006 VE V6 & had the identical problem to yours, I bought a 340 gram can (Ebay) of 134a & a gauge & tap & ended up adding the complete can & it now works perfectly again same as new about 7°C at RH centre vent, medium fan on a hot day. Easy to do.

 

[hookalaya]

I have also a 2006 VE V6 & had the identical problem to yours, I bought a 340 gram can (Ebay) of 134a & a gauge & tap & ended up adding the complete can & it now works perfectly again same as new about 7°C at RH centre vent, medium fan on a hot day. Easy to do.

Thanks for the reply, yeah I was looking at that exact thing on ebay them lil cans of gas and the oxy looking gages. But I dunno maybe I should of gone that route at least then you got all the **** for next time.. Im currently sitting at 'Auto Chill' Cannington(Perth) awaiting a re-gas so hopefully that will sort it out. Il have an update soon

 

[VS 5.0]

Hope it works put for you.

It's going to be hot this week in Perth.

 

[hookalaya]

Spoke to the air con guy he recons my compressor must be on the way out to be noisy.. Anyway he put temp gauge to the vents and it was 14'c and low on gas..and after regas I seen it reach 8'c at the vent but only after he was reving the **** out of it trying to get the 2nd radiator fan to come on. I think the noise when the fan is at speed 6 or below has subsided somewhat but honestly the air con feels the same as it was maybe very slightly cooler.? Also only 1 fan was running unless you give it high revs and get it real hot then the 2nd fan comes on he thought it wasn't working properly.? But I dunno I think the run pretty hot as normal my coolant temp in engineering mode is usually 96 or 97'c. It cost me $170 I thought that was on the high side.? Maybe the air con in these ve calais just arnt that good.? Compared to my mums 2012 xr6 her air is so cold u have to turn it off even in the back seats its freezing. Sucks I want cold air in my ve

 

[greenacc]

If you topped it up and it was full and now it's low again then it must be leaking.
A lot of early VE compressors were noisy when new, like a loud kitten purring or a mogwy ( you remember the baby gremlins?)
When my VE kept losing gas about 6 years ago the air con mech said VEs always leak from the condenser. So he replaced it and it has held gas until now. It's just getting a bit less cold now.