Hi all,

 

Been having some problems with the A/C. Apparently compressor is OK, pressure of gas is fine, fuses OK, but no cold air.

 

At the weekend found the connector on the receiver (behind the front bumper) loose. Cleaned and refitted and now the A/C seems to be making a noise where it wasn't before.

 

Sounds like a cross between fan noise and the noise a fridge makes?!! It seems to be coming from behind the glovebox.

 

Would the poor receiver connection have stopped the system working before? With it not flowing gas, would the pressures have been measured wrong?

 

Any ideas? expansion valve or something? Is the A/C supposed to sound like a fridge in the glovebox or should it be a bit quieter?

 

In the meantime just have to make do with the roof off :cool: (when it stops raining:( )

 

StuartR

he he! done mine this weekend too! ;)

 

the sensor in the R/D is the low pressure sensor, if its disconnected then the system thinks the pressure is low & will not turn the compressor on.

 

the noise isnt coming from the compressor is it?

 

& no! it shouldn make a noise - all you should hear in the car is the blower motor.

 

it could be a sticking expansion valve - a pressure test may confirm this when running

Cheers for reply Paul.

 

This will explain why I haven't heard anything before (and a good way of increasing rpms without operating the compressor to boot! - tickover problems!!!!)

 

The noise is definitely coming from inside the cabin. When I open the glovebox I can feel the vibration on something in the gap behind. Is this where the expansion valve is? Can this be freed without draining the system? Liberal application of a hammer :p

 

I'm not overly concerned at the moment, but would be nice to fix if I can.... must fix idle problem first :rolleyes:

 

StuartR

not sure on a zed, but thats the sort of location it would be in - have a flick through the online manual.

 

the valve would be a sealed unit, & to replace it the system would need to be drained.

 

might be worth a few taps with a hammer to see if it frees it - tho it may make it worse!!! :D

Aha!

 

I got this problem too now... sounds like a knackered fridge, it's coming from behind the glovebox, and if you put your hand into the gap behind the glovebox when open you can feel something juddering.

 

I'm doing a long motorway drive this weekend so it's -really- going to do my turnip if it's not simple to sort... did you get to the bottom of it?

 

If it's relevant the coolant system has had a major disturbance recently - new HG?

 

It's still blowing air and the compressor must still be working because the car demists quite quickly despite leaky targas...

Didn't get to the problem with the A/C (although I've got perfect idle now!).

 

You could disable the A/C by taking a fuse out, disconnecting the low pressure switch, etc. until you get a chance to regas, or whatever. At least it won't sound like a fridge!, and your CC will still work (but without any A/C, if you get my drift!)

 

Of course, you can run the CC on Econ (that's what I do most of the time). A quick blast of the demister clears the screen whether A/C is working or not!

 

If you get your A/C fixed - let me know what you did, and at least I'll have some idea for when I finally get around to it!!!

It's just the fan I think, because it does it whether on Econ or not, and the pitch changes depending whether I put the fan on "lo" or "hi".

 

So I just leave the A/C "off" altogether, and it doesn't whirr... still get hot air drifting into the cabin through the vents though so it's not too bad.

 

Guess I'll have to delve into the unknown territory of behind the passenger side fascia... :eek: