Air con pump not kicking in

[DomP182]

How annoying, after a year of no air con I finally parted with 50 quid to get it re gassed which was near empty. Anyway after all that it turns out my pump isn't running, are there any checks I can do or easy fixes or am I going to have to shell out a few hundred just for a few weeks of summer? Hit with a hammer

 

[Mr R.]

The pump won't clutch in if the gas pressure is low.

Maybe there is a leak and it's low on gas again?

 

[DomP182]

It was tested immediately after a vacuum and refill so I'm hoping it would have been full. The bloke was looking for a plate on the car to tell him how much refrigerant needed to go in which he couldn't find??

 

[DomP182]

He ran a 20 min. Pressure test too.

 

[McGherkin]

It was tested immediately after a vacuum and refill so I'm hoping it would have been full. The bloke was looking for a plate on the car to tell him how much refrigerant needed to go in which he couldn't find??

0.700kg.

And it should be vacuumed down for an hour.

Try jumping the pressure switch to see if it's stopped working - the pump should kick in when you jump it.

 

[Mr Plums]

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?752573-Last-few-182-parts-including-wheels

 

[DomP182]

To be honest it was probably longer than 20 mins, the whole process was over an hour.

How do I jump the pressure switch, Bridging terminals? Oh and where is it? Cheers Dom

 

[McGherkin]

To be honest it was probably longer than 20 mins, the whole process was over an hour.

How do I jump the pressure switch, Bridging terminals? Oh and where is it? Cheers Dom

IIRC it's on the passenger side of the car, right up forward near the condenser. It should unplug without dropping the gas, then just put a wire across the terminals. Jay Payne , which terminals are the ones that need to be jumped? Just read there's 3 terminals on the clio switch.

 

[DomP182]

Cool I will try that when I know which to bridge. Cheers.

 

[DomP182]

A development, on looking for the pressure sensor (which I found) I discovered yellow /green refrigerant leaking from whatever it is the pipe goes to after the pressure sensor.

What is this and how do I fix it? And is it why the pump isn't kicking in.

 

[McGherkin]

It's probably your issue. It's dye and it leaks out with the gas when you have a leak. If all the gas has leaked out the pump will not kick in. Surprised it's leaked out so quickly after a recharge, and they didn't detect it.

Is it the flask shaped thing (the dryer) next to the radiator? If the leak is at a connection it may be a case of just breaking the connection apart and replacing the seals (go genuine for these).

 

[DomP182]

Thanks for you help and yes it is that part, in hoping it's easy to get to to have a look

 

[McGherkin]

Take the bumper off, it'll make your life easier.

Oh, and soak the bolt in wd40 for a few hours before you remove it - you don't want to shear it.

 

[Owen92]

As an FGAS trained technician, a couple of things caught my attention in your posts.
1. If the techie didn't know how much gas to put in, it's possible that he put too much gas in, causing the compressor not to run due to the pressure being too high.

2. If there was hardly any gas in it in the first place, the techie should of done a leak test as legally we aren't allowed to fill a system that we suspect has a leak.

3. To fix that properly, you will have to take it to a garage to have the refrigerant vacuumed out of the system, the faulty component replacing and then the system regassing.

 

[DomP182]

So I can't just pop it off and put a new gasket on then? I seem to remember he put 0.660kg in.

It's definitely the aluminium house that runs behind the rad to the passenger side that's leaking where it goes into a 2" diameter 8" long cylinder, where can I get a gasket to sort it?

 

[Owen92]

It's possible to do so, just remember that the gas isn't a pleasant thing to work with and you don't want to be inhaling it at all.

 

[McGherkin]

If it's pissed it out already to the extent that the pressure switch has disabled, it's probably no longer much of an issue.

You could get it vac'ed back to see how much is left, but I doubt it's much.

 

[Snake182]

If the pump isn't cutting in but it has got gas in the system then there are a few thing it can be. Firstly did you jump the pressure switch connections and the pump cut in?
Have you check the feed to the A/C pump and check the live feed wire hasn't broken? Have you checked the fuse for the A/C hasn't blown? there should also be a relay to control the A/C pump. Just a few ideas.

 

[DomP182]

We checked the fuses, don't know which of the 3 wires to bridge to check but I have read not to.

There is a fair amount of green fluid around the receiver/dryer so I guess this must be the issue but weirdly it detected no leaks and when tested five mins after a regass didn't run. Again though there is loads leaked out below the pressure switch.