air con totally empty

[richardfirefighter]

went to get my aircon tested yesterday as it wasnt cold at all and the tecnician said that it wasnt even regestering on his guage, and he also said that was very rare to be totally empty.... what could cause this???

 

[White16valver]

A leak, I would say! lol

 

[richardfirefighter]

not what i wanted to hear

 

[shadowsun]

Greetings.

First thing to check. Pop your bonnet open and have a look at your alternator. At the top of the alternator there should be a bolt which holds it to the car. If this bolt breaks or comes loose the alternator can slam fowards and down cutting into the air con return pipe and obviously would make the system leak.

If the bolt is missing chances are the alternator may have dropped down and damaged the pipe. Its a case of putting a fresh bolt to hold the alternator back in place and getting a replacement pipe from Renault (£106) or the breakers. To fit the pipe the front bumper does need to come off.

I speak from experience on this one and it was a pain to change, I hope it's something more simple for you!

 

[Gally]

Simple leak mate. replacement of the air con required.

It'll cost you £30 to get it pressure checked, simple squirt of some water and wait for the bubbles.

 

[richardfirefighter]

good advice guys.. will any garage do the leak test??

 

[Josh@Renparts]

anyone with air con equipment should be able to do it, we stock all the used A/C bits so give us a call if you need anything.

 

[richardfirefighter]

anyone with air con equipment should be able to do it, we stock all the used A/C bits so give us a call if you need anything.

cool... is it usual for them to be totally empty?

 

[DMS]

Mine was totally empty when it failed on me last year.
All it had was a tiny crack in a bend on one of the pipes, and it had caused the gas to slowly discharge into the atmosphere.
Because I got the car from a dealership it was still under warranty, so they fixed it for nothing. Good job really 'cos no doubt it would have been expensive.

 

[richardfirefighter]

ok that dont sound too bad

 

[richardfirefighter]

the pump dont even kick in when i turn it on... could it be a fuse and where is it??

do the pumps stop turning on when the gas is empty??

 

[Gally]

The only way the unit will be empty if you have a leak mate.

If he says it's needing charged because it's not cold he's talking s**t.

Get it pressure checked at a garage and then you will know for sure if you have to replace it.

 

[sophiesdad]

where abouts are you richard ? i could have a look for you , and no the compressor wont kick in if the gas is too low , its for protection.

 

[richardfirefighter]

where abouts are you richard ? i could have a look for you , and no the compressor wont kick in if the gas is too low , its for protection.

hi mate im in london.. i went to quick fit today and their machine detected a leak although they didnt look for where the leak was,,,, so i need to find where the leak is and fix it too!! any ideas on costs??

 

[sophiesdad]

where abouts in london , ? im in south london , live in kingston , if localish to there i can look for you , costs will only depend on where the leak is, . let me know if you want me to look.

 

[richardfirefighter]

where abouts in london , ? im in south london , live in kingston , if localish to there i can look for you , costs will only depend on where the leak is, . let me know if you want me to look.

im in harrow so not too far from kingston....