Air con not cold

[Pisces69]

Usually, I dun mention name of wksp, so not to undermine their reputations.. anyway, I did all the repairs at To**ka and my last compressor was changed at Mar**ool. Sad thing is these parts doesn' come with long warranty. So maybe just my bad luck.

Actually, I rarely drive in hot day time, so i can actually bear with it. But seeing wife and children sweating when we go out during weekends, I know I gonna spend that money.. Just my luck maybe. Anyway, I driving a Optra magnum '08, is it true that I must set the temp to coldest(blue label) at all times? Cos I heard the coil will ice after long drive if I dun, please advise.

 

 

I drive a 06 Optra so engine etc so both r the same.

 

I only changed my Compressor (abt 1 year plus ago) to a OEM one (Delphi brand) for abt $500 at Markcool. I only deal with Ah Huat there.

 

Our AC Just set to full anti-clockwise in the Blue zone. I also close "Re-circulate" button so e small orange light is on.

 

Optra got a Original GM compressor but Made in Msia. Dun get this one as it easy to spoil. I got Delphi Made in Korea.

 

Yr coil sud never ice up. That means there is a problem with the expansion valve n thermostat control.

 

If u get coil ice-up (how u know?) better sent for checking. If all of a sudden no more cold air then u switch off AC for abt 10-15 mins n switch on again n got cold air. Then might b coil ice-up.

[Blackyv]

bro, when u mentioned "smell", what kinda smell is it? how long did it last?

Walau... That was many years ago, can't remember much... I don't even remember how my fart smells like, ... Hehehe...

[Fuelsaver]

Walau... That was many years ago, can't remember much... I don't even remember how my fart smells like, ... Hehehe...

lol, tks. Cos mine has a burn oil smell lasting a few secs during every drive.

[epon]

Recently, I've a air con problem which is caused by radiator!

 

First, the air con compressor gets cut off frequently resulting in no air con during some period of drive. The mechanic checked the electrical parts & replaced the relays, the problem persist, finally replaced the compressor but the problem continued.

 

Finally, we found that the radiator is low in water (car was just serviced a month ago) so the mechanic suspected that over heating might have caused the cut off for the compressor. Wonder how these 2 issues are linked, anyway the overheating indicator (at the dash board) did not lit up all these while.

 

The air con starts to work properly after the radiator is topped up.

 

Now I've a new issue with a leaking radiator, just topped up 0.5l of water after 3 days. Bought the 'stop radiator leak' and will use it in 2 days time when the water level in the radiator drops again. Hopefully, the problem will be resolved soon.

[Kb27]

Recently, I've a air con problem which is caused by radiator!

 

First, the air con compressor gets cut off frequently resulting in no air con during some period of drive. The mechanic checked the electrical parts & replaced the relays, the problem persist, finally replaced the compressor but the problem continued.

 

Finally, we found that the radiator is low in water (car was just serviced a month ago) so the mechanic suspected that over heating might have caused the cut off for the compressor. Wonder how these 2 issues are linked, anyway the overheating indicator (at the dash board) did not lit up all these while.

 

The air con starts to work properly after the radiator is topped up.

 

Now I've a new issue with a leaking radiator, just topped up 0.5l of water after 3 days. Bought the 'stop radiator leak' and will use it in 2 days time when the water level in the radiator drops again. Hopefully, the problem will be resolved soon.

 

There are two separator radiators in a car. One is for the engine cooling and the other for aircon cooling.

When you're "topping up" with water, that's the engine cooling radiator, and not the aircon radiator.

Radiators are sometimes stacked together, so it looks like the same one, but it's not.

 

In some cars, 1 fan cools both radiator, in others there are separate fans, so you need to check what is what.

[Beregond]

Recently, I've a air con problem which is caused by radiator!

 

First, the air con compressor gets cut off frequently resulting in no air con during some period of drive. The mechanic checked the electrical parts & replaced the relays, the problem persist, finally replaced the compressor but the problem continued.

 

Finally, we found that the radiator is low in water (car was just serviced a month ago) so the mechanic suspected that over heating might have caused the cut off for the compressor. Wonder how these 2 issues are linked, anyway the overheating indicator (at the dash board) did not lit up all these while.

 

The air con starts to work properly after the radiator is topped up.

 

Now I've a new issue with a leaking radiator, just topped up 0.5l of water after 3 days. Bought the 'stop radiator leak' and will use it in 2 days time when the water level in the radiator drops again. Hopefully, the problem will be resolved soon.

the radiator is mainly for cooling down the engine, got another similar parts very close to the radiator, that is the air con condenser.

depending on type of car, sometime they are side by side , or front any back.

for air con-condenser there is nothing for u to top up, if low on gas, just top up gas.

 

but if your car radiator is leaking water, indeed will cause your air-con to mauifunction. cos the over heat from the radiator and engine transmitt to the condenser and cause it to unable to cooldown your air con system, ( some thing like that. )

Esp those design is front and back, the heat from the radiator transmit to the condenser even easier.

 

anw , try to not to use stuff like radiator stop leak, do u know how it how? and how sure are u that it will only plug your leak, and not jam up any where else inside the system??

[Mts]

Whenever you discovered that your aircon suddenly cuts off and then come on later again very frequently and the cabin does get hot for such instances, please quickly take a look at your water temp gauge.

If your car do not have one (a lot of new cars do not have one these days), stop the car by the side of the road asap if you could. Stop the engine too!

 

When your coolant system runs low in coolant, engine operating temp will start to climb. This is very dangerous if you did not arrest it in time. Engine failure is very likely to happen.

When engine temp climbs high above normal range, aircon compressor will work intermittently as the engine heat is also affecting the operation of the aircon compressor.

 

Stop by the side of the road and stop the engine. Pop the bonnet and let the car cool down. Do a visual check on the coolant reserve tank.

 

PLEASE DO NOT POP THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN THE CAR IS HOT AND ESPECIALLY IF IT IS OVERHEATING. IT WILL CAUSE SEVERE BURN!

 

If you are unsure, call a friend who knows about car for assistance. Seek sound advice. If still in doubt, call your workshop.

 

Taking a risk to carry on with your journey with your car may in the end result a huge repair bill. A dead fan or a leaking radiator could result severe engine damage and not forgetting all other components that are fitted on the engine itself too.

An overheated engine may call for engine replacement for the worst scenario. The power steering pump and aircon compressor could be fried too. So... your wallet will definitely becomes a lot lighter after these.

 

If you are unsure and do not know much about your car, please do not take such risk.

 

It takes very little effort and time to give your car a visual check once a fortnight. Before you drive off in the morning and before you start the car, take a good 5mins just to visually inspect your car's engine compartment. Look for unusual leak like oil or coolant. Top up your coolant if necessary, with distill water (can buy from 7/11 but DO NOT BUY MINERAL WATER). If you happen to top up very frequently, it is advisable to send in your car to your trusted workshop to check.

 

Check your engine oil level as well from the dip stick (if you car has one). If low, please contact your workshop for advice as if you service your car with them frequently, they should be able to better advise you. If you do not have a dip stick for engine oil, your instrument cluster should contain this info for newer cars. Most conti cars have it in the instrument cluster or display.

 

If you want to know is your fan working or not, start the car and turn on the aircon, your fan or fans should start spinning upon activation of the aircon system. If you aircon system is turned on and the fan does not spin, please call a tow truck. Do not attempt to drive your car with a dead fan, or a weak fan (spinning but looks strangely slower than home fan). If you do, good luck.

 

Visual checks will take up about 5-10mins of your time each time but it could save you tons of repair bills.

 

Always better to be safe than sorry. Be vigilant for your daily transporter. Most car problems derived from poor maintenance and owner's negligence. No excuses will save your hefty bills for repair. Doing preventive maintenance is not kiasu. Afterall, prevention is better than cure and normally, a lot alot cheaper than cure.

 

Drive safe.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Mts

[Stratagem]

bro, how to tell if cooling coil is leakin?

 

Just sharing my experience.

Started with the usual symptom of hot air coming out of the vent.

Got it checked by mech who advised to top up the gas and replace air filter.

Everything was ok after that but barely 3 hours later, hot air was blowing out again and there was a hissing sound too.

That's a tell-tale sign that there's a leak somewhere and was advised to replace the cooling coil.

Now the air is very cold and hope it stays that way!

[Fuelsaver]

 

Just sharing my experience.

Started with the usual symptom of hot air coming out of the vent.

Got it checked by mech who advised to top up the gas and replace air filter.

Everything was ok after that but barely 3 hours later, hot air was blowing out again and there was a hissing sound too.

That's a tell-tale sign that there's a leak somewhere and was advised to replace the cooling coil.

Now the air is very cold and hope it stays that way!

tks for sharing bro. mine not happening this way, but i feel less cold after long period of driving say > 40 mins, what's ur take?

Edited May 29, 2014 by Fuelsaver

[TVT]

If you want to know is your fan working or not, start the car and turn on the aircon, your fan or fans should start spinning upon activation of the aircon system. If you aircon system is turned on and the fan does not spin, please call a tow truck. Do not attempt to drive your car with a dead fan, or a weak fan (spinning but looks strangely slower than home fan). If you do, good luck.

 

Just curious to know, is there any way to do maintenance for the fan? Does it has a life span?

 

Its like the fan would just die off without any warning, even when it was working fine the day before....

[Stratagem]

tks for sharing bro. mine not happening this way, but i feel less cold after long period of driving say > 40 mins, what's ur take?

 

Hmm I'm not a system expert but based on what you have described I would say it could be any of the hose, radiator or magnetic clutch. Not all problems are linked to the compressor(most workshops would likely be saying this)

 

Why not ask the mech to do a detailed check?

[Mts]

Honestly, it really depends on your luck. So far, I have not experienced a dead fan before. A dying one, yes. I always keep an eye on my water temp or oil temp, when i realized the temp is higher than normal, I will start to find the root of the problem. For that instance, the fan speed was weak and i quickly got it replaced.

 

Some friends never had such fan problems and some do. Really hard to gauge here.

 

 

Just curious to know, is there any way to do maintenance for the fan? Does it has a life span?

 

Its like the fan would just die off without any warning, even when it was working fine the day before....

 

[TVT]

Honestly, it really depends on your luck. So far, I have not experienced a dead fan before. A dying one, yes. I always keep an eye on my water temp or oil temp, when i realized the temp is higher than normal, I will start to find the root of the problem. For that instance, the fan speed was weak and i quickly got it replaced.

 

Some friends never had such fan problems and some do. Really hard to gauge here.

 

 

 

Hi. When you say "fan is weak", it means the fan does spin but slowly ??

 

[Mts]

 

Hi. When you say "fan is weak", it means the fan does spin but slowly ??

 

 

Maybe you can see that I am kiasu or kiasi. I always open up my bonnet to take a look once in a while. If you do it frequent enough, u may notice that the fan is not spinning that fast like normal. Sometimes, it is hard to tell when it started to slow a bit.

 

That's why I have water temp or oil temp gauge to monitor them.

[TVT]

 

Maybe you can see that I am kiasu or kiasi. I always open up my bonnet to take a look once in a while. If you do it frequent enough, u may notice that the fan is not spinning that fast like normal. Sometimes, it is hard to tell when it started to slow a bit.

 

That's why I have water temp or oil temp gauge to monitor them.

 

If you say you are kiasu or kiasi, then you are not alone! Cos I too, every fortnight would open my bonnet to take a look at my radiator water level..... OK, I got what you mean by a "weak fan" liao, thanks!

 

Besides that, I often knee down to look under the engine to see any spills, especially in the morning before I drove off.

[Mts]

 

If you say you are kiasu or kiasi, then you are not alone! Cos I too, every fortnight would open my bonnet to take a look at my radiator water level..... OK, I got what you mean by a "weak fan" liao, thanks!

 

Besides that, I often knee down to look under the engine to see any spills, especially in the morning before I drove off.

 

Haha. OK. I'm not alone.

[Kb27]

Good practice to check your fans.

I found one of mine would not move until I push start it.

Later I replaced it.

 

And in some cases, the fan would not stopped after ignition key off.

That will drain the battery and usually due to a relay problem.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Kb27

[Fuelsaver]

 

Hmm I'm not a system expert but based on what you have described I would say it could be any of the hose, radiator or magnetic clutch. Not all problems are linked to the compressor(most workshops would likely be saying this)

 

Why not ask the mech to do a detailed check?

sure, cos previously went to markcool ah huat checked. he vacuum n topped up comp oil n gas, then said if still hissing sound when just turned on, time to replace cooling coil wc takes 1.5 days.