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      08-01-2020, 06:15 AM   #1
drykoke
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Aircon woes

Hasn't been cooling too well for some time, so I got it regassed at a local mechanic.

Seemed OK for a week, but Friday's heatwave was just overwhelming.

Two hours jpurmey with large gusts of hot air from the vents, irrespective of whatever AC On setting I tried (Auto, Manual, 16C, centre wheel to either extreme).
Even Max AC failed to yield any cooling, despite blower continuing to throw out lots of air.

OBDII scanner - no fault codes.

Looks like a large and expensive repair at Cooper BMW Norwich, unless anyone has tips for a good indy aircon garage?
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      08-01-2020, 06:46 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drykoke View Post
Hasn't been cooling too well for some time, so I got it regassed at a local mechanic.

Seemed OK for a week, but Friday's heatwave was just overwhelming.

Two hours jpurmey with large gusts of hot air from the vents, irrespective of whatever AC On setting I tried (Auto, Manual, 16C, centre wheel to either extreme).
Even Max AC failed to yield any cooling, despite blower continuing to throw out lots of air.

OBDII scanner - no fault codes.

Looks like a large and expensive repair at Cooper BMW Norwich, unless anyone has tips for a good indy aircon garage?
Definitely sounds like an A/C leak, you’ll need to find it though. Hopefully they put some dye in with the re-charge and they’ll be able to find it easily now. First port of call is the condenser, it’s at the front of the car behind the kidney grilles and it’s quite common for these to get hit by small stones and then leak.

I had the condenser replaced 14 months ago on mine at a independent specialist in the West Mids... Cost around £350 all in including re-charge.. Still blowing ice cold now, temp checked at the centre vent with probe thermometer it blows 3c in 25c ambient temp. Before I changed the condenser it lasted roughly 2 weeks after a re-charge before it stopped working again.

Worst case scenario would be the evaporator leaking, it’s a massive job taking the whole dashboard out to replace that and you’re looking at well over a grand parts and labour (mostly labour) with the worry of it not quite being the same again after the dash has been Completely taken out and then put back. I was ready to get rid of my car if it had been the evaporator
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      08-01-2020, 12:51 PM   #3
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Mine went last year they put dye in couldn't find the leak. Eventually they realised the valve/cap on my car was leaking but because it was where they connected the machine, every time they ran diagnosis it sealed the broken valve 😂 very cheap fix once they found it though
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      08-01-2020, 03:30 PM   #4
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I have similar air con woes.

On Friday, where the outside temp got to 33 degrees where I live, I turned on the air con to the max setting and it was struggling to produce any cold air at all.


I got the system re-gassed around this time last year and a pressure test revealed all was good, i.e. no leaks.


I have been using the A/C regularly since then until lockdown and its always blown very cold. I didn't use my car very much between the lockdown period so didn't run the A/C during this time, only once or twice for a short time.


Could the gasses have escaped from the system during the last 4 months without using the A/C very much? Does it sound like I have a leak or will another re-gas do the trick?


I did try the A/C again today (21 degrees outside) and although slighter colder, was nowhere near as cold as before.
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      08-01-2020, 04:25 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunjas View Post
I have similar air con woes.

On Friday, where the outside temp got to 33 degrees where I live, I turned on the air con to the max setting and it was struggling to produce any cold air at all.


I got the system re-gassed around this time last year and a pressure test revealed all was good, i.e. no leaks.


I have been using the A/C regularly since then until lockdown and its always blown very cold. I didn't use my car very much between the lockdown period so didn't run the A/C during this time, only once or twice for a short time.


Could the gasses have escaped from the system during the last 4 months without using the A/C very much? Does it sound like I have a leak or will another re-gas do the trick?


I did try the A/C again today (21 degrees outside) and although slighter colder, was nowhere near as cold as before.
You have a slow leak in the system somewhere which would not show up on a pressure test (only very big leaks show up on those).

A re-charge might get it working for days, weeks or months depending on how fast the leak is. Why did you get it re-charged last year? Probably because it wasn’t cooling very well due to the same leak that’s still there now?

If they can’t spot a slow leak an A/C specialist will be able to do a sniffer test and find the exact location of the leak. Best to get it fixed once and for all then it should just work for years to come if you leave it on auto all year round.
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      08-02-2020, 02:25 PM   #6
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I use this guy, he is brilliant, he is based in Cringleford but will come to you.

http://www.drivecool.co.uk

He has done a couple of mine, he is more than happy for you to supply a new condensor and fit it if it is a stone in it, or he can fit it for you. Whatever works out best for you.


He has replaced a leaking seal on the valve a couple of times and charged me £5 to fit a new seal, and then the regass price. So he doesn't take the piss.
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      08-02-2020, 02:26 PM   #7
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I feel your pain, hired a VW camper on Friday... no aircon. Was sweaty betty!
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      08-02-2020, 03:43 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gIzzE View Post
I use this guy, he is brilliant, he is based in Cringleford but will come to you.

http://www.drivecool.co.uk

He has done a couple of mine, he is more than happy for you to supply a new condensor and fit it if it is a stone in it, or he can fit it for you. Whatever works out best for you.
Much appreciated, thank you.
I spoke to DriveCool earlier in the week and he gave me some advice about a few first steps to pinpoint the exact fault.
I tried to ring him back a couple of times over the past few days but he wasn't picking up the phone, so I have left a message to fix up a time when he can look at my car.
Will call him again.
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      08-03-2020, 02:41 AM   #9
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Air Con Woes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooded View Post
You have a slow leak in the system somewhere which would not show up on a pressure test (only very big leaks show up on those).

A re-charge might get it working for days, weeks or months depending on how fast the leak is. Why did you get it re-charged last year? Probably because it wasn’t cooling very well due to the same leak that’s still there now?

If they can’t spot a slow leak an A/C specialist will be able to do a sniffer test and find the exact location of the leak. Best to get it fixed once and for all then it should just work for years to come if you leave it on auto all year round.

I got it re-gassed as I hadn't used it for a long time so was told the gasses had slowly escaped over the last few years.


Another thing I noticed is that when the A/C button is pressed on, there is a noisy whirring sound from behind the centre vents / climate control unit that wasn't there before...
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      08-03-2020, 07:01 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunjas View Post
I got it re-gassed as I hadn't used it for a long time so was told the gasses had slowly escaped over the last few years.


Another thing I noticed is that when the A/C button is pressed on, there is a noisy whirring sound from behind the centre vents / climate control unit that wasn't there before...
Not using it for a few years is one way to dry out all the seals and potentially fuck up the A/C system.

How loud is the whirring sound? I noticed just before mine stopped working (a couple of weeks after a re-gas) when it was getting low on gas it started to make slight noises. The first noise I noticed was the common noise (whining) that changes with the engine revs around 1800rpm then a few days later it sounded like the blower motor or something had become kind of a bit noisier (this was just before it stopped working/cooling and ran out of gas).

All Noises are gone on mine after the system was fixed and re-charged last year.
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      08-03-2020, 08:19 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooded View Post
Not using it for a few years is one way to dry out all the seals and potentially fuck up the A/C system.

How loud is the whirring sound? I noticed just before mine stopped working (a couple of weeks after a re-gas) when it was getting low on gas it started to make slight noises. The first noise I noticed was the common noise (whining) that changes with the engine revs around 1800rpm then a few days later it sounded like the blower motor or something had become kind of a bit noisier (this was just before it stopped working/cooling and ran out of gas).

All Noises are gone on mine after the system was fixed and re-charged last year.
Correct.

I always have the aircon on. Never had an issue, and I ran my last car for 6 years, was 10 years old when I sold it and it never needed to be regassed.

The climate control is designed to run continuously and will cool or heat as required, also with the aircon off it won't dehumidify either.
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      08-03-2020, 08:28 AM   #12
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Something else that affects performance is a really daft issue where the kids adjust the rear temperature to hot from the selector behind the armrest. This reduces the cold up front as I've now discovered!
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      08-03-2020, 09:38 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bishbosh View Post
Correct.

I always have the aircon on. Never had an issue, and I ran my last car for 6 years, was 10 years old when I sold it and it never needed to be regassed.

The climate control is designed to run continuously and will cool or heat as required, also with the aircon off it won't dehumidify either.
Same here, on all my cars I’ve always left the A/C on all year round (it helps De-mist quicker in winter). My F30 is the only car where I’ve had to have any repairs/re-charge done, but that was down to a leak on the condenser from stone hits which is quite common on the F3x cars due to the condenser being vulnerable to stone hits through the kidney grilles.

I have an old beater 13 year old Ford Focus Mk2 here and the A/C still bows ice cold in hot weather. It’s actually a little colder than my F30. Both systems tested temp at the centre vent with probe thermometer in 25c ambient temp. BMW is 3c at the vent on the coldest climate control setting (16c) and the 13 year old Focus is an ice cold 2c! Although you can’t tell any difference between them in real world use, both keep you nice and cool on a hot day.
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      08-03-2020, 09:40 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kermit View Post
Something else that affects performance is a really daft issue where the kids adjust the rear temperature to hot from the selector behind the armrest. This reduces the cold up front as I've now discovered!
Never considered this^

Mines left set in the middle on the rear selector.
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      08-05-2020, 04:15 AM   #15
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Air Con Woes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooded View Post
Not using it for a few years is one way to dry out all the seals and potentially fuck up the A/C system.

How loud is the whirring sound? I noticed just before mine stopped working (a couple of weeks after a re-gas) when it was getting low on gas it started to make slight noises. The first noise I noticed was the common noise (whining) that changes with the engine revs around 1800rpm then a few days later it sounded like the blower motor or something had become kind of a bit noisier (this was just before it stopped working/cooling and ran out of gas).

All Noises are gone on mine after the system was fixed and re-charged last year.
The whirring noise is pretty loud when I press the A/C button on, doesn't happen when just the normal blower is on. I have noticed that it's got louder over the last couple of weeks. As you say, I think this happens when the gas is running low.
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      08-05-2020, 12:34 PM   #16
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Has anyone ever used one of these?

It states that it can seal SMALL leaks.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/en...3-134448.html#
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      08-05-2020, 02:21 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunjas View Post
Has anyone ever used one of these?

It states that it can seal SMALL leaks.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/en...3-134448.html#
Have a read of this..

https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.co...k-sealer-work/

Basically, if you’re lucky it might work, but on the other hand it could clog things up in the system and make repairs even more expensive if it doesn’t work.

You pay your money and you take your chances, but personally I wouldn’t use it on anything other than an old throw away car with a leaky A/C system
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      08-06-2020, 01:39 AM   #18
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I don’t know when they changed, but newer BMW’s don’t user r134a refrigerant, so that leak sealer may not be compatible.
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      08-06-2020, 08:52 AM   #19
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My 2012 has R134a (I think it's labelled on the underside of the bonnet -rightside when looking into engine).

2 scorching weeks ago the wife -along with daughter, complained about her Mini's not working (I had a leak repaired about 2-3 years ago with leakfix fluid at indy a/c garage).
I bought the STP kit from Halfords -who also do free A/C pressure checks with their same kit. I reckon the chap checking it also kindly/inadvertently topped the a/c system with his bottle -minisculeally. He then replied it was all fine🙂

We were lucky that it does actually work now (-well I think it works🤔!), and didn't have to open mine.
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      08-09-2020, 07:09 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooded View Post
Definitely sounds like an A/C leak, you’ll need to find it though. First port of call is the condenser, it’s at the front of the car behind the kidney grilles and it’s quite common for these to get hit by small stones and then leak.

I had the condenser replaced 14 months ago on mine at a independent specialist in the West Mids... Cost around £350 all in including re-charge..
Many thanks, excellent advice.
Aircon man now spotted oil residue below the condenser. Temporarily re-charged the system and now sort of working (moderate cooling).
He has ordered condenser to be fitted next week. He seemed to suggest that it is a long and difficult job in the F30? Is it something where I need to set aside the car for a few hours?
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      08-09-2020, 12:37 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drykoke View Post
Many thanks, excellent advice.
Aircon man now spotted oil residue below the condenser. Temporarily re-charged the system and now sort of working (moderate cooling).
He has ordered condenser to be fitted next week. He seemed to suggest that it is a long and difficult job in the F30? Is it something where I need to set aside the car for a few hours?


Mine took 2 hours which included re-gassing the system after fitting the new condenser. This was at a BMW specialist garage.
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      08-12-2020, 03:45 AM   #22
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Sorted in 2 hours, thanks. Large oil stain at bottom of the condenser, indicating slow leak.
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