Air-con not cold :(

[mloo]

Hey guys,

Quick question. Does anyone know any people in Melbourne, preferably south-east area who are good and friendly and great with Air-con?

My na6's AC was regassed 9 months ago. But recently has started to act up; blowing not much colder or even hotter than ambient temperature air. Especially evident today in 40 degree weather (melb).

Previously when it was regassed, the guys mentioned that there was a blockage. He also replaced the gas with the newer r134a canister. When it was regassed it was somewhat cold but now its just horrible.

With summer coming up. I'm keen to fix the problem otherwise I'll be dying in my car.. If you guys have had similar experiences or do know of any reputable guys within the south-east suburbs please let me know

cheers
-mloo

[tescoking]

Check condenser/re-gas

[speed freak]

I need to get my nb regassed too but I need money first lol like yours it blows out room temp air, not nice when your sitting in the sun in traffic.

[markwid]

I need to get my nb regassed too but I need money first lol like yours it blows out room temp air, not nice when your sitting in the sun in traffic.

Will help a little for a little while but I think AC in our car is generally crappy.

AC in my GTI works beautifully and can freeze my butt off on the hottest day. No comparison.

[tescoking]

To check if your car need re-gas or not. Park in a carpark or garage. Let the car cool down, when the car is not hot any more then start the car and turn on the A/C, if after 5mins it is still not cold then the A/C is need to re-gas, condenser is hard to break. So just focus on re-gas first.

[speed freak]

I need to get my nb regassed too but I need money first lol like yours it blows out room temp air, not nice when your sitting in the sun in traffic.

Will help a little for a little while but I think AC in our car is generally crappy.

AC in my GTI works beautifully and can freeze my butt off on the hottest day. No comparison.

Yea that's like my corolla I owned before my mx5 and the Subaru liberty I still own both are/were freezing cold even through summer.

Sucks about the aircon in the mx5's then but, even still I know mine isn't working properly and it would be due to needing a re-gas. It starts off pretty cold then the longer its on the warmer it gets and only takes a few minutes to start doing that. I don't really even like air con and I barely use it but sometimes you need it (mainly when its raining for me) and if I need it Id like it to be cold or atleast as cold as it can be.

[MrRevhead]

It sounds like you have a leak.

If the place that re-gassed it before were credible, they would of used a UV dye mixed in when doing the retrofit to R134a. If so, they should (or any auto elec etc) be able to use a UV light to determine where it is leaking from.

Common places on the MX5 include the compressor, condenser, TX valve, evaporator or schrader valves. The TX Valve/Evaporator is behind the glove box, so if they are unable to detect any leaks in the engine bay, tell them to look there.

Unless you get the leak identified and fixed, each time you regas it will eventually be lost. Try looking around for a reputable auto electrician or AC specialist. Normally the older guys have some experience and knowledge behind them.

On another note, it's a pity you retrofitted to R134a, the old R12 system can still work effectively with Hychill HR12 gas, which performs just as good as R12 (in terms of coldness). It is also legal, unlike the old R12.

Best of luck and keep us posted with your progress.

[itrungs]

I'm also curious to know if anyone has ice-cold aircon in an NA mx5. My aircon isn't anything spectacular however it will keep you fairly cool (this is after a re-gas as well).

[gslender]

Interesting. My AC just stopped working today. It is like as if the switch or relay isn't working. I don't think the compressor is even engaged so hopefully it is electrical and not the clutch on the compressor.

G

[MrRevhead]

Interesting. My AC just stopped working today. It is like as if the switch or relay isn't working. I don't think the compressor is even engaged so hopefully it is electrical and not the clutch on the compressor.

G

From my understanding, once the system has below a certain amount of gas in it, the pressure sensor on one of the hard lines picks that up and as a result, the compressor does not engage.

Once it is re-gassed, it should work as normal as the required amount of gas & pressure is in the system.

[MrRevhead]

I'm also curious to know if anyone has ice-cold aircon in an NA mx5. My aircon isn't anything spectacular however it will keep you fairly cool (this is after a re-gas as well).

When I got my car re-gassed in September with Hychill HR12, it was blowing 5.8C at the vents on a low 30 ambient day.

To be honest though, a few months later it isn't as cold, but still quiet effective. I am aware there is a slight leak in the compressor seal (auto elec said it was very minor), so whether I have lost some gas/pressure which has contributed to it not being as cold or I have just got use to it I'm not sure. I should stick the digital thermometer back on the vent and monitor it to double check.

[sailaholic]

Did they change all the seals when changing the gas? I was told the lube for the two gases is different and will eat the wrong seals, requiring a full system pull down and seal replacement

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[MrRevhead]

HR12 and R12 can run effectively on the same mineral oil. Only when you retrofit you need to change the mineral oil to a PAG oil otherwise it can cause leaks at the seals in the system.

I think my minor leak is due to the system being almost 23 years old and the compressor not being utilised for a number of years by the previous owner. The auto elec said it was a very minor leak (he had a hard time identifying it in the first place), so I will just monitor and see how long the gas stays in the system. I can then decide whether to justify changing over the compressor to a reconditioned one or just re-gassing every year or two.

[manga_blue]

Has it actually occurred to anyone here that there may be nothing wrong with mloo's A/C system at all and you're all barking up the wrong tree?

It's a really common fault in NAs for hot air to leak over the rubber sealing strip between the engine compartment and the HVAC air collection box in front of the windscreen. When the seal fails (and given that NA6s are all over 20 years now it must have failed) then you can only get hot air pumping through the vents. Even an A/C in good condition can't cool it.

It's also pretty common for the flap behind the centre console which regulates hot/cold air to the cabin to be sticking/blocked/wrongly adjusted. So asking for cold air never gives you cold air.

I'd start by just driving the car with the A/C off for a few Ks and the HVAc controls set to cold and seeing if it pumps hot air or cool air through the vents. If it pumps hot air then you've got to fix the sealing strip and/or the hot/cold air flap first before you take on the more expensive A/C repair route.

[hejira]

Has it actually occurred to anyone here that there may be nothing wrong with mloo's A/C system at all and you're all barking up the wrong tree?

It's a really common fault in NAs for hot air to leak over the rubber sealing strip between the engine compartment and the HVAC air collection box in front of the windscreen. When the seal fails (and given that NA6s are all over 20 years now it must have failed) then you can only get hot air pumping through the vents. Even an A/C in good condition can't cool it.

It's also pretty common for the flap behind the centre console which regulates hot/cold air to the cabin to be sticking/blocked/wrongly adjusted. So asking for cold air never gives you cold air.

I'd start by just driving the car with the A/C off for a few Ks and the HVAc controls set to cold and seeing if it pumps hot air or cool air through the vents. If it pumps hot air then you've got to fix the sealing strip and/or the hot/cold air flap first before you take on the more expensive A/C repair route.

glad you said this as mine blows hot air all the time (whenever the engine isn't cold) but the aircon seems to be running when i switch it on. which vent do i need to check/how do i get to it?