Air conditioning

[bounty78]

Took the Zed out for a drive in the scorching heat today..it was 29 degrees here. The air con seems to be blowing hot air ..is this normal? It's the first summer i have had the Zed.

[magic84]

the gas's may need re-charging

[Ruddles]

Drive harder with the windows down is a fair compromise in my book!

[bounty78]

the gas's may need re-charging

 

Thanks mate. Will get someone to have a look at it next week

 

Drive harder with the windows down is a fair compromise in my book!

 

Tried that..made no difference as my a**se is roasting in the leather seat

[ATTAK Z]

Aircon is not just for hot weather ..... most leave it on all year round ....... helps with condensation in winter and stops joints going dry

[bounty78]

Aircon is not just for hot weather ..... most leave it on all year round ....... helps with condensation in winter and stops joints going dry

 

Yes..i have had it on all the time..wonder if that's why it has run out of gas?

[Zugara]

Yes..i have had it on all the time..wonder if that's why it has run out of gas?

 

 

You might find that you have a leak on the gas system

 

It could take an age to locate and work out expensive, There should be a light blue thumb screw somewhere in the engine bay, this would be about the size of

a 5p coin, thats where the system is "re-gassed" from, hopefully the seals around that screw are perished and thats where the gas has escaped from.

 

One thing tho, did you have the temp set to 18 degs??? lol

[Neilp]

Hi I'm Actually an a/c engineer. If the systems been over gas'd at some point then chances arethe compressors gone. If it's short of gas then that could also cause the compressor to go. It could also be a thermostat fault. Get it to a local nissan garage if under warranty. If not find a local automotive ac engineer.

Edit: btw ac never uses gas. The only way the ac refrigerant faults is if there's a leak or if it's not been commissioned correctly and there is moisture in the system( this will cause the compressor to go as you can't compress a liquid. There's loads of other components and controls involved to do with vapour compression cycle.

[bounty78]

Hi Zugara..thank you for your reply. The air con is indeed set at 18 degrees..yet it's blowing hot air even after a while.

 

Hi Neilp..thanks. Will get someone to have a look at it next week. Hopefully it's not something serious.

[alessandro]

Hi I'm Actually an a/c engineer. If the systems been over gas'd at some point then chances arethe compressors gone. If it's short of gas then that could also cause the compressor to go. It could also be a thermostat fault. Get it to a local nissan garage if under warranty. If not find a local automotive ac engineer.

Edit: btw ac never uses gas. The only way the ac refrigerant faults is if there's a leak or if it's not been commissioned correctly and there is moisture in the system( this will cause the compressor to go as you can't compress a liquid. There's loads of other components and controls involved to do with vapour compression cycle.

 

Some good info here

Sorry the noob question but if the ac never uses gas, why do we re gas it? does the gas "evaporate" with time so there is nothing left to be compressed? and when do I know when I have to re gas before the compressor goes?

 

thanks

[Dblock]

Hi I'm Actually an a/c engineer. If the systems been over gas'd at some point then chances arethe compressors gone. If it's short of gas then that could also cause the compressor to go. It could also be a thermostat fault. Get it to a local nissan garage if under warranty. If not find a local automotive ac engineer.

Edit: btw ac never uses gas. The only way the ac refrigerant faults is if there's a leak or if it's not been commissioned correctly and there is moisture in the system( this will cause the compressor to go as you can't compress a liquid. There's loads of other components and controls involved to do with vapour compression cycle.

 

Some good info here

Sorry the noob question but if the ac never uses gas, why do we re gas it? does the gas "evaporate" with time so there is nothing left to be compressed? and when do I know when I have to re gas before the compressor goes?

 

thanks

 

I have heard its kinda a con if its not leaking. Most people get to summer turn on their ac and think wells its not cold so it needs regassed. Although a couple of weeks of use of the ac would make it work fine again.

[Neilp]

Hi guys. Sometimes ppl regas as the refrigerant can be contaminated or leakeimg. There massive fines in the industry for leaking refrigerant. I've had ac that's 15yrs old that's never been regassed. Kwik fit claim to be able to make it colder, when in reality they are over gassing and the amount of ppl I've heard with faults appearing after doing this. In a service of ac, all that is done is a clean of the coils and a clean of the filters. Ths, in turn, make yours air con air-off temps colder as contaminants are removed from the coils allowing a larger surface area for the cooling. When ppl get there air con topped up problems arise due to tha fact the gas used in air con is a blend of many refrigerants, and when topped up you could be putting more of one of the gasses in the blend than others and this can effect the performance.

 

The correct procedure for regassing in the commercial industry is:

reclaim old gas

pressure test the system with oxygen free nitrogen for 24hours

vacuum the system to 2 torr(negative pressure) and this allows moisture to be removed from the system

the system is then charge with the correct weight of gas.

 

When over gassed, the refrigerant has no time to boil off which can cause liquid gas to return to the compressor which the compressor cannot compress. This is what makes the compressor break. The way air con works is a thing called the vapour compression cycle. It's available on google. I can't put link up just now as I'm on the iPhone and too early in the morning to start faffing about with it lol. It you need more info pm me guys.

[alessandro]

That make sence now

Many Thanks

[CFC109]

My air-con smells musty.

Worth getting it serviced while its in for its Annual MOT & Service in 2 weeks or a waste of money (howmuch should it cost?)

[Neilp]

id just get them to clean the coils, mines smells like that too but goes away, it comes at the start because theres moisture laying on the coil

[Zugara]

My air-con smells musty.

Worth getting it serviced while its in for its Annual MOT & Service in 2 weeks or a waste of money (howmuch should it cost?)

you can buy aircon cleaner bud, just spray it in the coil matrix and it foams up cleaning the coil and ridding the smelly bacteria.

Thats what the dealerships will do and charge you a small amount....... NOT

[wpg350z]

I too am experiencing this very musty smell whenever I use my fan period. I have a feeling that my Aircon discharge hose is clogged since I don't seem to ever see it discharging after having the aircon on for while. Anybody have a pic of where this magical hose is located on the 350? One more thing, I am a Canadian resident so would that mean that my hose would be located on the opposite of the car as yours would?

[ATTAK Z]

I too am experiencing this very musty smell whenever I use my fan period. I have a feeling that my Aircon discharge hose is clogged since I don't seem to ever see it discharging after having the aircon on for while. Anybody have a pic of where this magical hose is located on the 350? One more thing, I am a Canadian resident so would that mean that my hose would be located on the opposite of the car as yours would?

On UK cars it's under the passenger footwell I think

 

PS It's best to keep your aircon on all year

[wpg350z]

I too am experiencing this very musty smell whenever I use my fan period. I have a feeling that my Aircon discharge hose is clogged since I don't seem to ever see it discharging after having the aircon on for while. Anybody have a pic of where this magical hose is located on the 350? One more thing, I am a Canadian resident so would that mean that my hose would be located on the opposite of the car as yours would?

On UK cars it's under the passenger footwell I think

 

PS It's best to keep your aircon on all year

cheers mate...I would leave my aircon on all year but I only drive my 350 from Mid April until late October if I am lucky. This is b/c it snows and goes down to -25-40C in my city in winter. I just figured that the AC discharge hose is clogged b/c I live in a newer estate development which has a fair amount of debris on the roads.

[rich5259]

I know it's silly, but the aircon only chills if the light is on - you did check this?

 

Tried that..made no difference as my a**se is roasting in the leather seat

 

check you didn't knock the heated seat switch to "ON"

 

Leaving the aircon on all the time stops the musty smell developing

[Neilp]

To be honest air con should have no smell of it at all. What u do get is moisture on the coil which blows into the cabin when first started up. This smell disappears usually after a couple of seconds. As for the condensate drain. I'm not sure about cars but u can buy a drain cleaner which is very potent. Don't know if it would work in cars well though.

[bounty78]

Yes rich5259..the heated seat was never switched on and i have had my A/C on all winter..has obviously not noticed any difference during the winter time as it was blowing cool air from outside anyway.

just a quick update..had this sorted at the weekend at Lee's Falcon Performance garage..it just needed regassing. And it's now as cool as ice

[wpg350z]

To be honest air con should have no smell of it at all. What u do get is moisture on the coil which blows into the cabin when first started up. This smell disappears usually after a couple of seconds. As for the condensate drain. I'm not sure about cars but u can buy a drain cleaner which is very potent. Don't know if it would work in cars well though.

I wish that was the case w/ my 350 but I have the smell all the time...Except when I have the heat turned up.

[rich5259]

I have the smell all the time...Except when I have the heat turned up.

 

You need to get the vents cleaned or just run it at maximum heat for 5 or 10 minutes and it should clear up

[Neilp]

Yes rich5259..the heated seat was never switched on and i have had my A/C on all winter..has obviously not noticed any difference during the winter time as it was blowing cool air from outside anyway.

just a quick update..had this sorted at the weekend at Lee's Falcon Performance garage..it just needed regassing. And it's now as cool as ice

 

why did it need regassing? That means there's a leak and that's not good?