Eduardo wrote...
> > Hi all.. ok so my new GLX is my first ever car
> with air con ;) (well,
> > in my defence, it's use in England is limited to
> one day a year)
> >
> > It doesn't work...
> >
> > can someone give me a brief run down of the
> system, what components are
> > there, and how it interacts with the normal
> cooling system? (if it does)
>
> There is a compressor, run by the engine by a belt
> and an electromagnetic
> clutch, a radiator, mounted forward of the normal
> one, some piping,
> an evaporator/dissecant (silver car but the battery)
> and a condensor (a
> small radiator under the dash, thats what gets cold)
Eduardo,
In America, the "radiator" ahead of the engine
coolant radiator is called the "condensor".
The silver canister, that you identified as
"evaporator/dissecant" is known as the "drier",
although dissicant is the same. Its definitely not
the evaporator, in American terms.
The under-dash "radiator" is known as the
"evaporator", since it is the part where the liquid
refrigerant is allowed to evaporate into a gas, which
absorbs heat energy in the process of evaporating.
The condensor ahead of the engine coolant radiator
serves to cool and help condense the refrigerant, and
thus in America known as the "condensor".
In most AC systems, there are both high and low
pressure switches. The low pressure switch
essentially monitors the amount of refrigerant in the
system (the less refrigerant, the lower the pressure),
and below a certain pressure, will open and prevent
the compressor clutch (the electromagnetic clutch
Eduardo refered to) from engaging the compressor. The
high pressure switch is there as a safety to shut the
compressor off if the system pressure becomes too
high.
Eduardo is right. After a long period of non-use,
the seals dry, become brittle, and leak the
refrigerant, which is under 40-60 psi in the low
pressure hoses when not in use. Many car manuals
suggest that you run the A/C at least 10 minutes on a
weekly basis to condition the seals, even in winter.
Usually, the condensor fan comes on whenever the A/C
is turned on regardless of engine temp. However, most
systems utilize the low pressure switch as the master
control, i.e., unless it is closed indicating some
refrigerant in the system, neither the compressor
clutch engages nor the fan comes on.
Since you hear what I presume to be the fan come on,
I would start the engine and turn on the A/C. If the
fan comes on, then look at the compressor and see if
the entire clutch is turning (the rim and the hub).
The rim will turn whenever the engine is running.
When the clutch engages, the hub will begin to spin,
spinning the compressor. If the compressor is turning
then there is enough refrigerant in the system to
trigger the low pressure switch, unless it has failed,
which is something I've never seen happen. So, if the
compressor is turning, and the fan is on, and there is
no cold air, Ed is right, probably low on
refrigerant. Having it charged may do the trick. If
the compressor is not turning (the hub of the clutch
is stationary), then with the engine off, reach down
and try to manually turn the clutch hub. You should
be able to turn it and it should have some slight
resistance. If you can't turn it by hand, it may be
seized, in which case removing it for inspection would
be appropriate.
Basically, though, seal failure and leakage of
refrigerant is the only thing that happens to these
systems. Its possible for lines to crack and leak,
but that is rare, again, in my experience. Its almost
always the o-rings in the system. Occasionally, a
siezed compressor or leaky compressor will be the
cause.
Good luck with the AC. I did a lot of AC work when
I lived in Charleston, SC, where its not uncommon to
need A/C, even, on occasion, during the winter.
Regards,
Ben Pender
some Audis
some VWs
some MGs
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Received on Tue Apr 12 09:49:22 2005
