Air Con and Air Con in Poole

Nick65 · Post by **Nick65** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:02 pm

OK, I have never used the Air Con in my Bongo and we are travelling to the South of France again this year. The reason I never used it was because our kids had croup and they are over the age now to get it.

I presume the air con gases will be empty by now. Is it safe to get it done again after all these years? How much should it be? Do you know of anyone in Poole who does it?

Cheers

Nick

francophile1947 · Post by **francophile1947** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:16 pm

Why would aircon affect croup

After such a long time, there is a good chance that the seals have deteriorated too much for the oil to rejuvenate them

Nick65 · Post by **Nick65** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:22 pm

francophile1947 wrote:Why would aircon affect croup

Dries the old lungs out a bit.

francophile1947 wrote:After such a long time, there is a good chance that the seals have deteriorated too much for the oil to rejuvenate them

So it would be expensive then, or just not worth doing at all?

francophile1947 · Post by **francophile1947** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:27 pm

I really don't know how expensive, as I've never had to have it done. However, it would make the South of France a lot more comfortable

Have a look at yell.com and see if you can find an air-con specialist nearby - they should be able to give you a good estimate

Nick65 · Post by **Nick65** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:43 pm

Just phoned Kwik Fit who said they needed to know how much oil it takes and any other info that I can get as they do not have a Mazda Bongo down on the list

Any ideas?

Cheers

dave_aber · Post by **dave_aber** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 2:37 pm

Any ideas?

- Aye. Don't go to Kwik Fit! I wouldn't really trust a company that can't spell properly anyway!

As advised above - find a local aircon specialist. These guys tend to be very knowledgeable as they only 'do' aircon. As ever - try to find one who comes recommended by someone you can trust.

Ron Miel · Post by **Ron Miel** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 3:14 pm

Be interested to hear how much you are quoted, if the seals HAVE gone (as unfortunately, they probably will have done) - fear it will be expensive but hope not. Hit the same situation a couple of years back with a (single aircon system) Nissan Primera, when I hadn't run the aircon for a whole lousy summer season. To replace the seals, effectively a system re-build, c. £1,000 was quoted - and that was from a reliable local aircon specialist, not a Nissan main dealer. Was just retiring, and planning a downsize anyway (before I learned about Bongos

), so I spruced it up and got a well over the book part exchange figure from a Nissan main dealer, buying a pristine 4 months old Nissan Note Auto from them with only 750 miles on the clock and also at a good price, so got away with it and well pleased. They didn't ask about the aircon

Mrs M now has the Note, and I've upsized to my lovely Bongo

francophile1947 · Post by **francophile1947** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 3:33 pm

dave_aber wrote:
Any ideas?
- Aye. Don't go to Kwik Fit! I wouldn't really trust a company that can't spell properly anyway!

As advised above - find a local aircon specialist. These guys tend to be very knowledgeable as they only 'do' aircon. As ever - try to find one who comes recommended by someone you can trust.

Agreed. Kwik-Fit are OK if you're sure it just needs topping up. They'll put the gas and oil in and, if it works, you pay your £50. However, I doubt if your seals will hold the gas for long. Aircon should, ideally, be used for a few minutes every week, to keep the seals in good nick.

apole · Post by **apole** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:27 pm

Hi,

Ring round the ones in the yellow pages. You are after a full service, ask what they do. They should be saying:

Test the gas pressure, this will tell them if it has any, if not there's a leak.

Drain the system, put under vacuum for a while, this test's again if there is a leak and also drains out any moisture.

Refil with the correct amount of coolant and oil, some put in a leak detector dye too.

That is on the gas side.

You also have the electrics to consider and the air con compressor V belt.

You should be looking to pay £50 to £65 for the service, more if any other items are needed.

I'd ask about if they find a leak are they able to fix it, find out if they can supply the parts they may need. Also see if the bongo shop here can supply any of the seals etc, but you need to know if and which ones first I guess.

From memory the details they will want from you are:

Refridgerant: R134A 950g of.

PAG Oil: 14ml of

High and low pressure valves UK standard size. High pressure side in pipe in front of radiator, Low pressure valve under air intake (2-3 screws need removing first) just behind radiator.

What happens when you try and use it, does the air get any colder? Do the revs drop a bit when you put it on?

Andy

Nick65 · Post by **Nick65** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:25 pm

I tried it this morning and there was no sign of air con

Looks like I will have to leave it - Too expensive otherwise!!!!

Post by **westonwarrior** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:34 pm

You can buy a diy regas kit and try it

If the gas is low it won't work and regassing may be all thats needed, if that does not work then you know it will cost more to get fixed,

Or take it to kwick fit and let them try if it is broke and they cant regas they don't charge

Morag · Post by **Morag** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:36 pm

Here's two for starters

http://www.poolecool.co.uk/service.asp

http://carsoncars.co.uk/airCon.htm

don't know how close they are to you.

Post by **Doone** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:16 pm

I tried it this morning and there was no sign of air con

You can buy a diy regas kit and try it. If the gas is low it won't work and regassing may be all thats needed

As has been said, if the gas is low the aircon will automatically shut down, to prevent damage. I'd try the DIY re-gas, as this is not expensive and (fingers crossed) could do the trick. You're likely to get very hot without aircon, especially sitting on top of the engine in the South of France.

Have a look at THIS POST for more info.

thomas104 · Post by **thomas104** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:27 pm

Hi, I got the recharge kit from Halfords, £40 with a free air con fresherner, the kit also has the oil in and sealing stuff, it was simple to use and worked great for me, i know you cant beat the proper thing but its still ok and will give you a heads up on how it is, the kit comes with a meter so you can judge it by that after filling it,

apole · Post by **apole** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:59 pm

Hi,

I have one of those EZcharge kits. It worked fine on my previous cars (german) but on both a Yaris and now the bongo, the pressure gauge says it's too high (i.e. in the yellow section).

On the Yaris I did have it properly tested and regassed and after 3 years it had lost 20% of the charge, so I was confused as to why it overread on the EZ gauge.

Just had my smart car regassed at kwick Fit, OK tbh they couldn't find the valves, then when I told them they were at the front they asked how to open the bonnet

but I just removed the panel needed for them and watched them use the machine.

It seems a little better and for the money I'd say it was okay.

Sorry went' on there but my question was with the EX DIY kit on the bongo did the gauge read low to start with before you used it to top up?

Andy

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