Air Con Issues

[Lewis Bernard]

Hi guys, relying on your expertise here!

have a 300tdi 1998 Disco and after not using the air con all winter and needing it the last week or so, it doesnt work anymore, typical!

nothing happens when the switch is pressed, no drop in revs, the electro magnetic clutch doesnt kick in on the compressor and the electric fans infront of the radiator don't work - relay/fuse problem???

does anyone know where the suposidly 3 fuses are located (is there a sneaky in-line one somewhere)? and where the realys are located? i have found 1 relay under the passenger kick plate but i gave up as it is far too late!

any ideas welcome!

cheers

lewis

[winchman]

Could be low on gas and the LP switch is holding it off.
You should use your air con all year round.

[thermidorthelobster]

I've just learned that.  Mine is being repaired at the moment, one of the pipes chafed through apparently.

[petergalileo]

one of the pipes chafed through apparently.

I bet its the one from the evaporator at the front running under the expansion tank, thats a common one, corrodes through where the clip holds it to the inner wing.  Aluminium pipe held on with a steel clip with some poor rubber to keep it apart, very poor.  Pipe price is over £130 ! I go a hydraulic company to make one up for me, its a bit bigger but a lot thicker metal and it sits in the air 1/2 inch above the wing now !

Its either out of gas, busted pipe, pressure sensor wire is loose or off or corroded.  

If anyone has the following symptom - Air-con works with a cold engine and runs for a couple of minutes then wont work at all - Check if the air-con switches off when the fans at the front cut in, if it does then the inline diode behind the fusebox cover has failed or broken.

[Lewis Bernard]

ok, so where would the best valued place be to fix it in SW London/Surrey be??? rather not take it to a stealership!

[thermidorthelobster]

Challenger was my first thought but they don't do aircon regassing.  I don't think Nick Kerner does either.  I've taken mine up to Oxfordshire.

[rollazuki]

Just a quick tip:

Always use aircon thru the whole year. Demist your windows with it in winter, make sure its used at least once per week.

Otherwise the lubricant in the gas doesnt keep the oil seals damp, they dry up, and leak the gas.

Rolla

[beast5680]

aircon systems naturally leak gas anyway so if yours has never been checked it may just be low on gas

[Lewis Bernard]

cheers the help guys, finally worked out what was wrong and saved the cash on taking it to an expert -

relay under the drivers kick panel had disconnected, plugged it back in and now i have nice cool air - just as the 3 week hot spell is about to stop, typical.

[chris.hunt22]

When I bought mine it wouldn't work at all, I have the gear to re-gas them at work and just doing that has done the trick, left the system pressurised for 4 hours and it didn't drop at all, 6 months on it's still ice cold (well as cold as a disco air con system goes!!)  Think its about £60 to get it done at a specialist but well worth it, they should tell you if its leaking before gassing it up as they test the system with nitrogen.