Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum (Archives)

jezzer on Mon April 25, 2011 5:17 AM

Year: 2005
Make: MG
Model: ZS
Engine Size: 2.0
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Its been two years since it was regassed,Im sure the cold pipe under the bonnet use to be alot colder and it seems to be alot better when im on the motorway,So i was thinking its time to get it gassed again,But im not sure if i should get a simple regass or full serice? My car is 6years old and never had a bacterial clean saying that i have used one of the cans that you let off in the car. The garage i was going to take it to has these options:


A full air con system service costs £111.00 which also includes anti bacterial clean, a new air filter and air con re-gas


A standard recharge which is £60.00

Or a Recharge where they also add ultra violet dye which is £72

Cussboy on Mon April 25, 2011 9:10 AM

Quote
Originally posted by: jezzer
Its been two years since it was regassed,Im sure the cold pipe under the bonnet use to be alot colder and it seems to be alot better when im on the motorway

"American" is my first language, so I'm trying to understand fully. You have a 2005 MG, which leaked refrigerant and required additional after four years. And now its performance is sub-par again. So to me it is obvious that you have a leak. In my opinion, get UV dye added, find and repair the leak, then make sure the correct total amount of R134a is added.



Edited: Mon April 25, 2011 at 9:10 AM by Cussboy

mk378 on Mon April 25, 2011 9:17 AM

Some effort should be put into finding the leak so you don't have to keep doing this. Many cars are already charged with UV dye at the factory. When there is dye in the lines, you'll see it when you take one of the service caps off. It's yellow or greenish under regular light. After it's been running with dye in place you can look for leaks yourself using a fluorescent "blacklight" lamp. The car should be otherwise in the dark for best visibility of the dye glow.

It doesn't sound like their "full service" does anything more to the refrigeration loop than a "standard recharge". Simply adding refrigerant until it runs cold again is not optimal. A better practice is to remove all the refrigerant, repair any leaks found, then recharge by weight to the manufacturer's specification. That is the only way to be sure the charge amount is proper. The amount of oil in the system also needs to be considered.

jezzer on Mon April 25, 2011 10:15 AM

Sorry i probably rushed this thread.

Start again:It got regassed two years ago not to do with any leak,The aircon wasn't working well so the guy thought it was low on gas so it got regassed but that wasn't the problem in the end it was the heater dial not going fully to cold.

This year im sure its not as cold as it was only when on the motorway.

I was told by my local garage that car aircons should be recharged every two years no matter if you have problems with the aircon.

So what im asking is if people go for the full aircon service which would include a bacterial clean is there any need of this if your aircon is not smelling?

RangerDude on Mon April 25, 2011 11:17 AM

The "bacterial clean" is likely just spraying cleaner into the air intake to clean the outside of the evap coil. It has nothing to do with the actual refrigerant loop itself (the "gas" part of the system).

I agree the system should be checked for leaks and a pro can also check the operating pressures to know if it's low on charge. In otherwords, I'd do some diagnostics before you agree to pay for a full recharge.

Cussboy on Mon April 25, 2011 2:30 PM

Quote
Originally posted by: jezzer
I was told by my local garage that car aircons should be recharged every two years no matter if you have problems with the aircon.
Blimey !!!


Edited: Mon April 25, 2011 at 2:30 PM by Cussboy