AC, not cold

[dendonc]

my AC is not blowing 'cold' air out, at a guess it has either never been refilled with refrigeration what not, or not been refilled for a very long time.

When I googled for comments I read a whole of comments in various places about O rings might need renewing, compressor probs etc & many other etc's......So,  my initial thoughts of getting refrigeration refilled went up the spout,, so any comments might give me a guideline without getting ripped off at a garage, can a garage tell if the refrigeration is empty?? It seems it might be a long hot summer

1999 LS 400, 160k, not the first Ive had this but left 'unfixed' before. 

 

[sorcerer]

I've never had an LS400 so can't be certain but, there's usually a sight glass on the refrigerant piping somewhere where you can actually see the refrigerant, or lack thereof, some info here

There are loads of videos on Youtube illustrating what can be seen in the sight glass.

If it does need regassing then yes, it's very likely that the rubber seals have dried out and started leaking. The gas contains a lubricant that keeps them supple but if you don't run the aircon often enough they go brittle. I always keep the aircon on all year round because of that.

[dendonc]

Thanks John, the most I can find on youtube is regassing, plenty of those but cant see for sure where the refrigerant bottle is, re gassing is in front of the rad more or less on top of bumper, Ill look there in morning, thanks

[jaffer]

8 hours ago, dendonc said:

my AC is not blowing 'cold' air out, at a guess it has either never been refilled with refrigeration what not, or not been refilled for a very long time.

When I googled for comments I read a whole of comments in various places about O rings might need renewing, compressor probs etc & many other etc's......So,  my initial thoughts of getting refrigeration refilled went up the spout,, so any comments might give me a guideline without getting ripped off at a garage, can a garage tell if the refrigeration is empty?? It seems it might be a long hot summer

1999 LS 400, 160k, not the first Ive had this but left 'unfixed' before. 

 

could be your condensor that is leaking gas too. 

[stericker]

Denis. Suggest you go to your nearest KwikFit. They have equipment that should tell you the state

of your aircon. If they do not acheive good cooling they will not charge. But check first.

They did my Mk 4 and the cooling is great.

[dendonc]

Thanks, appreciate that, I'll gve 'em a try

[MLW]

That is probably fair advice. The air con check will do 3 things.

1. Suck out all the old stuff, coolant and lubricating oil.

2. Hold a vacuum, i.e. suck it hard. This is crucial. If there is a leak, it will show. No point in putting new stuff in if it will leak away over 4-5 days.

3. Refill with the exact quantity of refrigerant and lubricating oil for that model. That is why you should use the air-con for 20 mins each week so that the lubricating oil can lubricate the seals as it circulates.

Then cold air.

Halfords say no cold = no pay. They should check the temperature at the beginning......and at the end.

If it cannot hold a vacuum, then more corrective work is needed.

[shanra]

If you use an air con specialist if there is a leak then they can do something about it, whereas Kwifit etc just know how to operate the machine. Lots of mobile ones about.

[dendonc]

I'll take it to my indi & see what he says, since I started this thread the weathers got cooler again, I need get it sorted 

[DaKa]

If the regular Halfords/\Kwik Fit tell you it can't hold the gas then a specialist put a gas into the system that colours any leak points.

They did this to my LS430 and unfortunately I needed a new condenser rad that could only be supplied via Lexus at circa £225 plus VAT.

 

[dendonc]

Is a condenser rad part of the AC system or some kind of main radiator?

Also, everyone so far seems to be on a unanimous assumption that somethings wrong with the AC other than it needs a refridgerant  top up, so, were probs common with LS 400's at this appx age?

I have the AC on all the time, no idea what previous owners did

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, dendonc said:

Also, everyone so far seems to be on a unanimous assumption that somethings wrong with the AC other than it needs a refridgerant  top up

If there isn't a problem then the refrigerant wouldn't need topping up as it is a sealed system.

[dendonc]

Oh, ok, so the refridgerant would normal last for as long as the car, I've only actually remember, I did notice no one else posted about the same prob, I thought they needed topping up once in a while....also....as regards kwik fit, theres loads of cases come up in google about them giving very big unexpected bills

[Cotswold Pete]

3 hours ago, dendonc said:

Oh, ok, so the refridgerant would normal last for as long as the car,

Most cars loose somewhere between 10%-25% of gas each year, as the system is not 100% air tight, you always get leakage, and it is true if you only use your air-con from time to time the seals dry out. I assume less gas, makes the compressor work harder (only my thought) which may make the compressor fail quicker, but stand to be corrected if this is not the case.

When I bought my Mk4 it could not keep air cool no matter what, had Kwik FIt do a pressure check and re-fill, and all okay.  That was four years ago, and the other day I was able to get the car cooled in about 5 minutes, so I assume I have lost some gas, but air-con can start to give me the shivers after those five minutes of re-circulating.  I guess if I got AC re-charged it would take less than 5 minutes, but not bothered given the spring weather so far.

 

[Hadrian]

2 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Most cars lose somewhere between 10%-25% of gas each year, as the system is not 100% air tight, you always get leakage, and it is true if you only use your air-con from time to time the seals dry out.

 

One of the reasons to use your air-con all the year round, not just in the summer. Some people never turn it off.

[dendonc]

 

3 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

had Kwik FIt do a pressure check and re-fill, and all okay.

What did they refill if not the refridgeration? I did get one regassed once before, cant remember the outcome, Maybe it needs a regas

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Hadrian said:

One of the reasons to use your air-con all the year round, not just in the summer. Some people never turn it off.

Mine has been on for 15 years continuously in the Merc and 5 years continuously in the Lexus.

[dendonc]

So if I get mine regassed it should blow cold if needs be yea?

[AndyCheltenham1]

I've had my LS400 just over 10 years and have had it topped up 5 times, so I have it topped up every 2 years. It's not faulty or leaking but at the end of the two years there is a definite drop in how cold it is. I do use it all the time even in winter.  I'll be having mine topped up again in the next few days to keep it nice and cold. The specialist I have used said topping it up every two years is about right.

[Bluesman]

I keep mine on all year long. I have owned her for eight and half years and have never had to have it topped up and she always blows nice and cold when needed.

[ColinBarber]

25 minutes ago, AndyCheltenham1 said:

The specialist I have used said topping it up every two years is about right.

to keep him in business?

I've never had any of my vehicles topped up, except one that had a leak in the system. I also don't have to get my fridge/freezer topped up every couple of years.

I would have thought every five years would be sufficient, especially on an older Lexus where things were built properly back in the day.

[dendonc]

7 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

to keep him in business?

Partly to keep him in business, thats how all business work & mainly to keep the car cool, thanks Andy

[AndyCheltenham1]

From my understanding all air conditioning systems lose at least 10% of gas per year (more if you use it frequently) so are amazed that you can go several years without topping up and still keep your car cool??

[ColinBarber]

2 minutes ago, AndyCheltenham1 said:

From my understanding all air conditioning systems lose at least 10% of gas per year (more if you use it frequently) so are amazed that you can go several years without topping up and still keep your car cool??

My 400h was 9 years old when I sold it, my wife's old Prius was nine years old when I sold it, my Supra was 8 years old when I sold it.......all of them had working AC which was nice and cold and were never topped up, although I'll concede probably not as cold as they were out of the factory.

If they lost 10% per year they would have stopped working after five years due to low pressure.

[Tulpen]

I had a couple of problems with the AC when I had a 400..........

My AC stopped working. One of the great things about the 400 is that you can't hear the engine. To check the AC operation, I started the engine, lifted the bonnet, and got my good lady to      select the AC. If the system is operating, you will hear the AC clutch engage and the engine RPM will drop slightly. Mine didn't......the clutch had failed. This meant a new pump - not cheap!

After a while, the AC lost effectiveness, I took it back to the garage who had fitted the new pump and they re-gassed the system, then did (another) leak check. It looked good. A month later the system stopped cooling. 

At this point, I have to commend the mechanic. He had changed the pump and was not happy that things were not going well. He spent a day checking out the whole system. He found that the problem was a leaking charging valve. 

I had no problems after that.

As others have said, the system uses the fluid to lubricate itself and, when it's empty, the seals dry out and fail.