AC, not cold

[sorcerer]

52 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??

Nope. I keep my AC on all year round, always have and always will. Had a variety of cars and mileages, but not once have I ever needed to have an AC system regassed, apart from when I damaged a refrigerant pipe while doing some other work on a Smart Passion we had back in 2001.

[ChrisM]

AC is surely only one part of the Climate Control system. Set the temperature required in the cabin and leave it at that.

The system will cool or heat the cabin until the temperature is reached and is then maintained. I often tell my wife that lowering the temperature in a sun heated car will not cool any quicker by lowering the temperature set on her side, until the compressor gets up to speed. The best thing to do in this situation is to use your remote, when approaching, to open all the windows and the moon roof to let out the hot.

I never turn off my climate control, it knows better than I do to keep me cool/warm.      

[royoftherovers]

On 4/21/2018 at 2:57 PM, 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. 

 

wechillanycar.com

just been mentioned on a Merc website.

[Cotswold Pete]

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

wechillanycar.com

just been mentioned on a Merc website.

Wechillanycar say AC for 15 minutes per week is enough to keep seals in good nick, which I recall reading somewhere else a fair few years back.

Running AC all the time uses a bit more fuel, and not really so good when you have windows of sun roof open.

Only places I have ever run AC all the time is Dallas and Kansas (in summer), in Jo'burg only used when really really needed as rarer air at such altitude  sucks the life out of engines and makes AC really kill anything but the beefiest engine, and it's like a switchback to drive around.

[ChrisM]

Why would you have the windows or roof open when you have climate ?

Owning a Lexus is about travelling in style and comfort, not worrying about cost saved by turning off climate.

 

[DaKa]

So Dennis, 

Let us know how you get on when you take it for a regas?

If the system is secure enough for the fresh gas they will tell you, but leave it a week before confirming as the first attempt on my LS430 onyl lasted a few days.

Best of luck

 

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, ChrisM said:

Why would you have the windows or roof open when you have climate ?

Owning a Lexus is about travelling in style and comfort, not worrying about cost saved by turning off climate.

Why question what others do? It is their decision.

Some people like fresh air, for others too much AC causes health issues, and as Pete stated there is a bigger performance hit when driving at altitude. Lexus give people the choice, if a vehicle has AC they don't insist on fixed glass in the doors and no sunroof.

[Cotswold Pete]

I would add that when I have  AC on for long periods I tend to  find it dries out the air too much, so a good old dose of moist 'polluted' UK air is just the tonic.

I have a mate who when he was a chain (cigar) smoker would have AC on all the time, but windows open to get rid of smoke.  That never made sense to me.

In all honesty I am not a fan of climate control, prefer to have AC on of AC off system, but the LS climate control is a lot better than some I have had in the past.

The human body prefers radiated heat, but a car only generates (in the cabin) convected heat, so there are times when I feel colder than the climate control indicates it is. The climate control has got the air warm (or cool enough) and my body is asking for more (or less heat).  Maybe someone could come up with a Cabin system that is radiated not convected, and I would suspect that those LS owners with AC in the seats get a better approximation of radiated heating/cooling. 

 

[ChrisM]

5 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Why question what others do? It is their decision.

Some people like fresh air, for others too much AC causes health issues, and as Pete stated there is a bigger performance hit when driving at altitude. Lexus give people the choice, if a vehicle has AC they don't insist on fixed glass in the doors and no sunroof.

Why question why I question, is this not a discussion forum ?  I merely question the reasoning behind using a cooling system, and then allow that cooling to go out of a window/roof.

The climate system cools/warms incoming fresh air, unless it is on recirculation. the C means conditioning so yes some form of drying does take place but also removes particles from the air in the filtration system.   

Using the climate in winter also provides quicker defogging when required.

Perhaps the RX450H climate is more advanced than the LS400 that I previously owned. Certainly the cooled seats are useful.

 

[dendonc]

Firstly I always have AC on, right, now, let me check this out, with one LS400 & only one Ive had of 4 the one which went ice cold  when on cold, was the one I assumed had the air con working, the other 3 seemed to blow the air at whatever the outside temp seemed to be, the other week (was it last week?) this one seemed to be blowing at just below the outside temp, just below because the air was being 'blown in'.

So, what I would like to know is, would those whose AC is working tell me/everyone, when you turn the temp down to cold does it blow this very, very cold  into the car, as did one of mine?

[jaffer]

On 24/04/2018 at 8:57 AM, DaKa said:

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.

 

£105 for denso part from rock auto

[sorcerer]

14 hours ago, dendonc said:

So, what I would like to know is, would those whose AC is working tell me/everyone, when you turn the temp down to cold does it blow this very, very cold  into the car, as did one of mine?

Yes, that's how aircon works - you can indeed get it very cold in the cabin if you want to.

[dendonc]

OK John, in that case this one needs something or other sorting, Ill see my indi & see what they think, I sometimes wonder if it's ever worth spending much money on them for the few days PA it gets 'too' hot.

[DaKa]

I concur with John, the AC should blow in at 5-6 degrees when working well.

My front LS430 now works well, but I had to blank off the rear (damage to the AC pipe above the differential caused by a 'useless' mechanic that didn't tighten the drive shaft bolts properly 'not once but twice' when I had the near side rear hub unit replaced).  I fitted the second set of replacement studs  at his garage myself but by then the damage was done!

 

[plastic orange]

Mine stopped working 4 years ago so just assumed it was low on refrigerant. I had it checked at ATS and they said system was fully pressurised and that they couldn't do anything with it. When I switch on A/C the revs change and pump engages, but not cold air. I checked pressure was in system by quickly pressing shraeder valve and there was pressure. I've just learned to live without, but it would be nice to get it working, but for the 1 day of heat in supposedly the sunniest city in the UK possibly not worth the hassle .

 

PO

[sorcerer]

1 hour ago, dendonc said:

OK John, in that case this one needs something or other sorting, Ill see my indi & see what they think, I sometimes wonder if it's ever worth spending much money on them for the few days PA it gets 'too' hot.

 

11 minutes ago, plastic orange said:

[...] I had it checked at ATS and they said system was fully pressurised and that they couldn't do anything with it.

Your indie may be able to sort it but I feel that, much like autoelectricals and automatic gearboxes, air conditioning needs to be looked at by a specialist who has the intimate knowledge of the subject and the necessary specialist tools to do the job correctly, first time.

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, sorcerer said:

 

Your indie may be able to sort it but I feel that, much like autoelectricals and automatic gearboxes, air conditioning needs to be looked at by a specialist who has the intimate knowledge of the subject and the necessary specialist tools to do the job correctly, first time.

Spot on John.NO POINT IN RUNNING ac INTERMITTENTLY OR EVERY pRESTON gUILD.

[Bluesman]

4 hours ago, sorcerer said:

Yes, that's how aircon works - you can indeed get it very cold in the cabin if you want to.

Yes, it gets very cold.

 

[dendonc]

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

Spot on John.NO POINT IN RUNNING ac INTERMITTENTLY OR EVERY pRESTON gUILD.

My AC is never off, maybe 19 years is to much for some of 'em along with other parts.