Xantia 1.9td Preg, How to tell if the aircon actually works?

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 01 Apr 2006, 21:14

Just recently picked up a xantia 1.9td tempation edition 1997 model. All the fans and blowers seem to work as they are ment to But im not sure if the air con works or not, The guy i baught it off claimed it did but showed me this by setting it to max cold and blower on highest. But it seems to me that when i do this its just blowing in cold air from outside and it could be that the air con does not need to cool it further or the air con is not working. When i push in the button I get no addtional fans starting up and there does not seem to be any change to the engine revs. But i cant tell if the air con is doing anything because the air temp out side is quite cold anyway. So how can i tell one way or the other if the air con is actualy working or not? Also iv noticed there is a little red light on constantly next to the clock on the dash, This red light never goes off when the car is on, what is it? It says something about an alarm sensor in the hand book but my car does not have an alarm as far as im aware.

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 02 Apr 2006, 06:36

I suppose the current weather (in UK anyway) may make it difficult to tell if it is working. However, if you allow the car to idle for a few seconds and then press the a/c button (button with picture of snowflake) you may note a slight hesitation/drop in engine note/rev's which indicates that the a/c compressor at least is cutting in.

therealyeti · Post by **therealyeti** » 02 Apr 2006, 09:54

To see if the Aircon is engaging, look under bonnet with car idling, air con off, on the pulleys for auxillary drive belt you will see the centre of the aircon pump pulley is not turning, select air con, when you look now, you should see the centre of that pulley is now turning if aircon is actually working,

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 02 Apr 2006, 11:17

Im not sure id know where to look under the bonnet without some kinda picture of referance. Ill take a look tho, There is defo no drop in engine tone or revs

PowerLee · Post by **PowerLee** » 02 Apr 2006, 12:47

Easy way to tell if the aircon is working is.

With the engine running, Set the temp to the coldest setting & while you have an ear next to the front grill, Get a helper to switch the aircon on.

If you hear the engine cooling fans roar into life then at least your aircon has gas in & should work

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 02 Apr 2006, 12:59

If the temperature is below +5ºC, the air conditioning won’t work until the engine coolant has warmed up a bit.
That’s to prevent the low temperature under the bonnet from causing the aircon compressor to frost up.
With warm engine, open the bonnet and stand at the driver’s door.
Switch on the aircon, and within a few seconds you should hear a loud ‘click’ that tells you that the compressor clutch has engaged.
The cooling fans must also have come on at the low speed.
The fans spin at the low speed for all the time that the aircon is on.
The heater blower fan must also be set to some speed setting, because otherwise the aircon won’t do anything either.

Edit 12:02 PM: Sorry, PowerLee, I sent my story before I saw your post.

PowerLee · Post by **PowerLee** » 02 Apr 2006, 13:04

No worries

Post by **KennyW** » 10 Apr 2006, 20:48

Hi Barbarian,

I've found a guy in Edinburgh who does A/C, he quoted me £75 for the full works , service and recharging the system etc.
He mainly deals with the trade but will do the job. He comes recommended by friends in the mechanical trade.
If you want company details I will psot them for you.

Regards
KennyW

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 19 Apr 2006, 01:40

yeah post up the details, I think im gonna need a whole knew gas bottle and repair of the system as the gas bottle with the little glass window on top is pritty old and rusted looking and when i switch on the air con there is no change in engine tone and nothing seems to happen at all.

gadgetgricey · Post by **gadgetgricey** » 03 Jul 2006, 00:02

therealyeti wrote:To see if the Aircon is engaging, look under bonnet with car idling, air con off, on the pulleys for auxillary drive belt you will see the centre of the aircon pump pulley is not turning, select air con, when you look now, you should see the centre of that pulley is now turning if aircon is actually working,

Sorry to show my total ignorance, but would someone be able to give a little bit of advice re the above. Cant make out what is air con pump pulley. Can see all the belts on the left hand side, but vision "down" to see whats turning and whats not is restricted. is the air con pulley right at the bottom. Have had a look in Haynes Manual and its about as much use as I am. Any help re loaction left hand side rear/front of engine bay etc greatly appreciated. Thanks Dave

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 03 Jul 2006, 00:46

Dave,

This belt connects to the air/con pump as well as a couple of other things and it sits directly below it and looks like a silver cylinder with what appear to be two rubber hoses connected to the end of it.

Once you find it, look at what appears to be the pulley that the belt passes around.
At the face of that pulley, you'll see a flat plate with what appear to be rivets attached and when the air/con compressor is operating, that face plate, which is connected to an electro magnetic clutch, will be spinning with the pulley.

This shows the receiver dryer with the sight glass on top. (run cursor over boxes shown on pic for description of components)

The brown plug shown on the top of it is the HP/LP safety switch to cut the compressor in cases of over or under pressurising. To test if the system is not operating because of this being faulty or in cases where it is actually doing its job, just bridge the two thick wires - on this car they're green, on mine they were yellow. If you do this, just let it run for no more than a few seconds. Check for bubbles in the sight glass. If it's very foamy looking, it will be short of gas. If no bubbles show it will be totally out and if it starts, throws a few bubbles and then settles down to just the occasional few, the gas charge is spot on and the switch is possibly at fault.

That's as quick and basic I can run through it. Hope it helps.

Alan S