Xantia Aircon

ripsaw82 · Post by **ripsaw82** » 12 Jul 2005, 21:46

Only had this Xantia a few weeks, but when i press the aircon, the light comes on, but cold air never comes out, its set to cold on the climate control thing too. So i presume this means it needs a "recharge" or "regas". Phoned up Citroen and the quoted £125 [:0] for this. Are there any other companys i can go to that do it cheaper or does it have to go to Citroen ? This heat is killing me!

Post by **martyhopkirk** » 12 Jul 2005, 21:51

Same problem with mine when I first got it - very feeble.
Check the condenser is engaging (push button, fans should come on, should also be a change in engine note).
If not your first port of call is to get it recharged as too little gas will prevent it from functioning - an independant (look in yellow pages) will ching you about £60 - £70 for this - when he did mine he also put flourescent dye in the gas to see if there were any leaks.
Its also worth pulling / changing the pollen filter (under the dash carpet on the passenger side)
If this isnt the problem your independant will be able to tell you what is at fault (condenser etc) and quote you a more reasonable price if you dont / cant work on it yourself.
First Rule Of Citroen - The Dealer Will Rob You Blind (<font size="1">most of the time)</font id="size1">

ripsaw82 · Post by **ripsaw82** » 12 Jul 2005, 22:03

Just been and looked at the car,pressed the button, i do not notice a change in engine note, but the fans change speed after a few seconds and a slight hissy noise can be heard.

JohnT · Post by **JohnT** » 12 Jul 2005, 22:36

A good garage will test the gas without charge or at least a small amount. A full re charge is about £70 including a re gas with dye.

dnsey · Post by **dnsey** » 13 Jul 2005, 00:33

I've just ordered a kit for £17.00 from Autokool to top-up the refrigerant in mine. I'll post when I've received it and done the job, and let you know how I get on.

dnsey · Post by **dnsey** » 15 Jul 2005, 00:28

Kit arrived today - very quick.
There's a can of refrigerant similar to the small Camping Gaz bottles, and a very nice hose (600 psi rated) with brass valves attached.
Refilling was about as easy as inflating a tyre: the hose screws onto the bottle, and the other end fits just like an airline coupling. Open the valve on the bottle coupling and leave it to get on with it (with aircon on and engine running). I put the can in a tub of hot water to speed things up a bit, and the whole process took about 20 mins.
Aircon is now much more efficient (although I still can't see any fluid flow through the sight glass).
The hose is re-useable, and bottles are available containing oil, UV dye etc. for troubleshooting.
I can highly recommend Autocool - well worth trying their kit if your aircon's a bit lazy, and they have anything else you might need for a/c maintenance.

p20 · Post by **p20** » 15 Jul 2005, 03:44

The aircon in my Xantia leaves a damp smell after its been on. Any ideas what causes this? It runs cool enough and the pollen filter was only changed about 3500miles ago.? Sorry for sort of hijacking this thread.

ghostrider · Post by **ghostrider** » 15 Jul 2005, 05:18

Mine does the same when it works, I've never noticed where the condensate off the evap goes to. could be blocked I suppose, so if the intermittent working doesn't drive me nuts the Legionaires disease that I'll catch from the faulty condensate drain will kill me instead [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]
Pete
________
Roll Blunts