'99 Xantia air con

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John F
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'99 Xantia air con

Post by John F »

Looks like the hot weather is really causing the faults to appear with a/c systems, including mine and I wonder if one of you clued-up electrical/electronic/a/c wizards can help me. It goes like this, a/c to auto between 22 & 18, start up, slight dwell, a/c starts, magic. Doesn't cool down fast enough so push fan slide switch from auto to stop and then to full blast, fan runs up to full blast and then cuts out; 2/3 min. delay fan starts on full blast. However, it was very hot today with 36 showing as outside temp. Temperature slider to the blue zone on auto, no prob. Fan slide switch to full blast, cuts out, 2/3 min. delay, fan starts but cuts out, 2/3 min delay, fan starts and cuts out. To my untutored mind this indicates a thermal overload tripping but advice and/or help gratefully received. The system was regassed this year.
davey
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Post by davey »

sounds like hi/lo pressure cut out under load. was the system ok before regassing or was it empty?
it is possible, even though you have it recharged, that you have a pinhole leak or leaky seal somwhere - check your sightglass (if fitted).
has it been overcharged?
John F
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Post by John F »

Thanks for your response Davey, watched it being re-gassed and all the gauges seemed to be in the green. Don't think it has aleak, the system was 4 years old and I thought a re-gas would help. No problem before re-gassing.
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wotsupnow
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Post by wotsupnow »

Is your pollen filter blocked ? that would make the fan work very hard and like you say may have a thermal cutout. As far as I can see from the diagrams, the a/c pressure switch wouldn't stop the internal fan.
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Post by John F »

Davey & wotsupnow,
The pollen filter was changed 5000 miles ago but will check that. The fluid appears to be circulating as there is a milky white liquid circulating in the window and it does blow cold.
John F
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Post by John F »

Another clue? If I select max. fan boost before I start the car it runs up and continues to blow without without tripping out.
alan s
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Post by alan s »

Could be overcharged, contaminated by moisture, had air get in the system or the receiver dryer may need replacing.
The temperature of the condensor may give you some clue as high pressure usually = high temp but again more than one of the above problems will display that symptom but there's not much you can do if you're not a trained refrigeration mechanic and don't have the equipment to test and repair. You'd be only guessing and there's little you could do to rectify it.
Take it back to where it was regassed. Surely they have some kind of warranty on their work?
Alan S
John F
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Post by John F »

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
I finally did what I should have done at the start and tried it with the a/c switched off and the heat turned up - exactly the same symptoms. So I think it must be something to do with the fan speed controller; can anyone tell me where this is located?
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