Air Con Man
 

Here's a recommendation based on how many posts there have been on this forum about air con recently...

I appreciate this is probably only useful to anyone in the South West, but I have a really good Air Con Specialist who I thoroughly recommend who I got in touch with on a good recommendation from a technician at my local Porsche dealership

Rob Lane Air Conditioning - a mobile air con specialist who works from his van. A really friendly and honest guy based in Honiton. 07754 795853

Here's what he charged/quoted me:

To come to me and diagnose my system (pressurise with nitrogen + dye + leak test of all components) - £25

De-gas + Re-gas (incl dye and oil) - £60 (knocking off the cost off diagnosis)

All the above + replace condenser - £180. BTW, he mentioned that this is often a problem on these cars as the condensor is so low at the front and is susceptible to damage

Diagnosis + new compressor, fiting, oil, dye, seal and recharge: £280 or £405 for a genuine Volvo part

Unfortunately, mine was the latter. But at these prices, I'm not complaining!

As a note, he cringes at the prospect of people getting their cars done at the likes of Kwik-fit for £40 or £50. He told me that it's fine if all is good with your system and it is, by luck, going to hold a charge. However, if there's a leak that is not completely noticable, you're likely to pay your £50 and it's all leaked out by the winter! This happened to me... Also, there are 2 taps these cars: 1 completely apparent, the other down by the side of the engine. The lower one had never been undone. At the back of my mind, I'm wondering if the Kwik-fit boys provided me with an air lock which has resulted in me ruining my compressor. But who can tell?! It was OK-ish (cold enough) before I took it there, but was tempted by the £39 offer advertised last year

As it happens, 2 of my colleagues booked him to come back and sort their Golfs out while he was here working on my Volvo and I hope he gets some more work by me telling you guys!

Air Con Recommendations
 

Could other Forum Members recommend air con engineers? Let's see if we can get National coverage!

Can somebody tell me where the connections into the A/C system are? I ask as a couple of guys at work say they can clean the system and recharge it. We have the correct equipment as it is used to do the A/C on trains.

Thanks

Air Con for Belfast and surrounds
 

Anyone in the area of Belfast or around should go to:
Chris at:

Car Air-conditioning Clinic
Tel 028 9083 7845
Mob 07702 116513

He is fantastic and is the got guy for the Dealers when they run out of ideas.
He has a Saab specialism but is great with others marques as well and also does all mechanic work.

Gareth...

Can anyone recommend someone from the East Midlands area?
Preferably around Nottingham or Derbyshire.

Our Volvo Dealer (Clelands in Galashiels) are offering an air-con service for £60, I don't know if it is just them or whether it is a national promotion that Volvo dealers are doing, it might be worth checking out.
They are also offering a free plug in to check if any software upgrades are due, obviously hoping that you will pay for any downloads needed, I am taking mine in a couple of weeks.

Mcgrillan-is the the guy from near ballyclare, just past the railway line heading to doagh?

A/C in Glasgow?
 

One in Glasgow not wearing a Stetson would be good.

I fell for the cheapie Kwik Fit offer - car smelt like a urinal, liquid gushed over passenger footwell, and still hardly feel it on a hot day.

A/C Leicester
 

I have posted this somewhere else on this forum, in short: The reason for my aircon failure was a snapped Compressor shaft. My usual Volvo-Indie did not find this problem since the clutch did engage and everything look normal to them. However, I went to Cool Running in LE, recommended by my Volvo Indie (little shop in a backyard, difficult to find the first time but e.g. Halfords take the cars they can't sort out...) and they figured within 4mins that the shaft had snapped - a new compressor was needed... they did the whole job plus full service for £540 (on top of the new condenser my Indie installed before...) but at least after a long run-around my a/c works like a champ now. They also said that most A/Cs are ruined by standard workshops/service stations since they are flushing the systems all in one tank and re-use the supposedly refurbished gas and oils from that tank for the next car - including a mixture of different oils and debris. Since the compressor is a rather sophisticated part (with pistons and everything) it needs to be treated like an engine. A proper A/C specialist uses new gas and the right oil and give e.g a 2 year warranty if the A/C is serviced only by them once a year. Sounds cheeky but also makes sense I think.. will see how it goes.
Note on the condenser: after I had to get a new one (old one leaked) I noticed, that one can see the shiny new condenser rather well below the bumper through the huge opening for the air on the V70. But why is the main cooler protected by the tight grill and the condenser is completely open for rocks etc.? The A/C guys recommended to cover the opening with a grill as well since they had a number of V70 with damaged condensers over the years while the main cooler - surprise, surprise - is usually not damaged. .... Anyway, got a plate of black aluminium mesh from Halfords, cut it out and stuck it in, using some wire to fix it to the plastic difusors in front of the condenser. Not sure if there is a better way of doing it ...