Air con problems - 2007 S40 2.0d

[cosmicdav3]

I'm hoping someone can help me. I've got an issue with the air con on my 2007 S40. Initally I thought it needed regassing, so had this done. It worked fine for a couple fo weeks, then stopped working again. Thinking it must have a leak I took it back to the garage. They checked and couldn't find a leak, pressure tested it which was also fine, and re-gassed it again. It worked again for a few days before giving up again. Re-gassed again and worked for a couple of weeks again before giving up.

Any ideas what could be causing it? I've read about the issues with the clutch, could it be this?

[cosmicdav3]

No one got any ideas?

[SonyVaio]

Well I would say you have blatantly got a leak somewhere in the system. I know this states the obvious but since you have been back to the garage now on a few occasions and they also blatantly know there is a leak somewhere in the system this means they have been breaking the law by filling a known leaking system.

It is not the garages responsibility to fix your leak but once you do get it fixed they should once again re-gas the system for free.

You need to fully check over the radiator looking thing at the front called a condensor which is most likely the cause of your leak. Did the garage at any time decide to put some die in the system to detect where the leak is from? If not then this is probably your next best course of action.

[cosmicdav3]

Yep, uv die was already in the system the first time they re-gassed it (from previous work done by Volvo before I owned the car) checked over fully with uv lamp and couldn't see any evidence of any leaks. 2 seperate garages have pressure tested it and can find no evidence of a leak.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by cosmicdav3

Yep, uv die was already in the system the first time they re-gassed it (from previous work done by Volvo before I owned the car) checked over fully with uv lamp and couldn't see any evidence of any leaks. 2 seperate garages have pressure tested it and can find no evidence of a leak.

Volvo have been putting the dye in at the factory since 2000 .
What happens with small leaks is the dirt sticks to the oil/dye and it goes black so it wont show with the test light .
They cant possibly have checked for leaks properly without taking the bumper and intercooler out . lots of laws being broken there ! .

go to your dealer as they may be able to offer some help if it is the condenser .

[SonyVaio]

The condenser is the common problem on these cars and is definitely the place I'd start to look. The problem is that muck and leaves get trapped between the condensor and the radiator and cause the damage where you can't see it.

If there was a leak in most other places it would be easy/easier to see and detect but since the system works fine when re-gassed then fails in just a couple of weeks you 100% have a leak and I would say the rest of the parts in the aircon system are working fine. This to me points to the common problem of the condenser.

Of course this is just a keyboard diagnostic and can't gurantee but it's got to be the place to start. It is not too hard to replace so may be worth removing if nothing else than to rule it out from being the problem.

[cosmicdav3]

Thanks everyone. How difficult is it to change he condenser? Is it something that I could do at home? If so, are there any online guides that anyone knows of?

[KBB]

You are jumping the gun, the condenser may be a common failure but in your case it has yet to be proven. The are many other areas of failure in the system such as any of the pipe work, evaporator, center shaft seal on the compressor, high pressure/low pressure filling port shrader valves to name but a few.

The system needs to be recovered, filled with oxygen free nitrogen (OFN) up to 350 psi and pressure monitored for 20 minutes. If pressure is dropping then with soapy water or acoustic chassis ears trace for leaks until the fault is found. It could be as simple as an "o" ring in a pipe coupling costing 50p to failed compressor main shaft seal costing 800 quid. So don't jump in to the parts darts method of repair. Either way the will still be gas in the system that needs to be recovered first.

[SonyVaio]

Got to agree with KBB with this on reflection.

You need to have the problem diagnosed to ensure you don't end up replacing parts unnecessarily, you've vented enough re-gassed refrigerant already and you should have what gas is left in the system to be captured.

The condenser is the common problem so I would concentrate in that area first as it is most likely but as KBB says there is so many parts that can cause problems.

You'd do well to take the car in to an aircon specialist who would probably find the leak easier than just normal garages, especially if it is being illusive.

[benr7310]

get the system degassed, take bumper off, remove condenser. if thats the problem then youll see big oil staining. then order a new condenser from ebay (mine was £80) make sure you select the right one as there are 2 different types. one with the same size piping and one with 2 different sizes. get it ordered and then refit it. all in all (ive never done the job before) it took me an hour and a half to get the bumper off, condenser out and refit bumper. then the same once the condenser had arrived.

worth checking as it is one of the most common things that go