Help with Peugeot air con.

[Pete.]

My daughter's car blew up this week so I've bought her a lovely little Peugeot 207 to replace it. Everything on it works except the air con pump won't kick in.

I'm looking for troubleshooting advice on basic things I can check until I can get hold of a diagnostic unit.

Here's the car: 60k miles 2 owners and in lovely condition. Just gotta get this air con working.







So basically, the light comes on when you push the button but there's no click and the clutch doesn't engage. There's plenty of refrigerant pressure in fact it was checked by the dude at Halfords and it was very high. Can't find any air con techs at this time of the weekend so I had to resort to Halford who just screwed a canister into it and checked the pressure.

Is there some troubleshooting flowchart I can floow or do any of the car techs on the forum have any tips for me or basic checks I can make?

Cheers
Pete.

 

[angellonewolf]

open a windows (sorry not much help)

strange its got gas in it but not working

 

[Spark plug]

I know you say the light on the dash comes on, but have you checked the fuses?

 

[mike os]

Electronic clutch?

 

[Matchless]

you could try hot wiring the clutch to see if the system does actually work, or just to see if the clutch clicks in,

 

[Pete.]

I know you say the light on the dash comes on, but have you checked the fuses?

There only seems to be one 40a fuse and that's oK:

Peugeot 207 (2006-2014) Fuse Diagram • FuseCheck.com

Fuse box diagram (fuse layout), location, and assignment of fuses Peugeot 207 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).

fusecheck.com

Electronic clutch?

Yep, electronic clutch in the AC pulley.

 

[Johnnybravo]

These have an electric thermostat. If it packs in, the ecu switches off the live feed to the aircon compressor to lower the load on the engine/ lower the risk of overheating. Stupid French idea. Nearly as stupid as the $hitroen Berlingo that puts the cooling fan on constantly if an ABS sensor goes faulty….

 

[Ross365]

There's a pressure switch in the circuit; it's closed when there is adequate gas in there but open if not. This prevents the compressor being spun when there's no gas (it looks very much like an oil pressure warning switch). It's possible that is not closing (i.e. faulty) even though you say there is enough gas in there.

The Halford's guy says the pressure is very high; I have this vague idea it can be too high (if the air was not vac'd out before gas was put in; the gas liquefies under pressure but air doesn't). That also makes me wonder if someone has been messing with the system who does not know what they're doing. The only true way to know how much gas is in there is to drain it, and re-fill from a cylinder on a balance so you know the weight of refrigerant that has gone in; it varies from car to car (typically 700 -1000g).

Worst case is the compressor has seized. The advice is to always run the AC for a few minutes every week all the year around, then gas gets circulated and wets the moving parts. Many people just don't do this, so the compressor stays put all through the winter months and can seize.

Generally, I always think that it's worth paying to get a good AC professional on the job; avoid the chains totally.

 

[Pete.]

The compressor isn't seized it turns smoothly by hand. I get that the guy didn't really know what he was on about he just used the bottle gauge to check the pressure but AFAIK if the pump isn't running then the low-side pressure WILL be high because the pump isn't pumping toward the high pressure side.

Wrong time of the weekend to find a specialist and I'm not callin gout a mobile one. I was just reading up about what Johnnybravo was saying and it seems like a likely cause. Tomorrow I should have hold of a diagnostic reader to see if the typical fault codes for the electronic thermostat appear.

 

[voipio]

The refrigerant pressure at the low side port would be expected to be high if the aircon compressor isn't working. Beat me to it!!

 

[Pete.]

I've been out to the car and checked the relevant fuses and those are OK. Online advice says that if the fan doesn't come on then the AC won't either and neither are coming on so it's looking likely that it's the electronic thermostat switch sensor. I don't know what else I can check now until I get hold of a diagnostic tool. Hopefully I'll have that in the morning.

Gonna go search to see if there's a way I can fudge that switch with a resistor or something.

 

[pedrobedro]

It needs gassing is all that's wrong. It will not engage as a safety precaution if the gas is low. Get it filled and leak tested than try it and it will kick in and out on demand.

 

[Pete.]

It needs gassing is all that's wrong. It will not engage as a safety precaution if the gas is low. Get it filled and leak tested than try it and it will kick in and out on demand.

Already checked the pressure mate, it's way up there.

 

[qwakers]

halfords will have checked it with a mickey mouse kit, which will tell you nothing.

get a proper regas done, ill put money on that fixing it.

 

[pedrobedro]

halfords will have checked it with a mickey mouse kit, which will tell you nothing.

get a proper regas done, ill put money on that fixing it.

That's what I found with mine in the Berlingo. I took it to a garage and they leak tested drained, refilled and lubricated it for £40 and it's been good since.

 

[Kayos]

halfords will have checked it with a mickey mouse kit, which will tell you nothing.

get a proper regas done, ill put money on that fixing it.

Ive fixed 4 cars with a halfords kit, used properly (if the system doesn't have other issues) they are fine

Usually the valve on the fill ports slowly leak so no issue topping up

 

[Pete.]

Found my fault - the electric thermostat is open circuit.

 

[Kayos]

Found my fault - the electric thermostat is open circuit.

View attachment 297547

Big job to swap?

On another note, why? Just why?

Im all for progress but it seems to be another "upgrade" for the sake of it, no way is it cheaper than a traditional one

 

[Pete.]

Not a terrible job just fiddly. At least I know which way to go with it now.

 

[Johnnybravo]

Sometimes my brilliance astounds me