Saab 95 aircon

[msmbus2000]

after the few good days of weather we have had i decided to re gas the aircon in the car (saab 95 est 2006 2.0t) used the gas out of halfords. air con never worked from i got car (well never had it on no need to lol) anyway worked great for around 20mins then had to stop the car as gas filled the cabin... so question is what could have failed?

 

[RonA]

Seals perished?

 

[ukracer]

I had my 9-5 regassed last year. Lasted about a month.

Its a black art......all i need is some air and dye to let me search for leaks.....i am told i need nitrogen and a 2k machine.

 

[msmbus2000]

i hope seals but never that lucky lol

oh seems to be a black art....

 

[Olderisbetter]

I had my toyota granvia re gassed at kwik fit 3 years ago and it lasted 2 days and a mate tried one of the top up cans he had at work, The first thing i was told is it would be the seal...luckily its only hot for a few days a year in the UK

 

[msmbus2000]

I'll get a look at it during the wk with compressed air. see if i can find a leak.

yep only a few days of hot weather as such but must admit this saav wld kill you its that hot think its cause the dash is black and the interior is dark.... always very stuffy hence wanting to get the aircon sorted

 

[Ashley Burton]

anyway worked great for around 20mins then had to stop the car as gas filled the cabin... so question is what could have failed?

Leaking Evaporator?

I'll get a look at it during the wk with compressed air. see if i can find a leak.

You generally need higher pressure than an air compressor

 

[ukracer]

Leaking Evaporator?


You generally need higher pressure than an air compressor

I wondered why you could not use compressed air to test it......

 

[Ashley Burton]

I wondered why you could not use compressed air to test it......

Also probably best not to use compressed air due to moisture content. The Receiver drier won't like to be exposed to the atmosphere.

 

[tflnemesis]

I have a guy! Mobile aircon guy that is, come out to a couple of different cars for me. He opens system up vacs it all out, checks for leaks and if good regasses it. Charged me £50 a time for leak test and refill, unfortunately my latest car needs a particular bit @ £200 so I decided open windows will do for now.

He always says aircon gas doesn't escape for no reason and those refill cans or regas services are more likely to cause damage long term. He gasses em up by weight, not volume or pressure. I know nowt about aircon but he is patient enough to explain to me every step of the way. Now soon as I get an aircon prob I ring him.

 

[garethp]

I have a guy! Mobile aircon guy that is, come out to a couple of different cars for me. He opens system up vacs it all out, checks for leaks and if good regasses it. Charged me £50 a time for leak test and refill, unfortunately my latest car needs a particular bit @ £200 so I decided open windows will do for now.

He always says aircon gas doesn't escape for no reason and those refill cans or regas services are more likely to cause damage long term. He gasses em up by weight, not volume or pressure. I know nowt about aircon but he is patient enough to explain to me every step of the way. Now soon as I get an aircon prob I ring him.

IIRC dye that glows under UV light can be added to the gas to make leak finding easier.

I think the correct approach is remove gas and oil, apply vacuum for a while to dry the system internals and them add correct weight of gas and volume of oil.

Using compressed air causes some reaction with the oil as well as potentially adding loads of moisture.

 

[tflnemesis]

I think my guy uses argon or some other inert gas for leak testing, says its cheaper than losing the refrigerant if it leaks.

 

[Ashley Burton]

I think my guy uses argon or some other inert gas for leak testing, says its cheaper than losing the refrigerant if it leaks.

He shouldn't be letting refrigerant escape to the atmosphere full stop.

 

[supaimpy]

no one should simply top up a system with gas without confirming its not leaking , ofn test will show most leaks, even those a standard vacuum test most auto machines do wont show , that's why the likes of Halford's, Kwik Fit etc claim it wasnt leaking on the day , their test isn't 100$ infallible.
very seldom will simply regassing a system that has no gas be a very long term fix

 

[ukracer]

I watched this....

Very interesting..

 

[pedrobedro]

I paid £40 to get mine topped up. The machine sucks all the old stuff out, filters it and replaces any that is missing topping up to the correct amount plus adds lubricant for the compressor pump. How do the cans from Halfords do any of that ?

 

[voipio]

"He shouldn't be letting refrigerant escape to the atmosphere full stop."

Trouble is, all vehicle aircons leak over time, albeit slowly, since the compressor shaft has to pass through a seal. Running the aircon regularly, even during the winter months, is recommended in order to keep the compressor and joint seals in good condition and reduce leakage. The Halfords aircon regas kits are really only intended for situations where the seals are in good conditions and only this slow background leakage has taken place.