New member; Air con......

[Ben g mon]

Hi, new to ford galaxy's but have fixed lots on it already!

Repaired door looms, parking sensors and terminal 30 issue (duff battery, changed from 096 to 019)

Air con is next battle, I have manual type and is front only, it lights up on dash doesn't blow cold been told after a attempt to re gas it has a leak.... But we don't know where!

Have vag com and no fault codes are showing for HVAC system and I can't hear a clunk when button pushed,  all fuses relative checked from handbook location, before I call an air con guy out to check is there anything I can check out additionally?

I don't know much about air con butiknow a fair bit about cars so can hopefully get to the bottom of this with guidance from you guys! 😀

Thanks in advance

[johnnyroper]

So you have already had someone try and regas but it has a leak??

Common area for leaks is the filter in pipe from compressor,if you look in front of alternator it is an aluminium cylinder they are prone to cracking. But unless anything is obviously visible on it you need an air con specialist to check for leaks,they can pump it full of nitrogen to listen for leaks also uv dye can be added to show leaks up under uv light.

With no gas in system you will get no clunk from compressor clutch or the fans won't run,the low pressure switch kills power to them.

[bigdave982]

Also prone to cracking/fracture/snapping of the ali "u-bend" coming off back of pump.

[Ben g mon]

Cheers gents, thought I'd ask before paying someone when some checking could have helped. I didn't know that it shut it self down when no gas present..... Hopefully avoid a large bill for bits....

Imagine that!!😂

[johnnyroper]

The switch also shuts off if high pressure in system aswell.

[Ben g mon]

So that is as in too much (high pressure side) gas has been put in.

From the attempted re gas I got the impression it was aborted quite quickly, so id say there is nothing it which makes sense of nothing running.

I'll pop it on some drive on ramps as the under tray is off and check out the air con pipes.....

Cheers

[johnnyroper]

It can be too much refrigerant in system but also cooling fan not running or poor flow across condenser can cause too much heat and in turn high pressure.
The pressure switch on VAG cars is a double switch so does high and low pressure,they run in series so either way results in the same. No power to relay to operate fan or compressor.
If you are handy with a meter you can check for input and out puts from the switch to confirm if low or high pressure.
But as you have had regas tried and been told there is a leak you need to have a look at pipes for any obvious signs of leak like cracked pipes or oil residue. If nothing obvious get a specialist to check the system over.

[insanitybeard]

If it's a leak some of the usual suspects are in the links in this post.

[Ben g mon]

Thanks for the link made a good read,

Did basic A/C line checks nothing obvious

Can't see any gunk or old dye anywhere

Found the drier cap, sprayed on soapy water close to no effect
And the cap is absolutely seized on (tried the m5 bolt in the top trick)
There was some crusty crud around it. Would system pressure hold it on still?
Only other thing I noticed was the condenser mounting areas are untouched (as in not cut from the front for easy renewal ) nor is there any history of change or recharge.

Looks like a condenser change is on the cards (looks ok for me to do) I'll get a proper diagnosis from an expert and get it de pressured/ emptied and work from there.

[insanitybeard]

Did you get the retaining circlip for the condenser drier cap out ok first? The early Galaxies didn't have the cutouts in the front panel to allow you to access the condenser bolts, you may also find this post of interest if you've not seen it already, I have a few other images of the drier cartridge being replaced if they're of any help.

[Ben g mon]

Yeah I eventually got the circlip out.... What a job...
It's been on a list of "I could do with one of them " for a while now...

Yeah I did read your link, thanks

Was a bit reluctant to remove the whole front end when

A I have no real check over done
B no parts to fit

I'm hopefull of just a condenser and drier change re gas and job done.....

But it's never that straight forward with any car in general after 2000.....