How to Check air con on your veccy

[ChrisSRI]

so its red hot, u flick the switch.....lights up....bugger all.
nine times out of ten its due to lack of gas due to a leak.

Now u can check if its out of gas , but a big air of caution, the gas is not good for u in the slightest and if u sprayed your self directly onto skin, you would be in serious trouble.
if your careful, its safe.
remove the plastic covers where the nice mister refills the system.
now get a medium sized phillips screwdriver or simular object.
these are a ball effect valve. pressin down on the ball will allow gas to escape..(kkep out of way, particularly face and hand etc...)if it does a slow fart at you, your outta gas...if it gushes out and makes u jump....its got gas, u can now check that the compressor is clicking in when the button is pressed....it should do, if it doesnt, u have a power problem to compressor or a fault on the compressor.
now on the different veccy engines there are various common leak points...

X18XE1 engine...the common leak is the front pipe that goes from compressor to connection at nsf corner behind front part of subframe, and also goes from compressor to connection near osf top corner of rad. the leak is nealry always from the hiddine joint underneath the silver shrouding on the downward part of the pipe from compressor, cuttin the cover with snips can help to spot any tell tale marks...to the naked eye, a snail trial is left, only slight....to the ultra violet...white deposits...

2.0xev, 18xe....these aint too bad normally, the osf pipe connection can wear on the air box causing it to leak.
the pipes at front have been known to wear throo on other pipework. now and again air con "rads" leaked, removal of grill etc can aid identifying.

Z22se.....very common and a recall carried out, the the rear pipe vibrates too much and shears off at point on left rear of engine bay (as u stood at car). theres a bracket that now goes on here to steady it up...well in theory. a wipe with the finger under here will show if leaking, leaked.

diesel engines...not bad normally. will think on this one and edit, memory fade

when any leak is repaired a new dryer should really be fitted behind the front ns of bumper....but not essential.

hope helpful, not easy to diagnose without all the s****y gear but at least it may point you in the right direction.

Regards...Chrissri:D

[muffking]

Any ideas on what to do if there is gas in the system and you do get the click when you switch on where the idel revs change, but there's still no cool air?

[Mark T]

get it regassed.

Probably only just enough to keep it from not working at all.

[ChrisSRI]

agree with above..may just be low on gas mate

[muffking]

Thanks chaps, i'll get it checked. I wasn't sure as it hissed quite well when I pressed the valve in.

[muffking]

I forgot to followup, but a mobile air con guy came and checked it. He said there was enough gas in the system to make it hiss from the pressure, but not enough to cool the air, so he regassed it for £50 cash :)

[Redtopcrazy]

A little tip for you guys to aid identifying problems. Some aircon men can add like a dye when regassing your aircon. This dye shows up under UV light so if your havin problems then get the man to add it when regassing and buy a small UV light. After it's been gassed if it starts to get warmer again you can get your UV out and see exactly where it's coming from.
Redtopcrazy vauxhall teccy

[muffking]

I might do that as my AirCon has completely ran out again now. There's no pressure whatsoever so I suspect there's a leak somewhere.

[grindog]

Hi all, This is my first post and know very little about cars. What i do know is i bought a vectra 1.8 artic on a R plate. It has aircon but when the button is pressed, the revs dont change. I have done the gas check and got a hiss so i guess that is ok. What else could it be as my aircon is refusing to blow cold?

[muffking]

I used to think that the hissing gas from the pipes meant that it was another problem, but that's not always the case. Last time I found that there simply was not enough pressure in the system to activate the aircon and therefore my revs didn't change either. The best thing in your case is to call an aircon guy as you're lightly to be one of the lucky ones who just needs a refill. I would only worry if there's no hiss at all (like with mine) as this means that there is a proper leak somewhere :(

[grindog]

he is due any time soon, will post how it goes. if its bad, a trip to the pub required :turd

[grindog]

All gassed up and sorted. Cost £55 for the gassing with a Fiver extra for the dye and all is well :bananasmi

[vecsri]

Not sure if this will help. But...
my air con wasn't working last night, wasn't lighting up when i pressed it, checked all the relevent fuses and relays, all fine, switch.. fine
checked the ciggy lighter fuse... blown!
anynot sure if it helps, but if yours is doing the same, check the ciggy fuse.

[Graham M]

had problem on my cavvy cdx, apparently the aircon switch on dash can blow also causing it not to work, i put a new (secondhand)one on to get it working once regassed. One of the other switches on dash is same type as aircon one (cant remember which one), just needs front changing over for correct symbol.

[cavalier740]

my cavvy cdx was leaking gas. Found out it was evaporator behind dash. Cost £90 for the part and £200 to have it fitted. None of the mobile guys would do the dash removal and I wasn't confident enough to do it myself. Paid vx specialist to do it. Been fine for 2 years now. Reason it rotted out was a botched screen fitment from autoglass when car was a year old!!!!

Had new compressor fitted in july due to leaking gas again. All fine again.

[vectraarcticII]

I had my air con regassed at the vx main dealer in Hull two weeks ago. They did the dye test and said there were no leaks but asked me to come back within 14 days to have it checked again. Anyway, about two days after I had the re-gas, I started hearing the hissing sound from behind the central air vents in the dash. (Just as I'd heared when the air con originally failed) So today, I popped back into the main dealer for them to do the follow up appointment and it turns out I have two 'slow' leaks. One from the compressor and one from the double jointed pipe coming out of the compressor. In total, the vx main dealer want £700 to supply and fit a new compressor and pipe work, with another £79.95 for the re-gas.

As you might expect, I am not a happy bunny.

I've done some research this afternoon and found various cheaper prices for replacement bits and the local garage (Cottingham m.o.t. centre) can fit everything at a cheaper labour cost than the vx main dealer. (Dixons)

Anyway, prices so far...

Simpson Brothers salvage - £100 + vat for the compressor, couldn't qoute for the pipe.

Just Vauxhall (Hull) - £60 all in for the compressor and the pipe work, taken from a Vectra tha they are breaking now. No guarantee on the life of the part though.

Cottingham m.o.t. centre - £560 for a re-conditioned compressor plus £40 for the re-gas. Will also fit any parts I can lay my hands on.

Tech Pro solutions - http://www.tecprosolutions.co.uk/
£195 for a brand new OEM compressor + vat. How the hell can the vx main dealer charge double this price for their OEM part?

Anyway, will have to wait until I get paid next week before I do anything. Would appreciate it if anyone can advise me on a cheaper supplier, either in the Hull area or a trusted online source.

Cheers,
Paul.

[Yas]

I had similar problems (click on the switch but not cool air).
Had it vacuumed dyed and checked before refil.
No leaks but then 2 months in, it back to same probs.

Any ideas ?

[Alex2006-7]

I have just had a Meriva my first car with air con i moved the car and i noticed a wat patch it looked like water got the is it possible that the air con has done this if so is it normall it was not a big wet patch just i little bit can somebody message me back ASAP thanks

[Padfoot]

Errr..where do i find the gas point on a V6 Vectra?

Thought i had found it....black plastic cap towards the rear of the engine with 2 pipes leading away from it....took cap off...ball valve underneath....but...when i pressed the ball valve it squirted out liquid that smelled suspiciously like petrol?

Help!

[muffking]

Thank god for email notification :D

If yours is the 2.5 or 2.6 V6 then it's down the drivers inner wing, afew inches away from the radiator on the pulley side of the engine.

The one you found at the back is the fuel pressure test point that should be a tyre type valve (schrader).

[muffking]

Don't forget to wear gloves, use a long screwdriver, and keep your eyes covered BTW. The last thing you want is to get aircon fluid in your eyes.

[Dave's Vectra]

Don't forget to wear gloves, use a long screwdriver, and keep your eyes covered BTW. The last thing you want is to get aircon fluid in your eyes.


Nice burns can be received by aircon gas, its not nice stuff

[rapala]

I have just had a Meriva my first car with air con i moved the car and i noticed a wat patch it looked like water got the is it possible that the air con has done this if so is it normall it was not a big wet patch just i little bit can somebody message me back ASAP thanks
Yes it is possible that the water you found has come from the aircon, There is a condensate drain from the heater box for any moisture produced when you are running the air conditioning system .;)

[eliteness]

so would i be right in saying that if i check the ciggy fuse my problems might come to an end?

ive had mine regassed and serviced but still it wont blow cold...

[jopaca]

Hi my air cons gone wrong seems to be the compressor leaking.I want to change this but how do i take the tension off of the aux belt? And any ideas on how to take out air cleaner easily ?

Thanks
Paul

[jopaca]

oh forgot to say i got a 2.5 v6.

Paul

[Deeli_46]

take the easy option - go kwik fit - £35 gas refill:D

[weststand]

when i switch on air con i can hear a hissing sound coming froon the centre air vent. could the evapourator be giving trouble. weststand

[weststand]

chris, when i start up my air con i can hear a hissing sound coming from behind the centre air vent. the air is not in any cold.i know ther is a unit in there called an evapourator. do you think this could be my problem. yours thankfully weststand

[Sidknee]

The water coming off the underside of yur car is condensation coming off the condensor - nothing to woory about

[cdxvectra]

there a problem with air con the hissing noise sounds like you have it something leaks behind the dash and degasses your system you need it fixing mate as a/c gas is toxic

[houstieboy]

Hi guys, newbie so please be gentle.
Aircon not working on 2001 Vectra 2.0 DTI Estate, no clicking sound, no drop in revs. I have checked several fuses and all are ok. Graham M, you mentioned changing the switch, what's the best way of removing the switch without damaging the dash please mate. Also, i'm not sure if the radiator cooling fan is kicking in, anyone know if the two might be related?
Thanks in advance
John.

[stockleys]

Hi guys
if my brother in law is correct, there are sensors on the pipe that runs along the bottom of the rad leading to the air con rad. he says that these will detect gas pressure and flow rate. he said that if either are reading abnormal readings then it will not run the compressor to avoid dammage to it. i guess he is right because he is a refrigeration enginer.
hope this helps all you guys.

[b3rt]

Any1 know a place in leeds that re-gasses i been quoted 30 quid from Kwik fit and they wont come out to me

[dnalevy]

Have 99 zafira and the air con is weak. ie it cools the air a bit but not freezing. Is this a lack of gas or just how the zafiras are? I m used to freezing air con from my astra mk3!
Hope i can sneak this question in to this vectra thread (reckon its pretty much the same).:D
Thanks!

[ahrp976]

Have 99 zafira and the air con is weak. ie it cools the air a bit but not freezing. Is this a lack of gas or just how the zafiras are? I m used to freezing air con from my astra mk3!
Hope i can sneak this question in to this vectra thread (reckon its pretty much the same).:D
Thanks!


(just a suggestion) have you changed your pollen filter?

[ahrp976]

A question for someone in the know?
Does the Compressor only start if the system is pressurised?

[dnalevy]

had gas topped up now working excellent.