Astra H SRi Air Con problem?
Discussion
Hello everyone, glad to be here & I really truly hope someone can help me because this is driving me mad..
I bought a 2005 astra h sri a couple of weeks a go, tested aircon when I bought it & presumed it just needed a re-gas. So when I got home, I booked it in to kwikfit.. took it down & they told me it's not working & they think the problem is the condenser.. I called the dealer I bought it from & told them, he ordered the new condenser, got me to drop the car off to him & within 2 hours he'd had it fitted, gassed it, lubed the pipes.. put the dye in to check for leaks - the lot ......
So he brings the car to where I was waiting for him (he's not a dealership, more so a private dealer) & I got in & he says to me "much colder that, isn't it?" .. I couldnt feel the difference, the car was blowing the same temp air. I said this to him at the time & he got a bit offended ("I just paid £130 for a condenser and all the extras of getting it all sorted, it should be working") I said, well it's not, you can feel it yourself. He didn't really reply. Now it was 4PM & I'd driven from just outside Chester to Preston which is roughly a 60mi journey in itself, so I said ok.. I'll have to take it home anyway..
On the way home I noticed the air con was actually intermittently kicking in! It was working SOME of the time, for brief instances (30sec), then going back to normal temp .. By the time I got home it was on consistently for approximately 15mins or so.. So I obviously thought maybe it took time to get round the system & now it's working? (I am no car expert believe me)
So the next day I drive it, turn the air con on & nothing happens and I'm back to square one.. I called the dealer again, told him.. he can't understand.. says he thinks the problem may be to do with the clutch pulley...(?) Told me to try and get it diagnosed for free if I can & let him know what the problem is & if I can get it fixed down here for a decent enough price he would send me a cheque... So I take the car to vauxhall, explain to them I think the problem may be electrical & have they any idea what the fault could be as I don't really have the money for a diagnosis, I've had a new condenser fitted and it's been gassed etc, tell them it's intermittently working.. The guy says to me quite bluntly, "well it should always be constantly on. 59.99 if you want us to have a look" - Thanks for your help Vauxhall.
Okay so here are some extra little details; I can feel the clutch doing something when I turn the air con on, the car noticeably changes the way it drives & becomes a bit more uncomfortable to drive.. It doesn't really drive flawlessly as it does when the air con is off (- I've driven cars before where the aircon takes it's toll on the drive though, so if this is normal I understand) I also hear a noise coming from what sounds like the front of my car, sometimes it's a clunking sound .. makes like 4/5 bangs (not very loud) when I turn the air con on.. Othertimes I hear a sort of grinding sound when I turn the air con on ... Sometimes it's a combination of both.
I don't know a lot about cars, I took it to a friend of a friend who does.. asked him about the sounds & he said it's meant to sound like a (what I think sounds like a (washing machine) when you turn the aircon on (which was another thing I wasn't sure about initially, something to do with fuel consumption .. He also said a few clunky kind of sounds are probably natural due to the magnets or something...
Tbh, I don't have a clue what it is.. I'm thinking my only hope is going to be taking it to Vauxhall - which the dealer WILL not pay for.. He'd rather me make arrangements to take the car back to him & leave it for 2 days - which in itself is a total nightmare
the people I've spoken to seem to think that it's an electrical problem, I'm hoping it is.. But wouldn't have the first clue about what to do about it.. I'm just hoping that someone somewhere knows of this problem / has heard of it.. Knows what to do to fix it.. Because it is driving me absolutely crazy.. I just cannot understand it. I love the car, I love the way it drives, I enjoy everything about it EXCEPT for the AirCon! I use AirCon all year round so it is so essential for me when I buy a car, the whole fact it doesn't work actually makes me not want to drive it.. I dread going out in it.. and that should never be the case.
PLEASE HELP ME. (Sorry to just come in & beg for help in my first post but I seriously don't know where else to turn)
I bought a 2005 astra h sri a couple of weeks a go, tested aircon when I bought it & presumed it just needed a re-gas. So when I got home, I booked it in to kwikfit.. took it down & they told me it's not working & they think the problem is the condenser.. I called the dealer I bought it from & told them, he ordered the new condenser, got me to drop the car off to him & within 2 hours he'd had it fitted, gassed it, lubed the pipes.. put the dye in to check for leaks - the lot ......
So he brings the car to where I was waiting for him (he's not a dealership, more so a private dealer) & I got in & he says to me "much colder that, isn't it?" .. I couldnt feel the difference, the car was blowing the same temp air. I said this to him at the time & he got a bit offended ("I just paid £130 for a condenser and all the extras of getting it all sorted, it should be working") I said, well it's not, you can feel it yourself. He didn't really reply. Now it was 4PM & I'd driven from just outside Chester to Preston which is roughly a 60mi journey in itself, so I said ok.. I'll have to take it home anyway..
On the way home I noticed the air con was actually intermittently kicking in! It was working SOME of the time, for brief instances (30sec), then going back to normal temp .. By the time I got home it was on consistently for approximately 15mins or so.. So I obviously thought maybe it took time to get round the system & now it's working? (I am no car expert believe me)
So the next day I drive it, turn the air con on & nothing happens and I'm back to square one.. I called the dealer again, told him.. he can't understand.. says he thinks the problem may be to do with the clutch pulley...(?) Told me to try and get it diagnosed for free if I can & let him know what the problem is & if I can get it fixed down here for a decent enough price he would send me a cheque... So I take the car to vauxhall, explain to them I think the problem may be electrical & have they any idea what the fault could be as I don't really have the money for a diagnosis, I've had a new condenser fitted and it's been gassed etc, tell them it's intermittently working.. The guy says to me quite bluntly, "well it should always be constantly on. 59.99 if you want us to have a look" - Thanks for your help Vauxhall.
Okay so here are some extra little details; I can feel the clutch doing something when I turn the air con on, the car noticeably changes the way it drives & becomes a bit more uncomfortable to drive.. It doesn't really drive flawlessly as it does when the air con is off (- I've driven cars before where the aircon takes it's toll on the drive though, so if this is normal I understand) I also hear a noise coming from what sounds like the front of my car, sometimes it's a clunking sound .. makes like 4/5 bangs (not very loud) when I turn the air con on.. Othertimes I hear a sort of grinding sound when I turn the air con on ... Sometimes it's a combination of both.
I don't know a lot about cars, I took it to a friend of a friend who does.. asked him about the sounds & he said it's meant to sound like a (what I think sounds like a (washing machine) when you turn the aircon on (which was another thing I wasn't sure about initially, something to do with fuel consumption .. He also said a few clunky kind of sounds are probably natural due to the magnets or something...
Tbh, I don't have a clue what it is.. I'm thinking my only hope is going to be taking it to Vauxhall - which the dealer WILL not pay for.. He'd rather me make arrangements to take the car back to him & leave it for 2 days - which in itself is a total nightmare
the people I've spoken to seem to think that it's an electrical problem, I'm hoping it is.. But wouldn't have the first clue about what to do about it.. I'm just hoping that someone somewhere knows of this problem / has heard of it.. Knows what to do to fix it.. Because it is driving me absolutely crazy.. I just cannot understand it. I love the car, I love the way it drives, I enjoy everything about it EXCEPT for the AirCon! I use AirCon all year round so it is so essential for me when I buy a car, the whole fact it doesn't work actually makes me not want to drive it.. I dread going out in it.. and that should never be the case.
PLEASE HELP ME. (Sorry to just come in & beg for help in my first post but I seriously don't know where else to turn)
Hi,
I have worked in a/c for 25 years, but I don't have a vast knowledge of car a/c although I have worked on and regassed about 50 or 60 cars.
When you switch your a/c on the electromechanical clutch will be energised to drive the compressor, which you will hear click in, the compressor itself should be quiet (you shouldn't hear it above the engine noise!)
After a regas it should work straight away, as the gas is charged.
Most clutches will engage/disengage at idle but normally only cycle every 20/30secs at higher revs it will stay engaged longer, also when it's warmer outside at idle it should stay engaged most of the time.
If you have normal a/c not climate the main reason for the clutch to cut out is it to be short of refrigerant.
It sounds like you compressor could be on it's way out, or the garage has overcharged it.
I'd definitely get a second opinion.
Hope this helps a bit,
Cheers
I have worked in a/c for 25 years, but I don't have a vast knowledge of car a/c although I have worked on and regassed about 50 or 60 cars.
When you switch your a/c on the electromechanical clutch will be energised to drive the compressor, which you will hear click in, the compressor itself should be quiet (you shouldn't hear it above the engine noise!)
After a regas it should work straight away, as the gas is charged.
Most clutches will engage/disengage at idle but normally only cycle every 20/30secs at higher revs it will stay engaged longer, also when it's warmer outside at idle it should stay engaged most of the time.
If you have normal a/c not climate the main reason for the clutch to cut out is it to be short of refrigerant.
It sounds like you compressor could be on it's way out, or the garage has overcharged it.
I'd definitely get a second opinion.
Hope this helps a bit,
Cheers
Gassing Station | VX | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff