Air con pump weirdness
Discussion
I bought a new aircon pump for my LS1 and have a slight noise coming out of it when it is turned on, noise has only started this week and was ok last week. Vauxhall wanted something like £1400 for a new pump so I bit the bullet and got one from Oz for about £1000 cheaper.
When the pump is turned on it sounds like someone is taping it with a screwdriver, anyone have any ideas? it'll not be worth sending it back so I will have to sort it myself.
When the pump is turned on it sounds like someone is taping it with a screwdriver, anyone have any ideas? it'll not be worth sending it back so I will have to sort it myself.
New unit was shipped with oil which I drained and replenished with Pag46 as the oil is Hygroscopic, also system was flushed and new dryer fitted. Dryer was fitted an hour before the system was charged as dryer was sealed and pressurised from new. As for winter, the aircon is great for demisting the screen, pretty sure most modern cars have the aircon demist feature.
I spoke to a local aircon dude today and we had a look at the pump, it seams to be the clutch kicking in and out that is making the noise. He didn't seam to be concerned about it.
Do other LS engined vehicles do the same? I only noticed the noise when the aircon was switched on and the bonnet up, it kicks in every 5 seconds on and off, I presumed it would be on or off not on off on off etc.
Anyone else's do this?
Do other LS engined vehicles do the same? I only noticed the noise when the aircon was switched on and the bonnet up, it kicks in every 5 seconds on and off, I presumed it would be on or off not on off on off etc.
Anyone else's do this?
My A.C. [2004 GTO] runs way longer than five seconds, and makes no such noise. Last year, it was a bit low on freon, and as the only way to figure out how much to add is to evacuate, then re-charge, this is what I did.
Short cycles could be a sign of over-charging. R-134A is rediculously over-priced, and absolute garbage, when compared to R-12.
Also, I need to say that for the first minute the A.C. is running, it does make a small bit of extra noise, until settling-in. What is noisy is the blower fan, especially when it is on high.
And why are you being charged an arm and a leg for this thing? A year or two ago, I searched out a new compressor to have as a spare. Cost me about $300 US for one, complete with clutch. And it is the real thing, not a chinese piece of crap.
Short cycles could be a sign of over-charging. R-134A is rediculously over-priced, and absolute garbage, when compared to R-12.
Also, I need to say that for the first minute the A.C. is running, it does make a small bit of extra noise, until settling-in. What is noisy is the blower fan, especially when it is on high.
And why are you being charged an arm and a leg for this thing? A year or two ago, I searched out a new compressor to have as a spare. Cost me about $300 US for one, complete with clutch. And it is the real thing, not a chinese piece of crap.
Edited by notransistors on Sunday 4th September 01:37
bonesxu1 said:
I spoke to a local aircon dude today and we had a look at the pump, it seams to be the clutch kicking in and out that is making the noise. He didn't seam to be concerned about it.
Do other LS engined vehicles do the same? I only noticed the noise when the aircon was switched on and the bonnet up, it kicks in every 5 seconds on and off, I presumed it would be on or off not on off on off etc.
Anyone else's do this?
One thought is what gas pressure do you have? It sounds like you might be on the cusp of it shutting down due to low pressure. Do other LS engined vehicles do the same? I only noticed the noise when the aircon was switched on and the bonnet up, it kicks in every 5 seconds on and off, I presumed it would be on or off not on off on off etc.
Anyone else's do this?
The other is that a temperature sensor in the car is faulty and telling the compressor to cut out as soon as the first blast of cold air comes through.
Have you tried turning the temp control to cold, or put the demist on, to see if that changes things?
I think the aircon guy I spoke to the other day is full of s
t with his knowledge. I was thinking it could have been a faulty pressure switch since the system won't kick in until there is enough pressure in the system. Then I thought I had better speak to the bossman and he said it sounds like the system may have leaked and I'll get him to check the system with his machine. He said he can drain the system to see how much gas comes out. Hopefully it is something simple.
t with his knowledge. I was thinking it could have been a faulty pressure switch since the system won't kick in until there is enough pressure in the system. Then I thought I had better speak to the bossman and he said it sounds like the system may have leaked and I'll get him to check the system with his machine. He said he can drain the system to see how much gas comes out. Hopefully it is something simple. bonesxu1 said:
I think the aircon guy I spoke to the other day is full of st with his knowledge. I was thinking it could have been a faulty pressure switch since the system won't kick in until there is enough pressure in the system. Then I thought I had better speak to the bossman and he said it sounds like the system may have leaked and I'll get him to check the system with his machine. He said he can drain the system to see how much gas comes out. Hopefully it is something simple.
You can use a sniffer to find leaks. No need to decant it. Find a friendly refrigeration engineer. They will have a big bottle of gas, a set of gauges, and will be able to fault find, rather than doing a 2 hour course and having a chart showing how much gas each car system holds.t with his knowledge. I was thinking it could have been a faulty pressure switch since the system won't kick in until there is enough pressure in the system. Then I thought I had better speak to the bossman and he said it sounds like the system may have leaked and I'll get him to check the system with his machine. He said he can drain the system to see how much gas comes out. Hopefully it is something simple. Even if a system is empty, many will carry a vacuum pump, to check the integrity of the system before filling.
Good luck.
granada203028 said:
Just out of interest what was the fault with the original compressor? My air con hasn't worked for a couple of years and looses the gas over a few days. So just wondering if there is a particular weak point.
The 'O' ring had leaked at the air dryer. Oil down the side and underneath the dryer. ARAF I will enquire about the sniffer to see if they have one. The people that I got the pump off need to know pressures and TX valve fluctuation.
Edited by bonesxu1 on Thursday 8th September 17:50
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