Air-con regassed for the first time on my V-Matic.

[Konrad C]

After noticing that the air-con was not as effective during the recent warm weather, I decided to have it regassed at a friends garage. I always use the air-con for demisting during the winter and bad weather, as well as when it it warm. Sometimes I have not used it for periods of time. I have own the car since September 2015 so this is will be it's first regas in a long time.

I drove to the garage with the system running to get a comparison, and it barely effective when it was switched on. The high and low connectors are easy to access, and for those who have not noticed, there is a sticker under the bonnet (hood) stating the gas type R134A, and the amount in weight 440g. 

There was only 40g of refrigerant left in the system, it passed the leak test, and 450g of new refrigerant was put back in. 

The result was amazing. The car chilled very quickly. Also in 'Auto' mode the fan settle down very quickly compared to before, where it would be at max fan speed. It was a sticky day yesterday and it felt great. I did check the cabin filter which is in good condition, and have a new filter for replacement. 

There was a van being regassed before my car, and they had trouble get the system to work because the cooling fan in the engine is partially seized. The another customer came in with a Mini Clubman, and had been to Kwik-Fit for a regas a week before, but the system was not working. When put onto the machine, it detected a leak during the vacuum test. A Mini gassed by Kwik-fit! The mechanic showed my printout to explain to the Mini owner how it should work. 

Anyway, roll on heatwave.   

[Mike169]

Hi Konrad.

The 440/40 figures you have quoted, is this something that we can check with a gauge from say Halfords/Amazon do you know or is it a garage only job that has a re-gassing machine?

Thanks, Mike.

[Konrad C]

The machine used is Bosch ACS500. The mechanics had books with all the specs for the most cars manufactured using R134a refrigerant. There is a label under the bonnet lid with all the specifications as shown:- 

 

Notice that refrigerant quantity of 440g has an allowance of +/- 30g. Lubrication is ND8. 

Here is a link to Hella and they list every cars capacity - https://www.hella.com/techworld/uk/Technical/Car-air-conditioning/Car-refrigerant-oil-filling-quantities-2114/#

Another info - http://ictworkshopsolutions.com/ict2014/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Complete-Refrigerant-Filling-Chart.pdf

The operator sets the machine according to individual car specifications, then the machine goes through the empty/vacuum leak test/ then fill the refrigerant, lubrication oil and UV dye. After the whole process has been completed, the machine prints out how much refrigerant remaining/removed, how much vacuum - leak test, then how much of oil/UV dye/refrigerant has filled the system. You keep this printout.

Some new cars are using 1234yf which is a newer refrigerant.

[FROSTYBALLS]

10 minutes ago, Konrad C said:

Some new cars are using 1234yf which is a newer refrigerant.

All new cars sold in the EU from January 2017 are required to have 1234yf refrigerant, but some manufacturers have been using this since 2014. For example our 2015 Hyundai i20 and our 2016 Aygo both have the new refrigerant.

Initially it was very expensive to regas using the new refrigerant - back in 2015 it was around £250 - but now the price has dropped to approx £125. Some garages have yet to upgrade to the new equipment/refrigerant.

[yossarian247]

My mum's June 2014 Hyundai i10 has the newer type refrigerant too, it's the oldest car I've seen so far with it.