Air Conditioning Recharge

M

Mafoo

Veteran
 Cardiff
Morning All

I jumped in the car yesterday and decided to switch on the air con to cool down. Result - not a degree of cold air.

I am assuming the system needs a regas?

Has anybody had this done recently? What are the costs?

Further - can I recharge effectively if I did it myself using the bottles you can buy from Halfrauds?

Cheers

Matt

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I try to DIY on my z3 a few years ago without success. Try kwik fit they Do recharge & test the system for leaks. I used them after my DIY work on my z3 failed & they found a leak,small o-ring faulty.Check internet for discount codes, think it's around £40 but worth it. Spend that on DIY & you have a leak ! :thumbsup:
 
Didn't know you could do DIY.

TBH it's going to cost you £55 from Halfords and if you cock it up you'll have to start again. For £55 you should be able to get it done properly wih some comeback if there are any issues.

Be interesting to know if anybody has used it though.
 
KERMIT1970 said:
I try to DIY on my z3 a few years ago without success. Try kwik fit they Do recharge & test the system for leaks. I used them after my DIY work on my z3 failed & they found a leak,small o-ring faulty.Check internet for discount codes, think it's around £40 but worth it. Spend that on DIY & you have a leak ! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Cheers. The cannisters are the wrong side of £30 anyway. Kwik Fit it is :smile:

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
My local Indy advised getting it serviced, not just recharged, because otherwise all the mould and nastiness stays in there... He quoted about £70 plus VAT for a service that includes all filters etc. also said most people wait till it stops working, but should really be done every 2 years irrespective of whethe it appears to be working or not. Hope that helps along with above :D
 
I wouldn't touch KwikFit with a bargepole, they are rank amateurs.

A competent garage should charge around £80 and guarantee its work. They should also use a coloured dye in case there are any leaks as they cannot otherwise be detected. I understand from mates who've used them that KF don't do this and would charge you again for finding and repairing a leak and regassing.

And of copurse, for anyone who isn't aware, aircon should be on all year-round, with or without heating (unless you've got your roof down of course, and even then....) as not only does it dry the air in winter but it keeps the seals lubed and operational.
 
I would usually say avoid Kwik Fit but the air con regas is hard to go wrong. You plug it into the refill point and let the computer do its thing. I had no problems with our previous car after being done by them. Probably the only work I would get kwikfit to do. You just have to be prepared to drive off when they want to sell you a new condenser or evaporater etc if its needed.

Don't bother with the diy top up cans. Waste of time as they hardly work.
 
cj_eds said:
I would usually say avoid Kwik Fit but the air con regas is hard to go wrong. You plug it into the refill point and let the computer do its thing. I had no problems with our previous car after being done by them. Probably the only work I would get kwikfit to do. You just have to be prepared to drive off when they want to sell you a new condenser or evaporater etc if its needed.

Don't bother with the diy top up cans. Waste of time as they hardly work.
Click to expand...


apart from the dye issue mentioned above :)
 
KF do use the dye to check for leaks,or they did when i got my z3 done a few years ago. Think it's the first thing they do if i remember. :thumbsup:
 
95% of the time one notices their air con isn't that cold is there is an external leak somewhere. The charge is low. 4.9% of the time the internal compressor seals are perished. The charge is good, but it doesn't get cold. In these situations, simply pumping more refrigerant in will not solve the problem, you have to repair the cause.

The other 0.1% of the time, the system has slowly lost refrigerant over a long period, there is still a leak, but too small to be found, and simply topping up the charge will suffice.

I obviously made up the statistics to illustrate my point, but I hope this better describes how the DIY canisters can work, but they usually do not.
 
Just had mine done too :)
£99 to discharge old gas, clean system and refill and all at my local BMW dealer
They also confirmed this should be done every two years
 
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