Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 03 August 2011, 13:45:42

Title: Proper air con service.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 03 August 2011, 13:45:42
Would I be correct in thinking that a proper air con regas would be as follows?.

1. Vac (suck) out all the old refrigerant.
2. Refill with 500g of new refrigerant ( I'm not sure if this is the correct amount).....whilst checking for leaks.
3.Pay no more than about £40.



I hear that some unscrupulous dealers will just "top up" the refrigerant.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: GaryBC on 03 August 2011, 14:00:36
Pretty much, yes. But they should also do a leak check too.£40 is about right as well. On my miggy the refrigerant charge is on a decal by the bonnet catch.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Kevin Wood on 03 August 2011, 14:02:07
It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Jimbob on 03 August 2011, 14:05:02
as above...I expect £49.99 +vat round here

Thats the kwik-fittup price that many seem to match.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 03 August 2011, 14:43:56
Quote
It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a die for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.



950g....thanks Kevin. I didn't know it was that much.

Oil.....what oil?. This is a new one on me.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 03 August 2011, 14:50:42
Quote
Pretty much, yes. But they should also do a leak check too.£40 is about right as well. On my miggy the refrigerant charge is on a decal by the bonnet catch.



So it is. :y. I've not noticed this before. It reads Refrigerant 134a...950g. :y

Well spotted that man... :y
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Shelby on 03 August 2011, 14:54:57
Useful to know and saved me a new thread.  I was going to be asking similar as I need to get mine redone.

On that note, anyone know of a decent place in the Lincoln area?
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Tonka. on 03 August 2011, 15:05:26
Quote
On that note, anyone know of a decent place in the Lincoln area?

PK Automotive Solutions. Ask to speak to Paul Killingsworth

01522 589696
07774 870514

Paul is a very knowledgable guy who will talk you through what he is doing to the car. He is also an automotive aircon instructor. When I had mine done, he quoted £40 but only charged £25 as he charges by the weight of gas etc used  :y :y

Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 03 August 2011, 16:31:24
Quote
It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.



I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.

I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Kevin Wood on 03 August 2011, 16:33:16
I'd say that's plenty cold enough and it doesn't need any attention.

I can't remember what the spec. is but I think it's higher than that.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: twiglet on 03 August 2011, 16:39:41
Quote
Quote
It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.



I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.
I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that! Leave it well alone!  :y
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Shelby on 03 August 2011, 17:31:08
Quote
Quote
On that note, anyone know of a decent place in the Lincoln area?

PK Automotive Solutions. Ask to speak to Paul Killingsworth

01522 589696
07774 870514

Paul is a very knowledgable guy who will talk you through what he is doing to the car. He is also an automotive aircon instructor. When I had mine done, he quoted £40 but only charged £25 as he charges by the weight of gas etc used  :y :y


Great thanks, ill get in touch when I get paid.  I suspect I may have a leak though, as I have a receipt from a re gas done last year before I got the car and it has been pretty dead since I got it (3 months ago).

Had a look on google maps and thats up around the vicinity of Charles Warner and other dealers isn't it?
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Tonka. on 03 August 2011, 18:16:28
Quote
Had a look on google maps and thats up around the vicinity of Charles Warner and other dealers isn't it?
That is correct. Also, not far from a guy who can set up your geometry correctly  :y :y
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Tony H on 03 August 2011, 18:59:22
Quote
Quote
It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.



I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.

I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

Thats very good for a Miggy aircon system 8-) which is not the coolest in the world. How did you measure the temperature?
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 03 August 2011, 20:51:06
Quote
Quote
Quote
It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.



I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.

I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

Thats very good for a Miggy aircon system 8-) which is not the coolest in the world. How did you measure the temperature?


I used an old-fashioned household mercury thermometer. Which I held against the centre  vent. Showing 29C to start with it dropped to 3C after about ten minutes. As for how accurate these figures are ......well your guess is as good as mine. The air feels very cold after a few minutes though. :y
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Tony H on 03 August 2011, 21:12:32
Sounds good enough to me :y I checked my air con temp last year with a digital thermometer accurate to point one of a degree it read five degrees, just for a laugh I took it into kwik crap to take advantage of there offer of being able to drop the temp with there service however they said they coudln't and declined to attempt it ::)
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Shelby on 03 August 2011, 23:06:22
Quote
Quote
Had a look on google maps and thats up around the vicinity of Charles Warner and other dealers isn't it?
That is correct. Also, not far from a guy who can set up your geometry correctly  :y :y

Also very useful to know as I need to change my wishbones also.
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: SR-71 Blackbird on 04 August 2011, 14:03:36
Hey Opti,

I also like to measure the temperature of the air coming out of the vents but I have an electronic temperature probe to measure it, accurate to 0.1 of a degree for both Celsius and Fahrenheit. Currently after 5 minutes with the A/C being on at the centre vents I get, 6.5 degrees C on level 9 air flow force, 5.5 degrees C on level 5 and 4.5 degrees C on level 1. It gets colder the longer I leave it on but by very small amounts. E..g last summer I left the car idling with it on which doing some engine work for 30 minutes and recorded  -0.4 degrees C at the centre vents. I would say yours is doing very well but get an electronic probe to measure it and then we can be geeky together :P
Title: Re: Proper air con service.
Post by: Kevin Wood on 04 August 2011, 16:39:40
FAQ added with the official performance figures and measurement procedure. http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1312472025