I've noticed for less that 15 quid at halfords you can buy a can of
refridgerant which should be enough for a couple of fills for a car a/
c.

The question is can you just connect it and fill up or do you need a
way of allowing the existing gas to escape to purge the system?

Also is it necessary to buy a pressure guage?

My car's air con has probably not worked in 3 or more years - will it
be knackered?

"405 TD Estate" <men8ifr (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

Not necessarily, but after such a time, it would be better IMO if you had it
checked and regassed professionally.

The system normally contains a mixture of gas and oil. If the oil in your
system has disappeared with the gas, getting it running by pressurising with
gas alone could knacker the compressor seals.as they'll be running dry.

A professional regas will evacuate the system of any gas remaining, moisture
etc. Then refill with the correct mixture of gas and oil, after checking
whether the system has any obvious leaks. Replacing the oil could revitalize
the compressor seals, which will not have been running since the the system
ran out of gas.

You could be wasting your money by trying to DIY with gas alone, as well as
possibly causing permanent damage to the compressor seals if it is run with
too little oil.

The average cost of a professional regas seems to be about £60, but I have
seen it advertised for as little as £45.
Mike.

"Mike G" <metier (AT) lycos (DOT) co.uk> wrote

The compressor seals would be the least of your worries if you ran the
system without oil.

A compressor running metal on metal doesn't normally last too long....

"405 TD Estate" <men8ifr (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

I've tried these cans for topping up a system that was working but not
brilliant, and they are completely useless. Anyhow, you'd need 4-5 cans to
fill your A/C system up, and at that price you could have paid for it to be
done properly! If done properly your system would be checked for leaks, the
leaks found and fixed with a dye, then the system is emptied and refilled
under vacuum. You can't really do any of that at home.

If you're mad enough to still try them, all you do is run the system and
connect the hose on the can to the low pressure connector, and leave for 5
mins.

Andy.

In article <1179535457.616994.93430 (AT) n59g2000hsh (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
405 TD Estate <men8ifr (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
If you do go down this route make sure they haven't been tampered with and
replaced on the shelf. Ones I looked at had been used and were empty.
There were no seals on them. Because of this it might be better to use
mail order.

--
*Money isn‘t everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"405 TD Estate" <men8ifr (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

They must be selling 2kg cans now adays then! Typical a/c system contains
roughly 700-900 grams...




After 3 years the seals will be dry and leaky.

The can type *top-up* cans are only any good with a working system that must
be used with the gauge with CARE.. An overcharge is worse than too little.
Also, recharging a known leaking system is illegal.

Their £50 regas service would be much better to try, though i expect your
system will need quite alot of work which will no doubt be in excess of what
the car is worth.

Tim..

"moray" <mtb_hyphen_rules (AT) hotmail (DOT) co.uk> wrote


You may be forgetting that once the seals go, the gas would escape and the
compressor would switch off.
I agree there is a possibility that the bearings would be damaged, but I
think the seals would go first. Either case would mean the compressor would
need to be repaired or replaced, neither of which is worth risking IMO just
to save a few quid on a regas.
That is the point I'm making to the OP.
Mike.

"Tim.." <the.farm.no (AT) spam (DOT) btinternet.com> wrote

They can recover though, once the compressor is run with oil in the system.
The a/c in my car had not been working for over a year when I bought it,
because the a/c fan had siezed up. I had it regassed, and it appeared to be
leak free. Still didn't work, because the siezed fan prevented it from being
switched on. The a/c guy bypassed the fan, just to check that everything
else was OK, and it was, but until the fan was replaced, it still couldn't
be switched on. I replaced the fan a few days later, but it still didn't
work. When it was checked, all the gas had leaked away. Had it regassed and
it has now been working perfectly for over 6 months.
I suspect that the first fill would have been OK had the system allowed the
oil to work on the seals with the compressor running.
Only time will tell just how well the seals have recovered their elasticity.

Based on my own experience, I'd be inclined to be a bit more optimistic.
Even if the compressor is knackered, working s/h ones are not that
expensive.
Mike.

In article <464f0474$0$8721$ed2619ec (AT) ptn-nntp-reader02 (DOT) plus.net>,
Mike G <metier (AT) lycos (DOT) co.uk> wrote:
As far as I know, no system has a feedback loop to tell if the fan is
working or not. The one on my E39 has never worked, but the AC does. I
just switch it off in the odd traffic jam. I've had a new one waiting to
fit for a couple of years - if I used the car a lot in places where you
get jams it would have been done by now. ;-)

--
*I must always remember that I'm unique, just like everyone else. *

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Strange. I know that is the way the a/c in my E34 works. The fan is
knackered, and like yourself I have a fan waiting to fit. In the meantime
the a/c is working fine.
All I know is that when my E39 was first regassed, it didn't work. The a/c
engineer said it was because the fan wasn't working. When the fan was
replaced, and the system regassed it did work.
I know my E39 is an earlier one than yours. A '96, so maybe earlier models
were wired slightly differently. Just a guess.

Just bought a later 528i BTW. A '98. Lower miles and with much better
paintwork. Has strange brown tinted door mirrors. Would that be in keeping
with the auto dimming type?
Mike.