Air Con Faulty

[carbonman]

Hi Guys
Was out yesterday got a bit hot so thought I would try my Air Con for the first time....
I have power to the button as it lights up.. but it made pretty much no difference to the temp of the air....
The surfs still in its 3 month warranty period....is this something I might be able to sort myself or something I should take back....
I had the air con on... air set to come from outside and the temp slide on cold with the fan on... I presume thats correct to get the air con working.....??
I had a problem like this with my last car which when I tried to get fixed got told the gas it used was now illegal and i needed a new air con unit!! Does the older surf '93 use that old type of gas does anyone know? or will it most likely be just a case of needing re gassing?
Cheers

[gemini]

Hi Guys
Was out yesterday got a bit hot so thought I would try my Air Con for the first time....
I have power to the button as it lights up.. but it made pretty much no difference to the temp of the air....
The surfs still in its 3 month warranty period....is this something I might be able to sort myself or something I should take back....
I had the air con on... air set to come from outside and the temp slide on cold with the fan on... I presume thats correct to get the air con working.....??
I had a problem like this with my last car which when I tried to get fixed got told the gas it used was now illegal and i needed a new air con unit!! Does the older surf '93 use that old type of gas does anyone know? or will it most likely be just a case of needing re gassing?
Cheers

All car systems have a pressure switch to prevent the compressor being damaged if there is no gas. Low gas is the commonest thing I see when at work, if the system isn't run for 10-15 mins a week, the rotary seal will dry out and the refrigerant-which has a very small molecule-will leak away. if you have apre-92/93 surf you will be using R12 gas, which is no longer available, but there is a straight "drop-in" called RS24.......... by eddie the air-condoc in a previous post

do a search, theres plenty of info on here somewhere, they do use the old gas, aircondoc is in plymouth send him a pm, he will help you out, some have had there's re-gassed without having to change all the pipework which the new gas needs, also just check the air-con belt is ok and the pump comes on ok when you switch the ac on

[carbonman]

Sweet thanks will pm him and see what he has to say...
Like I say mines a 93 so knowing my luck its the old r12 gas...but will see.
Cheers again.

[marky]

carbonman ive pm'd aircondoc for ya

[Andy W]

It may sound stupid but did you have your heat setting on cold? Mine only works with the temp set on cold and the blower on the first setting. You hear a distinctive click from the solenoid when the ac starts.

Andy

[Guest]

It may sound stupid but did you have your heat setting on cold? Mine only works with the temp set on cold and the blower on the first setting. You hear a distinctive click from the solenoid when the ac starts.

Andy

Mine works on all settings, I even use the Aircon with the temperature on Hot to gove a quicker windscreen clear (Aircon dries out the air).

But he did have the temp on cold and it didn't send out cold air. I recon like the others that it needs refilling.

Cheers

[FG.]

.

Have a look on the slam panel,most Surfs i looked at, had the gas type on a sticker there.
R12 . Ive regased my older (R12) kit with RS24 and 134A both worked fine.

If the sticker says 134A (like my '94 does)

See if the pump kicks in, when u hit the button.

My warrentystumped up for mine which was the expansion valve behind the dash!!

[rubblebags]

sorry to jump in on this but I also have a problem with my air con. Its been working ok but all of a sudden no cold air and the light in the air con button flashes.???????

Geoff.

[pops]

carbonman ive pm'd aircondoc for ya

can i have copy too please marky?

[Phil H]

Hi Guys
Was out yesterday got a bit hot so thought I would try my Air Con for the first time....
I have power to the button as it lights up.. but it made pretty much no difference to the temp of the air....
The surfs still in its 3 month warranty period....is this something I might be able to sort myself or something I should take back....
I had the air con on... air set to come from outside and the temp slide on cold with the fan on... I presume thats correct to get the air con working.....??
I had a problem like this with my last car which when I tried to get fixed got told the gas it used was now illegal and i needed a new air con unit!! Does the older surf '93 use that old type of gas does anyone know? or will it most likely be just a case of needing re gassing?
Cheers

I hads the exact same symptoms when I first tried my air con.

The first problem was that as you have been told the gas was the illegal type R12. the second was that there was none left in the system. That was sorted for £50 with a 'HELLA' conversion kit. It contains a pair of valve converters to save having to change any of the pipework. It also contains a small can of carrier oil to top the system up with. (apparently the gas is carried round the system in the oil and the new type gas needs a slightly different oil grade.)

During all of this I also discovered a leak in the condensor (radiator behind the bash plate.). Toyota wanted over £300 + vat but I found one for £95 from an online scrap yard.

If you go to a garage that do gas they will be able to pressure test the system with an inert gas that will be cheaper than gassing with refrigerant for fault finding. My system was empty in a couple of minutes!!

Good luck with the fault finding. This is the best time of year to sort it out because when the weather gets hot everyone wants the air-con garages and last year there was a shortage of gas and conversion kits in this area.


Phil...

[carbonman]

I hads the exact same symptoms when I first tried my air con.

The first problem was that as you have been told the gas was the illegal type R12. the second was that there was none left in the system. That was sorted for £50 with a 'HELLA' conversion kit. It contains a pair of valve converters to save having to change any of the pipework. It also contains a small can of carrier oil to top the system up with. (apparently the gas is carried round the system in the oil and the new type gas needs a slightly different oil grade.)

During all of this I also discovered a leak in the condensor (radiator behind the bash plate.). Toyota wanted over £300 + vat but I found one for £95 from an online scrap yard.

If you go to a garage that do gas they will be able to pressure test the system with an inert gas that will be cheaper than gassing with refrigerant for fault finding. My system was empty in a couple of minutes!!

Good luck with the fault finding. This is the best time of year to sort it out because when the weather gets hot everyone wants the air-con garages and last year there was a shortage of gas and conversion kits in this area.


Phil...

Just had my Gas type confirmed as R12.... and a quote to redo the whole system for £150ish by a air con guy near me....
Is that reasonable.... he gave me the impression that he needs to redo the whole system to put the new legal gas in...
Does that sound about right to you guys who know?

[Phil H]

it does to me.

I was quoted about £55 for new gas, £50 for a conversion kit.(valve converters and new carrier oil) and if there had not been a leak in the system already it would have been more to recover and dispose of the old gas.

Phil.

[carbonman]

it does to me.

I was quoted about £55 for new gas, £50 for a conversion kit.(valve converters and new carrier oil) and if there had not been a leak in the system already it would have been more to recover and dispose of the old gas.

Phil.

Nice one phil... will start saving!

[Brit in Thailand]

New Condenser

I thought I would do a search before I asked the question 'How much would a condenser replacement cost in the UK'. Lo and behold! I found your post.
Sorry if its the wrong time of the year in the UK to be talking about air-con, its the 'cool' season now in Thailand. (Todays temp. hit 91f!) Last week the air-con started making an awful stink and packed in all together. My local man fixed it for me within the day, new condenser, sensor valve and various pipes. All genuine Toyota parts. (I have stopped using the Toyota main dealer here, they are very expensive -by Thai standards- and not very good. Is this the case worldwide?)
I was a bit miffed when I got his bill as it is the highest one I have ever had for work done on the Sports Rider. But when I read that you had been quoted £300 plus VAT by Toyota UK. I could not beleive it, where on earth do they get the prices from in the UK? I will not quote you what I paid, You will cry! Even your second hand one! Including labour!