Hi everyone
Having problems with the air con on my 2001 Ford Galaxy, 115ps TDI. I have never been a fan of the system used on this vehicle. It is complicated and fiddly to use when you're driving. To those who are familiar with the VW/Audi set up, it is similar to that, ie. an LCD display, one showing a symbol for the rear of the car, the other for the front. Air ccon is activated by pressing 'Auto' and normal ventilation is activated by pressing the 'econ' button.
The a/c has not worked for about 18 months now, so I had the gas topped up around that time to see if it would help but with no success. This evening I'd thought I would tackle the problem by checking the obvious things first. Having dismantled half the engine bay to access the compressor, I have managed to establish that there is no power to it. When you switch to a/c there is no'clunk' and a slight dip in power as you would usually get. A friend has the same car and he has got the same problem. A garage he went to removed the clutch from the end of the compressor and told him this was the problem so this was the first thing I decided to check.
As there was no power to the comp. I rigged uo a lead from a battery and low and behold, the clutch on the comp. moves in and out as it should so I am going to discount this?.
I have checked all the fuses which are ok and am now at a bit of a loss as to where to look now.
Just one other thing, which may be a red herring, 4 years ago the booster heater decided to pack up so I have disconnected it as this is only designed to cut in below 4'c - this wouldn't affect the a/c would it??
Greatful for any useful comments.
Thanks
Basil
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The comp is probably not pulling in because there is no gas in the system (or very little). I think these systems have a bad reputation - especially for leaking evaporators and holes in pipes etc. I think the best place to start is to have the system vacuumed down and leak checked.
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Hi Aprilia
Thanks for your comments. By 'pulling in' do you mean that the 'clutch' as I call it, on the end of the compressor which moves in and out when powered up, is not pulling in? I actually tested this with an external power supply and this did move in and out and when in you could feel the extra resistance of the compressor when turned manually whilst engaged. The actual system was gased 18 months previously but the temp. of the conditioned air was still tepid. The guy had to put very little gas in.
My thoughts is that perhaps the central control unit in the dash has malfunctioned as it is not sending power to the compressor. It did recently start 'flashing was the ignition was first switched on which according to the handbook does indicate a fault, but what exactly the fault is I have yet to discover.
Basil
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Have just read some back cases, apparently there may be a pressure sensor in the coolant line which would tell the system not ot run if the gas is too low. If i can find this and bypass it and then see if the compressor will cut in this might be a start.
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An Air con specialist (in my area anyway) charges £35 to pressure test system and to identify faults...
If you have a hole in any part of the system then pressure is low, but as you said gas needed very little topping up then this seems unlikely....but did they give it a full pressure test before topping it up?
Next thing is the pressure sensor and temp sensor or sender (some fords have a temp sensor which stops A/C working below 5°C)...and fuses. Again an air con specialist should look at these as well as part of the inspection. Then if these are working it is wiring diagrams and relays/Fuses.
Removing sensors I guess may mean the the gas leaking out possibly, so It may need to be done by a specialist as not sure what the effects of the refridgerant gas are if you breath it in.
S.
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You need to verify if there's any gas in the system first. When you jumped your clutch did you get cool air?
No gas equals no power to the clutch. Most modern stuff has a transducer to measure pressure, so if you jump the switch it will fry the ecu. Get the code(s) read and go from there.
Galaxy a/c has got to be just about the worst system going (after the Chrysler Voyager), with so many fault areas it's hard to fix by guesswork.
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Hi Dave N
I think I've fixed it of a fashion. I bought one of those re-gasing canisters c/w gauge from Halfords, followed the instructions and hey presto - the clutch now kicks in! I have to say though that you don't have to lose much gas from the system before it trips the switch - didn't need that much to top it up but as I say, the clutch now kicks in.
You're right about thea/c on this car - it's crap!. Even now, you'd think the air would be freezing but it's not. OK so it is extracting the moisture from the air in the car - eventually - as the window demist but from memory it has never been any better than this from new!
Used to have a Daewoo Nubira - 7 years on and the a/c was as good as the day it was new - freeze your fingers off after a few minutes and the system was never touch all the time we had the car - oh for the \Japanese!
Regards to all who helped
Basil
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I bought one of those re-gasing canisters c/w gauge from Halfords,
Oh dear!
Used to have a Daewoo Nubira - oh for the \Japanese!
I think you'll find Daewoo were a Malaysian company.
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I think you'll find Daewoo were a Malaysian company.
...or possibly Korean?
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...or possibly Korean?
Well spotted ;o)
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Yes, well spotted guys! - let's say then any 'eastern' car manufacturer vaguely in this part of the world seems to have the edge on reliability over other manufacturers - including the Germans! and I am speaking from experience.
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Whatever you do don't use one of those re-gasing canisters c/w gauge from Halfords....... Ahhh, too late,
and if you do don't tell Dave N......
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Just remember that this A/C is German;it's a VW system.
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That's what I mean! - I consider German engineering to be over-rated. Next time I shall seriously look at a Japanese option.
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It has appeared to work for me - the compressor is now cutting in and it wasn't before I topped up the gas - with one of those halford's things!
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It has appeared to work for me
No doubt it has, but for how long is the million dollar question. If you ever have to have the AC system looked at by a speciallist in the future, remember to tell him that you've used one of these kits or he won't be thanking you for wrecking his expensive equipment.
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The next time the a/c goes down and needs pro help will be the last. I'm one of the people who buys a car form new and runs it til it dies. The motor's 6 years old now so I will not be throwing money at it. The a/c has never been a good system - if it keeps going down the it is something I can live without! As long as I can get another 4 years use out of the car with just road worthy maintenance that that'll do for me. Any big bills on the horizon then it's bye bye Galaxy.
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