Air con - problem?

[lmellman]

Hi,

The air con on my 993 is no longer blowing cold air. It blows, but not very cold. Is this likely just to need re-gassing or is it possible that there is a bigger, more expensive issue here?

Thanks

 

[Morg594]

Had a similar problem and returned it to a Porsche approved for a full air-con service - as advised. I was told it was a full air-con service and hence the £200 price.

1 month later the system had stopped, returned it again and another £150 and it stopped again within a month.

Baack with them now and have been told it actually has two leaks (how did they not spot these on the two previous occasions...).

They still have the car and I'm due an update tomorrow. Not happy with the service at all and would look elsewhere in future.

Morgan

 

[szklarek]

If the A/C has run out of gas compeletely the compressor won't run so check if the compressor is running - you'll see the electric clutch kicking in if it is running. If that's the case then either you've just run low on gas or you have a slow leak or there is a problem with the electrics to the compressor/clutch.

When did you get it regassed? For example my C4 A/C is just starting to blow a little less cold (still more than acceptable) so I'm thinking I might get it regassed this year - it was last done about 3 years ago.

So check the compressor first, then get it regassed especially if it's not been regassed for a while. They should also be able to check for leaks. Unfortunately there are so many things that can affect the A/C it will be difficult to tell what's causing the problem if a regass doesn't fix it - in that scenario you'll need the help of an A/C 'expert'.

On the positive side - I've had a variety of problems with my A/C over the years and none have been very expensive to fix. Mostly regasses, one fixed leak and the last was a disconnected wire to the compressor clutch (disconnected by the guy servicing the car - by accident!). Hopefully your fix will be similar and hence not too expensive.

I always get my A/C fixed at my indy - so I'd suggest you go to your local indy. Not sure where you're based - if you let us now I'm sure someone can recomend a suitable local indy or A/C company that knows 993 A/C's.

Good luck - hope you get it sorted.

Anton

 

[lmellman]

Thanks. I last had it regassed about 5 years ago so I'm hoping that's all it needs.

I have taken it into my indy just now so we'll see what he says. I'm confident he'll get to the bottom of it.

 

[Mears]

Frankly any competent AC specialist can do a regas and anything more than £50-60 is a rip-off imho. The key thing is to ensure they add not just the very specific amount of oil but also some dye so that leaks can be seen when they happen. After 2 re-gases we eventually saw the leak in my condenser radiator under the NS wing. Regrettably it's a bumper-off job to fix and quite costly circa £5-600 and with no guarantee on this age of car that it is the only problem to find. I'll probably do mine when the PU comes off for something else like a respray (by which time the seals elsewhere will have dried out - it's a tricky one. Good luck []

 

[Mike M]

ORIGINAL: Mears

Frankly any competent AC specialist can do a regas and anything more than £50-60 is a rip-off imho. The key thing is to ensure they add not just the very specific amount of oil but also some dye so that leaks can be seen when they happen. After 2 re-gases we eventually saw the leak in my condenser radiator under the NS wing. Regrettably it's a bumper-off job to fix and quite costly circa £5-600 and with no guarantee on this age of car that it is the only problem to find. I'll probably do mine when the PU comes off for something else like a respray (by which time the seals elsewhere will have dried out - it's a tricky one. Good luck []

I agree. I had mine re-gassed and it showed no leaks, however about 4 weeks later it was warm again. What I did notice was when the car was parked up after having the A/C on I could hear a hissing from the front PU and sure enough it was the Condenser, a common problem as they generally get covered with leaves and debris coming through the PU air vents, in turn rotting the Condenser. Easy DIY job, cost me around £350 all in with new Condenser, a tube thing next to it whose title I can't remember and new fixings for my PU and wheel arch liners as they were pretty corroded! Interestingly, the sniffer and Dye light did not sense any leaks when it was re-gassed before my repair. I have a strange feeling that the issue is exasperated when the engine is turned off as it was running when they ran the tests!

 

[John Maddox]

I wish you good luck with this problem.

When I purchased my 993 seven years ago I made it a condition that the Air Con worked properly and wrote it into the purchase contract.

Good job I did as it started blowing warm air within days. Had to go back three times - first for replacement condenser/drier then seals and finally a big dismantle to replace a leaking evaporator.

It still blows cold 7 years later and has not been regassed in all this time.

The garage I purchased it from reckon they did over £2k of work to get it right !!

 

[pse_SC]

The garage I purchased it from reckon they did over £2k of work to get it right !!

That's largely why it's been working all this time - although even with that work I think you're lucky after 7 years, John.
On our cars (and I mean most Porsche, not just 993) unless you go to that expense and you think it's worth it, the air con rarely works as efficiently as it should.

Personally, although I have used mine on a couple of occasions (in a queue at Le Mans[8D] and it was very good then), I wouldn't miss it (in this country), as it saps fuel and power anyway[].