yet another issue now (AC problems)

[Leonidas]

Did you check the fluids for the airco. They are mostly to low. There is a procedure explaining how to get air out of the cooling system. After that you refill the reservoir. You may do it a few times before it’s ok. Should have been done in the factory or your dealer, but mostly they have no clue. You can find this in Dr rock his manual

Many thanks .will look!

 

[Leonidas]

Has the A/C ever worked? When was the last time it worked?

Probably a month ago?

 

[Green Gren]

Mine didn’t work when I bought it. Dealer fixed it on the spot at delivery. Apparently mine shipped with no freon gas from the factory. One they recharged it, it’s been fine since.

 

[Zimm]

Prepare to rent a car.

 

[Leonidas]

Many thanks .will look!

Are you talking about the engine coolant reservoir or the refrigerant reservoir.i think you are talking about the former.if yes, you think coolant system can impact on A/C?
NB : I had done the procedure you mentioned, so it could be linked?

 

[Stu_Barnes]

Hi @Leonidas

The air conditioning HVAC condenser (the part with the pipes coming in and out of it in your original image) is fluid cooled. Check the fluid levels of the engine. There’s an HT (high temp) and LT (low temp) circuit in the engine bay. I’d imagine the condenser is on the LT circuit but can’t remember. There’s a procedure for bleeding the system as sometimes you can get air trapped in the HVAC condenser. This was the case when I picked mine up. It bled out over a few hundred miles on its own.

Second to that, get a local automotive HVAC company to put a set of gauges on the system to see what’s happening. If the system is low then a cheap top up by them may be much cheaper than the faff of time and expense of booking into a dealer. If the refrigerant is low should IA pay for the top up, yes. But what’s your convenience worth. (Anecdotally IA has a history of being stingy with the original gas charge at the factory)

As an aside, and I’m not being funny here, have you switched on the AC? Try turning the temperature knob all the way to low, press the auto button and make sure the light is on for the AC button.

 

[AWo]

The condensator is on the hight temp side...

The condensator follows the compressor which compresses the gas and therby increases the gas temperature.

The cold part starts with the expansion valve which almost always next to the evaporater in the inside of the cabin.

AWo

 

[Leonidas]

Hi @Leonidas

The air conditioning HVAC condenser (the part with the pipes coming in and out of it in your original image) is fluid cooled. Check the fluid levels of the engine. There’s an HT (high temp) and LT (low temp) circuit in the engine bay. I’d imagine the condenser is on the LT circuit but can’t remember. There’s a procedure for bleeding the system as sometimes you can get air trapped in the HVAC condenser. This was the case when I picked mine up. It bled out over a few hundred miles on its own.

Second to that, get a local automotive HVAC company to put a set of gauges on the system to see what’s happening. If the system is low then a cheap top up by them may be much cheaper than the faff of time and expense of booking into a dealer. If the refrigerant is low should IA pay for the top up, yes. But what’s your convenience worth. (Anecdotally IA has a history of being stingy with the original gas charge at the factory)

As an aside, and I’m not being funny here, have you switched on the AC? Try turning the temperature knob all the way to low, press the auto button and make sure the light is on for the AC button.

Hi Stu
Thanks for your post
I had done the air bleeding procedure (coolant level above MAX) and yes done -many times- what you suggest in your last paragraph
You are right: start with regassing...

 

[Voader - Oudersopzwier]

Are you talking about the engine coolant reservoir or the refrigerant reservoir.i think you are talking about the former.if yes, you think coolant system can impact on A/C?
NB : I had done the procedure you mentioned, so it could be linked?

No, not the engine reservoir. The cooling system has his own coolant reservoir. Sits if you stand in front of the car, at the left side under the windscreen. A small reservoir. This is the cooling liquid that runs from one of the smaller radiators (behind/under the left headlight) and the heat exchanger/compressor from the A/C
And indeed (as mentioned in the earlier post here) If the reservoir is ok, then indeed go to an airco specialist to regass the system. That could be any specialist, if your dealer is too far away for this.

 

[Blackwolf]

This sounds very similar to the problem I had two weeks ago. I know that my a/c worked when I bought the vehicle, but it became apparent during the recent hot spell that it was no longer cooling.

My supplying dealer (Compass Automotive in Bridgewater) was extremely helpful in booking me in at short notice to take a look (I was on holiday with the car last week and wanted working a/c). The techs found that although there was some refrigerant in the system there wasn't enough to do any good, which is odd since no leaks could be detected. They regassed the system and included the customary fluorescent dye so that if any leaks out the source should be apparent. The system worked perfectly after regassing, but since I only returned home yesterday I haven't yet been able to check for fluorescent tell-tales of a leak.

It seem from threads on this forum that some vehicles left the factory with little or no refrigerant in the system.

Also, as noted above, remember that the BMW a/c syste is unusual since it uses a water heat exchanger on the condenser, not an air heat exchanger like most cars. There is no aircon "radiator" at the front of the engine bay, just the water-cooled condenser on the left-hand front wing in the engine bay. This is cooled by the auxiliary cooling system for which the header tank is in the back left corner of the engine bay (it also cools other things, including I think the turbo). The techs at CA told me that there are some parts of the BMW system rounds the engine which are prone to cracking and leaking, specifically the hard pipes between the condenser and the compressor (they were helpful enough to point out the areas to check with UV for leaks).

I would suggest that a regas will probably fix the immediate problem, after which monitor for leakage.

Finally I was interested to note that (in the UK at least) the station wagon types of IG use a different refrigerant gas (R-1234yf) to the utility types (R-134a), even though all the components of the system are the same. I think that this must be due solely to EC type approval regulations. The two gasses should not be mixed.

 

[Skydance]

This sounds very similar to the problem I had two weeks ago. I know that my a/c worked when I bought the vehicle, but it became apparent during the recent hot spell that it was no longer cooling.

My supplying dealer (Compass Automotive in Bridgewater) was extremely helpful in booking me in at short notice to take a look (I was on holiday with the car last week and wanted working a/c). The techs found that although there was some refrigerant in the system there wasn't enough to do any good, which is odd since no leaks could be detected. They regassed the system and included the customary fluorescent dye so that if any leaks out the source should be apparent. The system worked perfectly after regassing, but since I only returned home yesterday I haven't yet been able to check for fluorescent tell-tales of a leak.

It seem from threads on this forum that some vehicles left the factory with little or no refrigerant in the system.

Also, as noted above, remember that the BMW a/c syste is unusual since it uses a water heat exchanger on the condenser, not an air heat exchanger like most cars. There is no aircon "radiator" at the front of the engine bay, just the water-cooled condenser on the left-hand front wing in the engine bay. This is cooled by the auxiliary cooling system for which the header tank is in the back left corner of the engine bay (it also cools other things, including I think the turbo). The techs at CA told me that there are some parts of the BMW system rounds the engine which are prone to cracking and leaking, specifically the hard pipes between the condenser and the compressor (they were helpful enough to point out the areas to check with UV for leaks).

I would suggest that a regas will probably fix the immediate problem, after which monitor for leakage.

Finally I was interested to note that (in the UK at least) the station wagon types of IG use a different refrigerant gas (R-1234yf) to the utility types (R-134a), even though all the components of the system are the same. I think that this must be due solely to EC type approval regulations. The two gasses should not be mixed.

Both my air con and heating works fine but yet it still leaks on the passenger side mat. I went through winter with no leaks with just the heat on. Summer with the air con is a different matter. It leaks when the heating and air con is called at the same time. Ie rear vents hot and front vents cold.

During cooler evening, it still blows ice cold air out. So I turn up the thermostat to say 25 degrees and it blows hot air from the back and cold air from the front and if you turn up the fan speed you will get dripping on the floor (hot air mixing with cold air). There is an issue with the software or blend door.

By the way, I’ve had my pipes lagged already.

 

[NQ94]

This sounds very similar to the problem I had two weeks ago. I know that my a/c worked when I bought the vehicle, but it became apparent during the recent hot spell that it was no longer cooling.

My supplying dealer (Compass Automotive in Bridgewater) was extremely helpful in booking me in at short notice to take a look (I was on holiday with the car last week and wanted working a/c). The techs found that although there was some refrigerant in the system there wasn't enough to do any good, which is odd since no leaks could be detected. They regassed the system and included the customary fluorescent dye so that if any leaks out the source should be apparent. The system worked perfectly after regassing, but since I only returned home yesterday I haven't yet been able to check for fluorescent tell-tales of a leak.

It seem from threads on this forum that some vehicles left the factory with little or no refrigerant in the system.

Also, as noted above, remember that the BMW a/c syste is unusual since it uses a water heat exchanger on the condenser, not an air heat exchanger like most cars. There is no aircon "radiator" at the front of the engine bay, just the water-cooled condenser on the left-hand front wing in the engine bay. This is cooled by the auxiliary cooling system for which the header tank is in the back left corner of the engine bay (it also cools other things, including I think the turbo). The techs at CA told me that there are some parts of the BMW system rounds the engine which are prone to cracking and leaking, specifically the hard pipes between the condenser and the compressor (they were helpful enough to point out the areas to check with UV for leaks).

I would suggest that a regas will probably fix the immediate problem, after which monitor for leakage.

Finally I was interested to note that (in the UK at least) the station wagon types of IG use a different refrigerant gas (R-1234yf) to the utility types (R-134a), even though all the components of the system are the same. I think that this must be due solely to EC type approval regulations. The two gasses should not be mixed.

R-1234yf and R134A have different gas charging adaptors for the gauges so mixing of the refrigerants should not be an issue.

 

[Leonidas]

This sounds very similar to the problem I had two weeks ago. I know that my a/c worked when I bought the vehicle, but it became apparent during the recent hot spell that it was no longer cooling.

My supplying dealer (Compass Automotive in Bridgewater) was extremely helpful in booking me in at short notice to take a look (I was on holiday with the car last week and wanted working a/c). The techs found that although there was some refrigerant in the system there wasn't enough to do any good, which is odd since no leaks could be detected. They regassed the system and included the customary fluorescent dye so that if any leaks out the source should be apparent. The system worked perfectly after regassing, but since I only returned home yesterday I haven't yet been able to check for fluorescent tell-tales of a leak.

It seem from threads on this forum that some vehicles left the factory with little or no refrigerant in the system.

Also, as noted above, remember that the BMW a/c syste is unusual since it uses a water heat exchanger on the condenser, not an air heat exchanger like most cars. There is no aircon "radiator" at the front of the engine bay, just the water-cooled condenser on the left-hand front wing in the engine bay. This is cooled by the auxiliary cooling system for which the header tank is in the back left corner of the engine bay (it also cools other things, including I think the turbo). The techs at CA told me that there are some parts of the BMW system rounds the engine which are prone to cracking and leaking, specifically the hard pipes between the condenser and the compressor (they were helpful enough to point out the areas to check with UV for leaks).

I would suggest that a regas will probably fix the immediate problem, after which monitor for leakage.

Finally I was interested to note that (in the UK at least) the station wagon types of IG use a different refrigerant gas (R-1234yf) to the utility types (R-134a), even though all the components of the system are the same. I think that this must be due solely to EC type approval regulations. The two gasses should not be mixed.

Informative post
Appointment for regassing tomorrow. And take it from there!

 

[Leonidas]

Job done, works now
There was NO GAS AT ALL !
Incidentally, it s the old gas she needs ,not R 1234jf, something like that

 

[Blackwolf]

Excellent result, keep an eye on it however because it seems logical to suspect that it leaked out somewhere.

 

[Leonidas]

Please Let me bathe in the good news for a few more hours without thinking
Trip tomorrow, I'll when I come back