Hello. im wondering if anyone has any idea whats up with my A/C

I went to halfords and got the £40 topup can with the pressure hose.

My a/c was low so i topped it up to the right level. the next day i rechecked to see if there was any leaks in the system, only to find it at 65psi (very high).

I removed some gas to see if it was over filled, but the presure just went back up to what it was... (65psi)

Any idea's on what could do this?

Thanks.

Are yu checking the pressure with the a/c on or off. There are many key issues , overcharging teh system can easily damage this type of compressor. The clutch will engage and it looks like the compressor is working , but the internal shaft that pumps refrigerant thru the system is broken. SO its not operating. And the pressure stays the same. Thats why its best to have the refrigerant topped off by sumone that knows HVAC systems if yu think yu may have a leak , rather than juss adding to wut yu think is "full"

Also if the radiator/condenser cooling fans arent operating while the compressor is engaged , the pressure will stay high (65 is high with the compressor operating 45 is max out but still in a good range with the a/c compressor on) Nominal is 40 on these units.

AC is on full. Fans are working. gas seems to be moving as was freezing cold before i removed some gas. now is warm again. slightly avoiding the point in the whole system.

I cant top it back up until i can get a preasure that aint high.

Going to pop it into a garage for them to have a look as im sick of trying.

Btw halfords guy actually topped it up to the right PSI.

I took my Carisma GDI to Kwik Fit for their a/c deal (they promised to increase the a/c's performance by at least 10% or you wouldn't have to pay anything).

They couldn't improve it after 2 tries, so they didn't charge me anything - fair play to them, you hear a lot of scare stories about Kwik Fit.

So there must be something else wrong with my a/c. It does work but only slightly. On a cold day, if you switch it on it will make the car colder - colder than just having the fan on that is - but on a hot day it has no effect.

After they claimed my CAT was dead on the carisma and wanted £350 to replace the front end and cat i've avoided kwikfit ever since. as with some heat (simple) the bolts come off the cat without issue.

They used to be okay, but lately have became con artists.


Update: The gas has went back down slightly. but not much of shout about... still says overfilled. and i know it aint... didnt have time to pop into garage today.

Okay i took the car to mitsubishi dealership expecting them to test the compressor and then i was told they would have to do a 'dye' test that was going to cost me £70 plus time.

I dunno how they have to check for leaks when i told them the pressure was far too high.... but he insisted it was the only way to find out...

Any ideas?

Possibly your A/C clutch is intermittent ? Just guessing with my limited knowledge of things.

If both cooling fans are not operating while the a/c compressor is in operation , this can cause higher low side pressure and insufficient a/c cooling. Thus using a quick charge and adding refrigerant to the a/c system onlee adding to the issue. make sure that both fans are operating. The radiator cooling fans come on when teh a/c system is turned on , so teh cooling fans can cool down the A/C condensor which is located in frunt of the radiator. If both fans are not cooling teh condensor then the .


A/C compressors can break internally . The clutch will engage but the internal shaft that drives the pump is not turning , so the refrigerant wont fully be pumped thru the system at all, and keep a high line pressure and the a/c system will not cool as should

To which i have all explained already

The clutch does engage as the car's power drops when switched on. (looking from bonnet to windscreen) the LEFT fan is engaged when A/C is on. right fan does not.

The pipe is warm/hot to touch, seems to be pumping warm gas around.

The main question is HOW do i test what it is. or where?. even the Mitsubishi dealer seems to not know what the hell to do. local garages dont even know what a carisma is yet alone how to fix one.

I need to know how to check what is at fault or a UK garage that can fault find the system rather then trying to change the gas to 'start' to find the problem.

Both fans should be on, the a/c condensor is the same widith as the radiator, one fan working will not sufficiently cool down the A/C condensor , thus cause higher than normal low side pressure and the a/c will not cool down as should. Yu should have checked the fans operating system before shooting more refrigerant in the system. That is how a/c systems and compressors get damaged.

One fan will cool the condensor down enough to keep the a/c compressor frum cycling while at idle , but not enough to drop the temp and pressure going thru the evaporator inside the car for cool air. Take not of which cooling fan is not working , then unplug the connector going to the fan. With the a/c on and engine running check for positive and negative continuity on the connector supplying power to the fan. There should be , if there is , then yu will need to replace that fan. If not , check the dedicated fuses for that fan motor in the power distribution fuse panel in the bonnet area. Check to see if it is blown , if it is not likely blown the relay will be faulty.

Cheers i will check the fan. hopefully its just that. i will let you know.

Hopefully so , but frum my knowledge on these cars as many with a full size a/c condenser that spans the same length as the radiator both fans should always be operating to cool off the full length of the condenser. Ive had a few cars with this similar issue the past 2 months, im pretty positive its the cooling fan causing the issue.

Hey just checked and the fan is working fine now... not sure what was up with it the last time i looked but both are running.

Tightened the Power steering/AC belt as it was a little lose, this didnt seem to do anything though.

PSI has went from 100 to around 65PSI. im lost for ideas. its running cool today but it is rather cold outside already...

Think i might take it to Kwikfit as they do the tests etc and if they cant get the AC 10*C lower then when they got the car they dont charge you.. cant hurt to try. and if they get it 10*C cooler there welcome to the cash.

Like i say , both fans are always spossed to be running. Yu may have an intermitten issue with that fan. It wont juss "go away" . Yu may need to check the connector etc. 65 is still too high. I think yu adding refrigerant with that quick add bottle is wut caused it to be higher than normal. The reason the pressure went down is because both fans are working. Yu should let sum pressure out of the system and see if it works better.

If the a/c system is overcharged , it will not cool effeciantly. But if yu get the system to about 40 and not 65 it should blow alot cooler

I did try removing some gas awhile back. when it was still cold but high psi. this didnt change the PSI at all. just went back up to 65. and warm...

Need some new tyres this month so might get it checked next.

Thanks for your help mate.

yu remove refrigerant with the system not operating , if yu attempt to do it with the system operating yu will not successfully remove anything

trust me. a lot of gas did come out.... but u have given me a idea to re-try while off... cant break it any more really. if it blows up i get insurance cash.