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I sat in a '95 Seven series BMW recently and the fans were set to 18 degrees with the air con on and it was very cold. Mine's cold, but was not as chilled as the BMW's and mine goes as low as 16 degrees.

I spoke to the place where it was recharged prior to this experience, because I wanted to know more about it, and they told me they pressure test, put ultra violet dye in and regas to the manufacturer's specification.

Compared to before the recharge mine is now working, but my expectations if air con were how the BMW's was (especially now I've been able to compare another car to mine).

How do I know mine is producing the correct temperature of air? The only thing I can think of is to try my Dad's GS and see what his is like.

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Not sure what year they changed over to the non CFC refrigerant but the old type gave better results which may have been in the 7 series.

They said an environmentally friendly gas was used to recharge mine (I forget the exact name).

It was a '95 BMW (5.4 litre V12 :blink: ).

I've always thought air con was more hassle than it's worth, but then I've never had it before and will probably be very grateful of it on hot days, then wonder why I never had it. :hehe:

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Does the climate control only operate when the Auto function is used and/or does it work during manual fan use?

It's not really climate control then, if you alter the fan speed yourself. The only thing I ever alter is the vent control, because i'm not a big fan of the face vents (unless it's really hot), and that's what it selects in auto for normal cooling.

The whole idea of climate really i suppose is that you set the temperature, and the car does it's best to keep it there.

Or do you mean air conditioning? Climate control is the whole thing, air con is the cooler/de-humidifier.

B)

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Not sure what year they changed over to the non CFC refrigerant but the old type gave better results which may have been in the 7 series.

Yes this is true, the old CFC gas was called something like R12 which was a very effective refrigerant, however now we have to use R134 or something of the like which isn't as good but keeps greenpeace at bay.

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Does the climate control only operate when the Auto function is used and/or does it work during manual fan use?

It's not really climate control then, if you alter the fan speed yourself. The only thing I ever alter is the vent control, because i'm not a big fan of the face vents (unless it's really hot), and that's what it selects in auto for normal cooling.

The whole idea of climate really i suppose is that you set the temperature, and the car does it's best to keep it there.

Or do you mean air conditioning? Climate control is the whole thing, air con is the cooler/de-humidifier.

B)

After reading your reply and my question again it all makes sense. :duh:

Not sure what year they changed over to the non CFC refrigerant but the old type gave better results which may have been in the 7 series.

Yes this is true, the old CFC gas was called something like R12 which was a very effective refrigerant, however now we have to use R134 or something of the like which isn't as good but keeps greenpeace at bay.

So that explains why, although it's working, my air con feels crap?!

I used it on my way home from the gym tonight: the car was a bit warm so I vented it with the windows open for a bit and then closed them and put the air con. It's not as chilled as I expected it to be, even with the fans on full speed.

It was only recharged a couple of weeks ago and my Dad's GS, which we have no history of when or if it's ever been recharged and is a year so older than mine, feels marginally cooler than mine.

I'm going to give Lexus a call and see what they say.

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I took it to Lexus last night and they tested the temperature, and it went as low as 8.9 degrees and they said they got the same from an LS430 parked next to mine. They also said my compressor was fine, so at least I know everything is working as it should (I just thought air con would have a bit more of a bite to it).

When I use Auto mode and change one of the settings, so that one becomes manual while everything else is still on Auto control, the Auto light goes off. I never noticed this happen before, I thought the Auto light stayed on when I've done this in the past. Is the light going off once a setting is changed normal?

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Yep, the minute you change a setting other than the temperature the Auto light goes out. But every other control you haven't touched remains in automatic operation.

B)

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  • 11 months later...

Firstly I apologise for digging up an old thread, but it's the most appropriate place to post this.

It's now just over a year since I had my air con recharged by the local dealer and I have made sure that I use it on occasions to maintain the charge, but when I used it on one of our recent very hot days it doesn't feel very cold and definitely not as cold as air con should be.

They claimed to have pressure tested it before it was recharged, so would air con run out of gas so soon? How/where else can I get it checked?

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If there is no leaks then it should be good for a good 3 years or more :unsure: ,after a recharge.Theres a good Aircon firm which i used in the Bristol area,not so far away from you.The guy is very trustworthy and does a complete and proper job.If you want his number i cant dig it out for you.

cheers chips.

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If there is no leaks then it should be good for a good 3 years or more :unsure: ,after a recharge.Theres a good Aircon firm which i used in the Bristol area,not so far away from you.The guy is very trustworthy and does a complete and proper job.If you want his number i cant dig it out for you.

That would be great.

What if he finds problems, is he able to fix them?

I'm annoyed to have the feature and to have wasted my money on it as it's not working properly, especially in this heat.

The work was done over a year ago so I don't think I can take it back to the dealer.

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Has anyone tried the DIY recharge kit that Halfords are currently selling?

I haven't seen those.

If the car has been sat outside in the heat for most of the day how soon should the air blow cold if you turn the air con on straight away?

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mine takes a few minutes to start blowing cold air .but i never switch it on straight away as i always let the car warm up first for a few minutes as the aircon puts a big stain on the engine in this weather from cold

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mine takes a few minutes to start blowing cold air .but i never switch it on straight away as i always let the car warm up first for a few minutes as the aircon puts a big stain on the engine in this weather from cold

Yea... don't wanna be wiping the engine over every time :huh::lol::lol::lol:

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