Air Con

[Dicodonal]

My air con is not very cold so I went to Halfords and they said they would recharge for me but he could not find the low pressure in my 2004 Ls430. Does anybody know where this is? It's very warm today!!

[Maduggo]

Go back and tell them to get a decent mechanic instead of a monkey, Halfords auto centres (nottm hucknall) did my air con service (drain and refill, deodorise) at my mot for free.

If i'm not mistaken, they are in front of the rad on the right as you look at the rad.

I'm having a beer so not going near my car as it is the wrong direction from the fridge, and it is in the garage.

I'm being lazy today

[Titch LS]

I don't trust Halfrauds mechanics since the time one of them chewed up the rubber boot of a ball joint on a Rover Sterling I once had. (Nice car, Honda V6). Didn't bother to tell me either. Instead of a proper ball-joint puller you could tell he'd used one of those 'fork' splitter bang-with-a-hammer thingys.. They don't call them 'grease monkies' for nothing.

[Dicodonal]

Unfortunately in Ireland they is not many who offer the air con recharge. It was just very warm yesterday so for €60 I thought it was worth a go. Still can't see the low pressure port anywhere. I see the high on beside the radiator but need to find the low port.

[lexusdaduk]

I think Lexus only £80.00 for a full change, had mine done at last service FOC it's icy cold front and rear.

[Dicodonal]

I rang the Lexus Dealer and he thinks they can do it which does not inspire confidence !!

[Adam Evans]

I got mine done at ATS when they did my tyres too and they worked me out a fantastic deal (Think it was £25) and it took the full 1000g of r134a !!!

Please note that in the picture the thermometer is Fahrenheit

[Cotswold Pete]

I had mine done by ATS this week - knowing the weather was warming up.

£45 well spent, and no numpties in site - well in Cirencester there was not any.

Did not have temp gauge but did 150 mile run yesterday, and not a drop of sweat, in fact hands got rather cold so guess it was below zero at the vent.

Have used Halfords only for fixing radios to the good ladies motor, and they did a great job at fair price, but not so sure I would trust them for anything mechanical, even at their bigger depots.

[steve2006]

Here's the layout diagram,everyting appears to be located on the passenger side of the engine bay, part numbers 88712 and 88716A are the 2 valves.

[harrylime]

Mine is not working on my 400, went out yesterday, it was unbearable. I had a promise from a forum member to fix it but it never materialised. I might try ATS. Thanks for the diagram Steve, good to know.

[hihihi]

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[The-Acre]

I had mine done at Halfords last year (by a young lady) 4 weeks later I found myself replacing the compressor. A coincidence maybe, but I wouldn't go back.

[cruisermark]

that's funny LOL

[Adam Evans]

That was still cooling down too !!!

I have had it at 29°F

If you notice it is set at 16°C on the temp, If I set it to cold it is literally freezing

[Ruud]

29 Fahrenheit is -1.6 degrees Celsius.....

I had an audi A8 last year and had the a/c redone at an a/c specialist. The temp out the vent was 1.8 degrees Celsius. They have been in business for over 25 years and had only see one colder at 1.6 which was a Porsche 911

[lexusdaduk]

Mine must be bloody cold, I have to move the vents as it starts to hurt my arm where is blows across so cold, I have the rear A/C set to Auto that way it cools the fridge all the time but the blowers in the roof only come on to help the car reach it temp, then they switch off again.

[Shiner]

I had mine done at ATS last year. I paid £29...

Check their website. They often have a special offer for Air con re gassing. But you must book it online and print the voucher to take advantage of the special offer otherwise they charge full price

Good luck

[Adam Evans]

I know the outside temperature was 16°C but this was only 5 minutes ticking over outside the house.

I wonder what it would be like at 2500rpm cruising on the motorway

Is that cold enough ????

31°F AKA -0.55°C !!!!!

[harrylime]

Had mine done at ATS, £33 all in including antibac , UV dye etc with a special offer through amazon local, some charge extra for the antibac, so I thought that was a good deal. It is down to 6 degrees C according to their temperature probe. They were unsure how much refrigerant to put in, their system showed 700 cl or 1000 cl I think depending on whether the car has rear air con. I don't think mine has, so they put 700 cl in.

I think 6 degrees is cold enough, I like it really cold, my wife does not. It is not particularly warm this morning , so hard to tell whether it will do. ATS have a decent waiting room with free coffee etc and magazines, so I saw little point in paying £60 plus at a main dealer and travelling further. Only caveat, take your own seat cover for your car,as they do not seem to bother with them.

[Cotswold Pete]

I had mine done at ATS last year. I paid £29...

Check their website. They often have a special offer for Air con re gassing. But you must book it online and print the voucher to take advantage of the special offer otherwise they charge full price

Good luck

I saw the offers a while ago, but forgot to get my ***** in gear to get best deal.

Maybe winter is when they do offers, but not needing to worry now for a couple of years

[harrylime]

While I was waiting I noticed how ridiculously quiet the car is. I don't normally stand about when it's idling, but there was no disturbance or vapour from the exhaust and I could genuinely hear nothing at all. I had to check the rev counter to see if it was running. What a piece of kit this is, it grows on me every time I drive it.

[Andy TT]

Has anyone tried the DIY aircon kits places such as Halford sell - they don't seem much cheaper than having it done for you though?

[Ruud]

I have used the EZ chill bottles from Halfords several times. A bottle is £34.99 and you get a tenner back when you return the empty bottle. Obviously if you're a first time buyer, you will have to buy the reusable trigger as well (£19.99)

I always test if there is any pressure left in the system before I buy a bottle. If there is no pressure at all, chances are that there is a leak. In case of a suspected leak, I take the car to kwikfit as they have a no cure, no pay policy and have dye in their system. So if indeed a leak is detected, I don't have to pay and I can trace the leak due to the dye - result :)

[Dicodonal]

Finally got somebody to regas my air con. It was a bit colder for 2 days and then back to warm air only. Air con man says the compressor needs to be replaced which is going to cost 1200 to get replaced with Denso OEM.

[harrylime]

Is your air con button flashing? I think my book says that if the compressor is not working the button flashes (LS400)