Esteem AC Issues (Now Resolved)

[esteem_lover]

Till about a fortnight i had an extremely comfortable ride in my 8.5 years old esteem. About that time, the blower(AC) started to be ineffective in the sense that the air flow was about 30 percent of normal.

So last saturday i took the car to my mechanic & he removed the blower & cleaned the insides of the duct till how much he could reach with his hand. We checked the grille temp & it showed 10 C which was excellent.

Basically the problem is i park my car under a tree in my office & the leaves tend to get inside the ducts & block the air flow. So after this attempt by my mechanic, the air flow increased to 40% & i was not satisfied & told him so. He asked me to bring the car again next week so that he can remove the dash clear all blocks, since he was busy this weekend.

Since i am leaving for pondicherry on monday(28th), i took the car to ABT sat morning( 26th) (in good faith) & explained to the personnel there that the cooling was great & only the blower was not good. Straightaway he says the estimate is 2.5k & i tell him again that that the cooling is Ok & only the air throw needs to be checked.

I had 0 confidence in leaving my car there, but i had to do because i was desparate. So i went to pick up the car in the evening & i was told the bill was 2.2k & i go to inspect the car. I find that the air throw is now as good as it has ever been & i am happy & proceed to pay the bill. From the bill, i notice that there were only 2 charges.

1. cooling coil r & r (remove & replace) 900
2. Gas top up Rs 1000/-

I ask for the qty of gas topped up (since i know that there was nothing wrong with the gas in the first place) & i am told that there is no record of such things & that whenever gas is topped up that means that the existing gas was liberated & new gas was filled in (I find that hard to believe).

AND I was told that my compressor is weak (It could be), but i never had any cooling problems. So i take the car with hard feelings about the so called great customer service of maruti & drive on towards my home (3-4 Kms away). Initially the AC felt not so cold, so i started cursing the maruti **********. Slowly it turned out that there was no cold air coming out of the AC. Now, i am thoroughly diappointed & dissatisfied with the whole thing. i could have remained at home & had a car with an AC instead of taking it to some jokers who spoil what was there in the first place.

Actually what happens is that the compressor is going on/off within 2 seconds(at least that is what i think it is). I am not taking this sitting, i am taking it back tomorrow & make sure they give me a proper explanation to all of this. Hope I am right guys, what do you think ?

[Zappo]

Absolutely... They have killed an ailing patient. Tell those bas***s that you did not bring the AC issue to their attention for euthanisia. They better get it up and running. Also, goes to show how they do things by rote. They did not even check the AC after "repair" (neither did you) to see that it was working fine. Else they would have known. In fact they quoted an estimate without a look at the problem. That is probably because they know of only one thing. Old car = weak AC = change coil and refill gas. They need a blasting for this. Remember to tell all these things to them when you go there.

[low_bass_makker]

If the ac mechanic had removed the internal cooling coil and cleaned it outside the car then I think the ac gas has to be released ...and I think after releasing the air they have forgot to refill it properly but lets see what they have to say about it...

[esteem_lover]

Thanks for the prompt response guys, that too in the middle of the night.

Originally Posted by Zappo

They did not even check the AC after "repair" (neither did you) to see that it was working fine. Else they would have known. Remember to tell all these things to them when you go there.

Yeah, you bet i will. But zappo, i did check the Ac & it did look like it was cooling, but did not keep it on for a long time. It was 7.00 Pm & they were closing & that played in my mind(It should not have). They haven't replaced anything. the cooling coil was removed & refitted, according to them.

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

If the ac mechanic had removed the internal cooling coil and cleaned it outside the car then I think the ac gas has to be released ...and I think after releasing the air they have forgot to refill it properly but lets see what they have to say about it...

But why did he have to remove the cooling coil in the first place ? all he had to do was clear the ducts for free air flow. I dont understand this. believe me i will , by tomorrow.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

But why did he have to remove the cooling coil in the first place ? all he had to do was clear the ducts for free air flow. I dont understand this. believe me i will , by tomorrow.

I'm not taking sides with the service centre John but here is why need to remove the cooling coil.

Cooling coil condition when taken out of my car:


Cooling coil after cleaning:


In our enviroment the dust build up is so much that after a while they HAVE to remove the coil & clean it, there is no other way around it. I think there is some other minor problem in your A/C system which is not letting the compressor come on, have it checked tomorrow it might just turn out be a small oversight by the service people.

[esteem_lover]

Thanks for the pics & the explanation Ishan. I would be happy if this is what they have done. But does this improve cooling or does it improve air throw ? my problem was with the air throw, not the cooling. So when this is done, the gas is released is it ? Even if it is, shouldn't they have stored it somewhere to be refilled again ?

[kartikkumar]

If your compressor is switching off, all you might need is an adjustment to the thermostat settings. I have faced this problem in my car everytime I have an air-con related complaint, where the cooling is reduced and the compressor keeps cutting off, espcially in very hot surroundings.

Hope this helps.
Cheers!

[esteem_lover]

I do hope that it is as simple as that. The thing that worries me is what he said. "Sir, the horn relay & the compressor are weak" . I dont know the meaning of that. Will find out today.

[rohitbagai]

Its cutting off because they have refilled the gas as per the specifications. But I am sure the compressor is weak. So the pressure of gas should have been reduced so that the compressor could run.

[zenopio]

Originally Posted by kartikkumar

If your compressor is switching off, all you might need is an adjustment to the thermostat settings. I have faced this problem in my car everytime I have an air-con related complaint, where the cooling is reduced and the compressor keeps cutting off, espcially in very hot surroundings.

Hope this helps.
Cheers!

even i have the same problem in my zen guys....plzzz can any one help

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Thanks for the pics & the explanation Ishan. I would be happy if this is what they have done. But does this improve cooling or does it improve air throw ? my problem was with the air throw, not the cooling. So when this is done, the gas is released is it ? Even if it is, shouldn't they have stored it somewhere to be refilled again ?

No there is no provision of this kind if the cooling coil is removed the the gas has to me released..there is no option here....

[esteem_lover]

Thanks for the info LBM. Today is listed as a working day in ABT, but when i called up & told them about my problem, i was told that the AC technician has taken the day off & that i should be bringing my car only on Monday.
That means my pondy trip is postpned by at least a day & that means cancellation of the reserved accommodation & start looking for hotels again.

[mail4ajo]

How often do we need to clean the AC coils and topup the gas? Hey, Easy off bang works...

[Ravi Yadav]

I recently got an a.c system fitted in my maruti 800 (96 model).The air of the blower chiils the car pretty well.Now i have stated noticing the following problems.

1.I start my car and put on the a.c.After 5-10 min a see a drop of water coming out of the exhaust.Is this normal or its a problem.

2. When i drive my car with the a.c i hear a noise "tick".When it sound the power drops suddenly and after some time i hear a similar sound and again the power increases and this keeps on happening.Its really fusterating driving the car.
I called up my mechanic but he is out of station and would be back next week.
Does any one know what the problem could be?

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by rohitbagai

Its cutting off because they have refilled the gas as per the specifications. But I am sure the compressor is weak. So the pressure of gas should have been reduced so that the compressor could run.

Spot on rohit. the gas pressure was reduced today & the Ac is working just fine. I have to test it extensively though. The pondy trip would be just the thing to do now. Thanks

Originally Posted by Ravi Yadav

2. When i drive my car with the a.c i hear a noise "tick".When it sound the power drops suddenly and after some time i hear a similar sound and again the power increases and this keeps on happening.Its really fusterating driving the car.
I called up my mechanic but he is out of station and would be back next week.
Does any one know what the problem could be?

The tick noise is the compressor switching on/off. When it is on, there will be a loss in power. What AC have you fit ?