[Born2Slow]

Check the fans , since your ac is fine when the vehicle is in motion. with ac on when idling for sometime both the radiator and ac condensor fans should cut in.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Hi Catalyst delhi,

In an you are right, but actually, this can also happen due to loss of fluid pressure.

revved_up: I think: The issue is due to lack of fluid pressure. In this case, with low refrigerant fluid, the condenser is not able to make the necessary heat transfer. I had experienced this in my car.

Even with low refrigerant, while the vehicle is moving, ram air is sufficient to cool the cabin. Please check for AC gas pressure, and for leaks.

Thanks,

Dhanush

I did not know that. I will need to check up my ac gas too. how much is gas for R134a for 650 grams.

[govigov]

Is the engine overheating? is the needle more towards the red end?
If the car is parked overnight, started in the morning, you turn on the a/c on idle as soon as start up, does the a/c work?

I can see a lot of ex/current ikon owners giving explanations. !

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by revved_up

I own a Swift Vdi (May 2008) model, the car has done 73k

This week i noticed that the AC of the car trips whenever the car is standing still. Once the car starts moving and is in motion for about 2 secs or so, the AC starts cooling again.

All this time the AC button is on and the light for it is also glowing.

While the car is standing still, I noticed that there is no change in rpm as well if i turn off and on the ac..

By ac tripping,I presume you mean ac compressor cutting off,right?

The compressor trips when the required grille temperature is achieved ; and it is normal for the compressor to cut off and on.

As long as you feel comfortable inside the car,don't worry.

Stock Marutis' ACs are reliable and do ther job well for 6-7 years without fuss, and don't cause such issues,unless someone has opened and "serviced" them.This is when ACs require more frequent attention,say once in 2 years.
Try this out:

1. Set your temperature knob at blue(all the way to the left) ; air in recirculation mode and ac switch on.
2. With the car at idle, hear if the compressor cuts off and on , say ,every minute.If this happens,you're fine.

Your alternator readings are perfectly fine.

[revved_up]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Sounds to me like a problem with the ISC. Different vehicles have similar device with different names (FICD, VSV) but they mostly control the idling speed of the car using a vaccuum pipe to ensure that minimum engine RPM necessary to run accessories like AC is available. Take the car to a workshop and get it checked for this problem. A temporary solution till then is to increase the idling RPM to around 900. That should ensure that your AC keeps running even when you stop at a traffic light. However get it rectified at the earliest since high idle RPM = low FE.

Thanks for the revert Zappo. I will take the car to Maruti Sales and Service tomorrow and update the thread with results.

Regarding the rpm, i feel the car is maintaining normal rpm (around 900) i dont feel there is any need to increase it manually.

Originally Posted by vigsom

By ac tripping,I presume you mean ac compressor cutting off,right?

The compressor trips when the required grille temperature is achieved ; and it is normal for the compressor to cut off and on.

As long as you feel comfortable inside the car,don't worry.

Stock Marutis' ACs are reliable and do ther job well for 6-7 years without fuss, and don't cause such issues,unless someone has opened and "serviced" them.This is when ACs require more frequent attention,say once in 2 years.
Try this out:

1. Set your temperature knob at blue(all the way to the left) ; air in recirculation mode and ac switch on.
2. With the car at idle, hear if the compressor cuts off and on , say ,every minute.If this happens,you're fine.

Your alternator readings are perfectly fine.

Yes, I mean compressor cutting off. And this happens even if the cabin is burning hot. The temperature knob is already all the way on the blue mark.

[vikram_d]

As everybody has already mentioned your alternator readings are fine. So the alternator can be ruled out. Having ruled out the alternator the other causes can only the compressor itself or low refrigerant. Also as pointed out the RPM should go up when the AC is on and not go down as it happening in your case. Get that checked also.

[hemen]

Please have the condensor fan checked.
It may be culprit as the cooling is less during idle only

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Born2Slow

Check the fans , since your ac is fine when the vehicle is in motion. with ac on when idling for sometime both the radiator and ac condensor fans should cut in.

Originally Posted by hemen

Please have the condensor fan checked.
It may be culprit as the cooling is less during idle only

Bingo! even if the fan is working, double check if its working for AC I had the same issue, the "ac" condenser fan circuit fuse was getting blown. Finally got the fan replaced since it was under warranty. Nothing to do with alternator. At standstill fan has to work or system will shut off the comp, whereas while running the kewl draft from the front will allow the AC to work.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by revved_up

compressor cutting off. And this happens even if the cabin is burning hot. The temperature knob is already all the way on the blue mark.

do you feel the ac effective when the compressor cuts in?If yes, then the causes are:

1. the condenser fan is not turning on at times.
2. the grille temp. sensor is dirty and giving wrong feedback to the compressor clutch
3. the compressor clutch coil is weak ; this will result in the Compressor not cutting in after the engine has run for sometime(the coil heating up)

You could get the ac checked at a competent independent technician's.

[greenhorn]

What about the Throttle potentiometer sensor ( does the swift have one?) when mine started acting up, i had similar issues

[abhijitl]

quote=revved_up;2707572]Hi Vikram,

Just checked the alternator with with multimeter and below are the readings:

- Cold battery(car not started for about 6-7 hours) - 12.6
- Car started with no load - 14.10
- Car started with full load(headlights on and ac on) - 14.10
- Car turned off now - 13.5

From the abve readings looks like the alternator is not at fault..correct?

Also another thing i would like to point out, when the ac trips while the car is diling, the rpm needle also drops a little.

Does the rpm needle dropping not indicate that it is tripping and not some gas leakage issue in which the compressor would have continued to run with no cooling?
Another thing that i noticed that, when i do a cold start, the ac runs for some time (say about a minute or two), then eventually it trips.

Please advise. Thanks again for all your help.[/quote]
Hi, If a/c cutting at idle check as follows
1. If A/c gas pressure is ok.
2. Check coolant level. If car by any chance heating up, first thing ECU will do is cut a/c.
3. If a/c condensor fan running while a/c on. Since while driving condensor gets forced cooling by wind coming in from front. But at idle the fan has to suck air to cool the condensor.

[revved_up]

Update:

Took the car today to Galaxy motors, Tilak Nagar. Explained them, whats happening. The first thing the mechanic does it open the bonet and straight away tells me that condensor needs cleaning.
I said, ok, but i have found out that this might be due to the ac fan cutting off.

Then he starts the car, turns on the AC and in about a minute, the ac cuts out. He increases the rpm to about 2.5k and keeps it there for a while but the cooling does not start.

Turns the car off again, checks something inthe bonet and turns the car on again, now again AC starts but this time cuts off even sooner.

I again told him about the fan, he says, if the fan was not working the car would also heat up which in my case does not happen.

Now, he checks the coolant level and finds that to be ok.

Next thing, he hooks up the sdt to the diagnostic port to check any error codes.
I tell him, if there were any error code, shouldnt the error light also be lit up??
He says still, we should check. And after checking, he finds no error codes.

Now, he says "Sahab check karna padega", I said "Karo fir!!"

Replies " Nahin aaj to saturday hai aur kal sunday, you bring the car on weekday". Then we will do step by step testing!

I said ok, and left! I then called up Maruti Sales and Service Nariana and take an appointment for tomorrow morning.
My car is serviced in maruti Nariana and the only reason i went to Galaxy was, since it is quite close and thought they might be able to figure this one out.

So, folks, tomorrow morning i take the car to Nariana and hopefully it might be a quick one for them. Saying this from past experience at both galaxy and MSSL Nariana.

Stay tuned.

And just for everyone's information, as far as my experience goes, Galaxy Motors, Tilak Nagar is only good for Body work.
Technical things go right over their thread .

[Catalyst_delhi]

almost sure from you last post that this is a FAN issue. The AC Fan should start as soon as the AC is switched on in most cars. This would not matter if the coolant is hot or cold

AC primary fan/ low speed - AC ON
AC secondary fan/ high speed = coolant more than 105degrees/ or AC PSI more than 250 psi
the above is the best of my memory but if the fan does not kick in then the compressor seal may go for a toss.

[revved_up]

Originally Posted by Catalyst_delhi

almost sure from you last post that this is a FAN issue. The AC Fan should start as soon as the AC is switched on in most cars. This would not matter if the coolant is hot or cold

AC primary fan/ low speed - AC ON
AC secondary fan/ high speed = coolant more than 105degrees/ or AC PSI more than 250 psi
the above is the best of my memory but if the fan does not kick in then the compressor seal may go for a toss.

Pardon my ignorance, but are there really 2 fans in the car?
As per the maruti technician there is only one fan.

When i do a cold engine start and then start the ac, i can also hear the fan starting with the bonet open. But eventually the fan shuts down.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by revved_up

Pardon my ignorance, but are there really 2 fans in the car?
As per the maruti technician there is only one fan.

When i do a cold engine start and then start the ac, i can also hear the fan starting with the bonet open. But eventually the fan shuts down.

Ah i was thinking of that after I posted. I am not really sure if the fan is supposed to shut off when the AC is on. Maybe it is programmed that way in the swift. I think the swift has only 1 fan , i remember esteem having 2 fans.