[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

ohh! check if your AC radiator grill fan is working? Switch ON ac and open bonnet and check if the fan is running or not? Am not sure if your car has separate fans or its the same fan. But whatever it is, the fan should be running.

I checked it yesterday. Opened the bonnet and started the car. Fan was not running. Switched on the AC and the fan started running. I could not find a separate fan. It was the radiator fan that was running. I will get it checked in the next service which is due in 3 weeks.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I checked it yesterday. Opened the bonnet and started the car. Fan was not running. Switched on the AC and the fan started running. I could not find a separate fan. It was the radiator fan that was running. I will get it checked in the next service which is due in 3 weeks.

Then fan is not the culprit, you can rule that out. Now start with basics, check the refrigerant level etc. You can approach a good AC shop to get these checks done.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Then fan is not the culprit, you can rule that out. Now start with basics, check the refrigerant level etc. You can approach a good AC shop to get these checks done.

Faced issues with AC again during my drive to Trivandrum from Bangalore on Oct 6th and Kochi -Bangalore drive yesterday. If the AC is used continuously for 3 hours, the cooling starts reducing and it almost stops cooling. When the cooling stops, the quatity of air coming through the blower reduces (Fan speed 3 gives same ariflow as Fan speed 2 when cooling is fine). Did not face this whil I drove to Goa because the AC was used intermittently. Last time when I faced this issue in August, the cooling was back to normal after the car was stopped for 30 mins but this time the cooling becomes normal the next day and becomes bad after almost 3 hours of operation continuosly. Had taken the car for servicing a month back and they said cooling was fine and cleaned the cabin filter. Now I am sure that AC has some problem as I was sweating inside the car at 4:00 PM in Bangalore (AC in Speed 4). What could be the issue? If the refrigerent level is low, shouldn't the cooling be less always? I am palnning to take the car to Metro Ford on Saturday. Drove to Elite Ford directly yesterday to show them the issue but they were closed. I cannot take the car anywhere else other than the dealer as the car is company leased.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Faced issues with AC again during my drive to Trivandrum from Bangalore on Oct 6th and Kochi -Bangalore drive yesterday. If the AC is used continuously for 3 hours, the cooling starts reducing and it almost stops cooling. When the cooling stops, the quatity of air coming through the blower reduces (Fan speed 3 gives same ariflow as Fan speed 2 when cooling is fine). Did not face this whil I drove to Goa because the AC was used intermittently. ------------ Drove to Elite Ford directly yesterday to show them the issue but they were closed. I cannot take the car anywhere else other than the dealer as the car is company leased.

Seems like the cabin condenser is clogged and freezing up on prolonged use. Did you try switching off the compressor alone for few minutes and see if it works normal?

Try wecool they are specialist and near brigade road. He should be able to help better based ok your explanation of the issue. And much more reasonable.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Seems like the cabin condenser is clogged and freezing up on prolonged use. Did you try switching off the compressor alone for few minutes and see if it works normal?

Try wecool they are specialist and near brigade road. He should be able to help better based ok your explanation of the issue. And much more reasonable.

I did not try switching off the compressor alone for long time. Isn't the condenser located in front of the radiator or is there a separate cabin condenser? When I serviced the car last time, I asked the SA whether they clean the condenser and he replied that the cleaning guys will do it during washing. Did not check personally whether they did it or not? If the condenser is the culprit will cleaning it solve the issue?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I did not try switching off the compressor alone for long time. Isn't the condenser located in front of the radiator or is there a separate cabin condenser? When I serviced the car last time, I asked the SA whether they clean the condenser and he replied that the cleaning guys will do it during washing. Did not check personally whether they did it or not? If the condenser is the culprit will cleaning it solve the issue?

I was referring to cooling coil which sits inside the dash. Apologies for referring to it as condenser. If it is clogged then the ac system becomes inefficient resulting in freezing up of the gas.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I was referring to cooling coil which sits inside the dash. Apologies for referring to it as condenser. If it is clogged then the ac system becomes inefficient resulting in freezing up of the gas.

Isn't this called the evaporator coil? Evaporator coil seems to be a problem area in Fiestas.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Isn't this called the evaporator coil? Evaporator coil seems to be a problem area in Fiestas.

If its clogged yes it can be an issue, the problem area is the diverter valve not the coil.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Faced issues with AC again during my drive to Trivandrum from Bangalore on Oct 6th and Kochi -Bangalore drive yesterday. If the AC is used continuously for 3 hours, the cooling starts reducing and it almost stops cooling. I cannot take the car anywhere else other than the dealer as the car is company leased.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Seems like the cabin condenser is clogged and freezing up on prolonged use.
Try wecool they are specialist and near brigade road.

Took the car to Metro Ford Quicklane yesterday for AC checkup. As the car is company leased, it can only be taken to the dealer. They replaced the Thermistor switch of the evaporator. Asked them to check/clean the evaportor and blower. They said it is clean and showed me the same. Hope the issue is resolved. They had to remove the entire dash board for the same. Total damage -Rs 3120 (approx Rs 1000 for the part and remaining labour charges). It is paid by the leasing company. This would have been replaced under warranty if extended warranty was taken but leasing company does not have that policy. Also got the condenser cleaned with water. Here are the pictures.

After the dashboard was removed. Notice some unpainted metal surface.


The part that was replaced

[roby.thomas]

Hello Team-BHPians,

This is my first post in this forum, though I had been a silent member for about an year or so.

Let me get to the point. I had a ridiculous experience on a long drive from Kochi to Vellore. My i10's (Oct-2008 model) air-conditioner blower refusing to blow air into the cabin after I had driven for about 4 hours at a stretch. By then I reached Palakkad. I stopped there, opened the hood and saw that the air conditioner lines which feed the compressed gas were freezing, whereas the car cabin was fuming hot.The blower setting when put to level 4, I could feel the vibrations and strain right at the clutch pedal. Considering that we had a long way to go, this was frustrating. Anyway we kept moving until Coimbatore, with all windows open and A/C still on to see whether I get any luck after sometime. Nothing happened until I stopped at a Petrol bunk there and we halted for a short break. To my surprise, after sometime I saw a puddle of water on the floor below engine room where I parked my car. When we got back into the car, and switched on the A/C, everything seemed to be back to normal.

We thought, there is some kind of blockage and took it to Advaith Hyundai service centre in Coimbatore. The service centre guys were very courteous, but being on a Christmas day and might be that not all staff were there, it took a straight 3-4 hours until actually someone attended to the problem. We were just watching TV in their waiting room. By then it was evening 4'O clock. The service centre advisor said, he cleaned all that he could do from the front, but couldn't do anything in the interior evaporator area since dashboard removal will take its own sweet time, and we had to go.

Turned on the A/C, all was chilling well and we resumed our journey. All was good, and much later into the evening I realized the blower started showing the same symptom. It cannot blow the air out, and the vibrations crept in. But being in the night, and with that minute air blowing in, we were not uncomfortable. We reached the destination, and stayed there for a day.

But by then I called up a friend, who has a mechanical engineering background. His theory was that my A/C's thermostat wasn't cutting the compressor off, and ice was being formed in the blower duct and was blocking air flow. Moreoever I mostly drive with blower level at 1, since I need the AC to just remove the heat, not to chill. As per my friend, AC blower is supposed to be operated at-least at Level 2, and better be it at 3. Otherwise the air flow cannot actually transfer away the heat to the evaporator . I was convinced with his explanation, and he advised me to manually turn off the AC switch when it starts feeling the chill, and leave the blower always at Level 3. This trick did work absolutely on the return journey.

Now, my car had a history of radiator fan going bad in 2012, then again a month before this incident. Totally, I actually spent almost 5000/- each on both the occasions. The sad part was that right after the replacement of radiator fan the second time, in the very next week, it stopped working mid way a trip which was under 70km within Kerala. This time, it was the radiator fan fuse which blew off.

My friend knew this history, and he is of the opinion that probably the radiator fan blew off both the times actually because of this faulty thermostat. I always drive with A/C on, and the blower setting all these years had been at Level 1, since that's what I prefer.

According to him, the radiator fan never cuts off and compressor might had been always on. Since I left the blower at a low setting, I never realized it.

This seems to be true. I idled the car at home with AC on, and hood open. I could never hear that cut-in, cut-out sequence that is very prominent in Maruti cars which I am familiar of. I never noticed or cared to observe this in my own i10 so far.

He also suggested that, this could be indication of some major electrical fault elsewhere. He suggested that sometimes, in modern cars it is not actually a thermostat, but something called a Body Control Unit with sensors measuring the temperature, and I might be having a problem with it. But he isn't sure i10's A/C uses a thermostat or not.

Least to say, now I am really scared to take this car out for any good journey. I'm afraid either the radiator fan will blow off, or the AC won't work. Sad part is I can't demonstrate this problem to a service centre guy. This trouble kicks in only if you have driven really long enough. I have told all this to Hyundai service centre, but I am pretty sure they don't care it has a problem until they see it. Just before I took this car for long journey, I gave it to MGF Hyundai, Padivattom for a thorough check. I was at that time more concerned of radiator fan blowing up in the middle of the journey. They said all systems are just fine and fit for the long journey.

So, has anyone had any experiences of this sort in i10 or other cars you know of ?

[black_rider]

I suspect you have a choked, because of dirt/debris, evaporator coil. Was it ever cleaned for your car? If not, I suggest you have it checked first.

Ice normally forms on dirty coil after a long use of AC and this stops air flow. It would return to normal after you switch off the AC and all ice melts away.

[anujmishra]

It is an icing issue and your thermostat is gone. Please get your thermostat replaced. It actually help to stop cooling when certain thresold temperature reaches. Even I faced same issue in my Safari.

[mercedised]

As told by @anujmishra, please get the AC thermostat replaced, it is not cutting off the compressor. I have the same issue on my Nano.

[sumeethaldankar]

Not sure if it is related to your problem but my Civic had a issue where the a/c would stop working because of a faulty a/c relay switch.After driving some time the a/c relay would get hot and stop working which in turn would cause the a/c to stop working.I am not sure if there is a similar switch in your car but if it's there get it verified and see if it's at fault.

Good luck.

[nidheesh]

As per the Symptoms explained by you, the Root Cuase of it seems to be the ThermoStat, i.e the evaporator temperature sensors that that controls the compressor's magnetic clutch to maintain the cabin temperature. As the temperature sensor is malfunctioning, your cars evaporator (Cooling Coil) if extremely freezing and getting clogged,thus restricting the airflow!

There is a Pressure Sensing switch located at the high pressure Pipe line, your Compressor is being cut-off by this switch but this cut-off happens far away from the target time, so the radiator cooling fan stays on for too long, thus developing heat in the motor which may cause it to blow.

I suggest you to replace the Temperature Sensor.