[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

I asked the guy, did u change Pollen Filter? He said I do not know sir, may be they would have changed! I have doubted, I asked him to run the car's AC without the Pollen Filter, some technician has come and removed the Pollen Filter, my doubts were true, they did not even touch the Pollen Filter module, it has leaves and dust etc.. Btw, it is a new pollen filter fitted 2K kms before.

Started the car and voila car's AC is back, at all times temperature difference was less than 1.5 degrees. I have tested the car for 2 hours straight, car's AC behaved as it was perfect. I was shocked, guy was shocked, I asked him, HVAC unit and other units of AC are placed, but you did not check the pollen filter?? . He was silent.

So my theory is, Vecto Fiat did not clean the Pollen Filter housing and just inserted a new Filter causing some debris to sit inside the housing and jamming the central left vent and hence causing the temperature difference. Can this really happen?? Please guys, provide me with your comments!

Kind of like an Anti climax. I read your post yesterday and was wondering about your curious AC problem all the while since then, and now I'm stunned by the easy solution. Wonder how a blocked pollen filter could result in a temperature difference in the central vent. Are'nt all the vents getting air through the same filter. Wonder why only one vent is affected and giving a 7 degree variation. Seems like a very unlikely root cause, but hey, you tried it and it seems to be working perfectly without the filter. Very curious thread indeed.

[71Convertible]

Glad you found the root cause. Let this be a good lesson for all of us to keep filters and housing clean.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

.........
I asked the guy, did u change Pollen Filter? He said I do not know sir, may be they would have changed! I have doubted, I asked him to run the car's AC without the Pollen Filter, some technician has come and removed the Pollen Filter, my doubts were true, they did not even touch the Pollen Filter module, it has leaves and dust etc.. Btw, it is a new pollen filter fitted 2K kms before.

Started the car and voila car's AC is back, at all times temperature difference was less than 1.5 degrees. I have tested the car for 2 hours straight, car's AC behaved as it was perfect. I was shocked, guy was shocked, I asked him, HVAC unit and other units of AC are placed, but you did not check the pollen filter?? . He was silent.

So my theory is, Vecto Fiat did not clean the Pollen Filter housing and just inserted a new Filter causing some debris to sit inside the housing and jamming the central left vent and hence causing the temperature difference. Can this really happen?? Please guys, provide me with your comments!.......................

That can be the reason. Please recall our discussion above where we talked about a blockage in the ducts. Replacing the filter would be a given with a new HVAC unit, I would have thought, but apparently that was not the case. I would have the rest of the new blender unit checked for any debris that might have been sucked into the unit to cause troubles later on.

[90Horses]

I just got an update from Vecto, they have replaced the Pollen Filter with a new one, cleaned the chamber, made sure no debris exist, started the AC and issue has popped up. Then, they have removed the Pollen Filter and tested, issue was not there.

The blender also came as part of the new hvac unit, so when I said about blockage in one of the vents, they denied it saying it is brand new one.

The AC unit is malfunctioning with the new Pollen Filter as well, so can there be a chance of a fault in Pollen Filter design? In the event of the new Punto did they change the filter design that is not effective for old gen Punto?

My car was fine until 12k service, as part of that service Pollen Filter was changed, from then on I have this issue.

I request fellow old gen Punto owners who had the Pollen Filter changed recently (after Jan 15) to quickly check if they feel the left central vent is warmer than the right one at the acc's temperature 24 C.

If there's something wrong in my understanding, please correct me. I have attached pictures of Pollen Filter that was used in my car for reference.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

I just got an update from Vecto, they have replaced the Pollen Filter with a new one, cleaned the chamber, made sure no debris exist, started the AC and issue has popped up. Then, they have removed the Pollen Filter and tested, issue was not there. .................

Do Vecto have the ability to conduct flow rate tests on filters? If they do, they should be able to compare the flow rate of a stock OEM filter and this one by Denso.

[90Horses]

Originally Posted by VCheng

Do Vecto have the ability to conduct flow rate tests on filters? If they do, they should be able to compare the flow rate of a stock OEM filter and this one by Denso.

Vcheng, I believe they wouldn't have such equipment, i have been diagnosing my car along with their tech from few days, I am sure on that.

The DENSO filter is the OEM, will it be good if I procure filter from Bosch/KN and try it on my car? I am all confused and out of options bro. An airfilter design change could affect cooling of a vent channel? Now I have to learn airflow theories I guess.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

Vcheng, I believe they wouldn't have such equipment, i have been diagnosing my car along with their tech from few days, I am sure on that.

The DENSO filter is the OEM, will it be good if I procure filter from Bosch/KN and try it on my car? I am all confused and out of options bro. An airfilter design change could affect cooling of a vent channel? Now I have to learn airflow theories I guess.

This whole saga has been quite intriguing for me. I am sure that such flow test facilities must exist, but they may be not easily accessible for plebes such as I. Are there any other filter choices available, including DIY making one out of AC filter material cut to size, just to provide a comparison?

[90Horses]

Originally Posted by VCheng

This whole saga has been quite intriguing for me. I am sure that such flow test facilities must exist, but they may be not easily accessible for plebes such as I. Are there any other filter choices available, including DIY making one out of AC filter material cut to size, just to provide a comparison?

I have asked Vecto before if they have tested the air velocity from vents, they had no clue of what I was talking, thats how i got to know.

As on the question for filter choices, nope, they do not have any choices and I have to look at other DIY options, but to do that I have to go 25 kms to their showroom and work along with them.

Now I understand the service woes FIAT could give to you, everyone warned me about it, but I am one odd ball.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

I have asked Vecto before if they have tested the air velocity from vents, they had no clue of what I was talking, thats how i got to know.

As on the question for filter choices, nope, they do not have any choices and I have to look at other DIY options, but to do that I have to go 25 kms to their showroom and work along with them.

Now I understand the service woes FIAT could give to you, everyone warned me about it, but I am one odd ball.

Any chance of being able to do this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR3IdxJGYPg

or:

http://www.knfilters.com/cabin-air-filter.aspx

[90Horses]

Originally Posted by VCheng

Any chance of being able to do this:

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=uR3IdxJGYPg

or:

http://www.knfilters.com/cabin-air-filter.aspx

Thanks a ton VCheng, tomorrow I will try to get a kn else DIY. Thanks again for your time and effort, its appreciated.

Will update you by EOD.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

Thanks a ton VCheng, tomorrow I will try to get a kn else DIY. Thanks again for your time and effort, its appreciated.

Will update you by EOD.

Please report back as I want to see a resolution of this issue as much as you do - almost!

[90Horses]

Today, I have searched all the J. C. ROAD for the Pollen Filter of my Punto. It was tough to find one, at last i got one from ZIP brand at J. K. Automobile.

I am doing the job that FIAT has to do, they are playing with customer's time and emotions, they are going to get it.

I have attached the filter please have a look.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

Today, I have searched all the J. C. ROAD for the Pollen Filter of my Punto. It was tough to find one, at last i got one from ZIP brand at J. K. Automobile.

I am doing the job that FIAT has to do, they are playing with customer's time and emotions, they are going to get it.

I have attached the filter please have a look.

The test is the vent temperatures. How does this filter function?

[90Horses]

The task of this filter is to clean the air that is flowing through the ac system.

Today, I have been to Vecto, used the ZIP filter in the ac system. The left and central vents have less than 2 C temperature difference. This result was better than the OEM filter.

I am attaching the pictures, the empty slot is where the pollen filter sits.

My repeated experiments prove that the quality of air filter used by FIAT is not acceptable by any standards, air filter is supposed to improve quality of air not to change the temperature of the air.

I am planning to put in a bosch filter to see if I could reduce the difference between the vents.

[90Horses]

Originally Posted by 90Horses

Today, I have been to Vecto, used the ZIP filter in the ac system. The left and central vents have less than 2 C temperature difference. This result was better than the OEM filter.

Sorry for the missing text, the difference of 2 C was recorded between left and right central vents, where with the OEM filter the difference was 4 C and increases to 7 C.