[virage]

I could not find a thread that has the same problem hence creating a new thread. Mods please feel free to move it to an appropriate thread.

I own a 2014 Fluidic verna Petrol 1.6; I am noticing an interesting behavior with the air conditioner.

-The AC does not blow cold air at standstill during the daytime.
-When the car gets up to speed, the AC starts blowing cold air and stops immediately when the car stops moving.
-When the car starts for the first time in the morning the first few minutes are cold.
-The cooling is very good during the night and long drives.


The AC cooling does not improve with engine speed, I revved the engine at a standstill for a few minutes and it did nothing.

The Engine temperature is normal and the car does not overheat.


I check with an FNG and he is adamant that the compressor and or evaporator needs to be replaced, without even looking at it.

I am suspecting the condenser fan is kaput or the Condenser coil is clogged up. Any ideas what may be going wrong?

[CaptainBrijesh]

Based on your symptoms, condensor fan is the most probable culprit.

Start the car, turn on the AC & look into the engine bay. Condensor fan should be running if it's not working or working slowly you follow troubleshoot procedure like checking fuses, Relays of condensor fan and if everything is fine and fan socket is getting the current then fan may be gone.

Normal AC guy will be able to identify the problem.

Thanks.

[sagarpadaki]

There are two possibilities that I can think of.
One, the refrigerant is low, ie, the AC gas.
Two, like you mentioned, the condenser is clogged.

The second case is easy to fix if you have a pressure washer. Wash the condenser through the gaps in the bumper. If you see black water dripping down then it indicates a clogged condenser. Ensure the pressure washer jet is spread out and not pointed. If pointed it can damage the condenser. If you do not have pressure washer, take your car to any washing center and ask them to wash the radiator carefully. They will do a good job in cleaning.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by virage

..

-The AC does not blow cold air at standstill during the daytime.
-When the car gets up to speed, the AC starts blowing cold air and stops immediately when the car stops moving.
-When the car starts for the first time in the morning the first few minutes are cold.
-The cooling is very good during the night and long drives.

...

All these symptoms point to the condenser not being able to dissipate heat while standstill. I'm sure the AC fan is the culprit here.

It's easy to check, when the car engine is cold (in mornings) switch on the AC, the fan should turn on immediately.

[sameerpatel90]

This is one of the common issues occur even during normal days but it more evident in this season only.

As far as my experience with repairing thousands of vehicles, following are the checks to be performed and possible solutions:

a. Perform a visual checks on the ac line, condenser & compressor for any leakage (dust accumulates around the leaked line caused by the oil sedimentation). We also need to check the ac filter. This can also be a culprit. I have rectified many concerns with similar scenarios where the filter gets clogged due to dust accumulation.

b. Next step is to start the vehicle, roll down all the windows and turn the ac on (AT IDLE) with the blower speed at 2 and temperature at minimum for 10 minutes so that the engine reaches its optimal operating temperature. Check the ac pipe in the engine compartment for moisture and temperature (the pipe must feel cold and water condensation is visible over it). Thereafter, check the same pipe near the firewall. If it is cold or feels less cool there is a possibility of low gas volume.

c. Following the above, check for the compressor functioning. We can hear the clutch operation sound when the compressor turns ON & OFF. If the same is not heard or you find erratic operation of frequent cut off & on, this can happen due to many reasons such as low gas volume, clogged evaporator, faulty expansion valve and last but not the least, the compressor itself.

d. To determine the gas volume, any ac technician has a two dial pressure gauge to monitor that is connected to both HP (high pressure) & LP (low pressure) lines. Following step C. (NOTE: I have attached two documents for understanding this test). Additionally, it is important for us to know what type of compressor the vehicle is fitted with - whether it is a fixed / variable one (this can be known only through looking at the part number and referring the catalogue only).

e. Thereafter, a quick recovery of the gas can show us the volume of gas and oil recovered to determine the cause. Post completion of this stage refill the gas with replacement of oil with a new one and repeat step C. Now turn off the engine, let the gauge be as it is for the next 3 hours minimum to determine any leakages. If the pressure drops, there is a leak and tracking it down may take anywhere between couple of minutes to even a day.

Forgot to add another important point - ac control unit (manual / auto climate control) has different procedures in diagnosis.

My sincere apology to this forum for writing a lengthy response but, I hope this information is useful and assists in better understanding of diagnosis, no matter whether we are at FNG / A.S.S. I personally believe, it is my duty to provide basic inputs to those needing it to observe what the technician is performing on their vehicles.

Waiting for your update about this concern.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I'm sure the AC fan is the culprit here.
It's easy to check, when the car engine is cold (in mornings) switch on the AC, the fan should turn on immediately.

Yes, had a similar issue of my Baleno a/c not working at standstill, which was traced to a faulty fan.
Try this first.

[AnandB]

I had this problem with my previous Santa Fe and weirdly it was some pipe which was probably rusted and had holes in it; replacing it fixed the problem. I too though it was one the things mentioned above but i guess the FNG guy i went to was a good guy and fixed it correctly for me. Sorry i can't elaborate more as i didn't bother much about it as it was fixed for relatively very cheap.

I had this problem for more than a year and getting it checked at service center never found any issue and ac gas was always fine. Only going to the car AC specialist fixed it for me.

[virage]

Originally Posted by CaptainBrijesh

Based on your symptoms, condensor fan is the most probable culprit.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I'm sure the AC fan is the culprit here.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Yes, had a similar issue of my Baleno a/c not working at standstill, which was traced to a faulty fan.
Try this first.

So, I observed the fan working closely multiple times today. The fan does come on without a problem. Here's the thing, The condenser is stacked in front of the radiator and the radiator fan pulls fresh air through the condenser. If this fan was faulty, it would surely cause the engine temperature to shoot up.

Originally Posted by AnandB

I had this problem with my previous Santa Fe and weirdly it was some pipe that was probably rusted and had holes in it.

Originally Posted by sameerpatel90

As far as my experience with repairing thousands of vehicles, following are the checks to be performed and possible solutions.

a. Perform a visual checks on the ac line, condenser & compressor for any leakage (dust accumulates around the leaked line caused by the oil sedimentation). We also need to check the ac filter this can also be a culprit, I have rectified many concerns with similar scenarios where the filter gets clogged due to dust accumulation.

b. Next step is to start the vehicle, rundown all the windows and turn the ac on (AT IDLE) and blower speed at 2 and temperature at minimum for 10 mins so that the engine reaches its optimal operating temperature, check the ac pipe in the engine compartment for moisture and temperature (the pipe must feel cold and water condensation is visible over it). There after check the same pipe near the firewall. If it is cold or feels less cooler there is a possibility of low gas volume.

c. Following to the above, now check for the compressor function, we can here the clutch operation sound when the compressor gets ON & OFF. If the same is not heard or find erratic operation of frequent cut off & on, this can happen due to many reasons such as low gas volume, clogged evaporator, faulty expansion valve and last but not the least the compressor itself.

d. To determine the gas volume any ac technician has a two dial pressure gauge to monitor that is connected to both HP (high pressure) & LP (low pressure) lines. Following step C.

These steps were really helpful.

I did a visual inspection and all the lines look clean.
I rolled down the windows turned the ac on, let the engine warm up, and checked the High pressure and Low-pressure lines, The low-pressure line is mildly cool, with no condensation whatsoever.
The cabin filter was also clean.

I guess this is a low refrigerant problem, haven't had the time to take her to a garage and measure the pressure. Have booked a slot with a local AC expert on Saturday, will post an update once I get her checked out.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by virage

So, I observed the fan working closely multiple times today. The fan does come on without a problem. Here's the thing, The condenser is stacked in front of the radiator and the radiator fan pulls fresh air through the condenser. If this fan was faulty, it would surely cause the engine temperature to shoot up. ..

I think you are referring to the engine fan. How many fans does the fluidic Verna have? One for AC and one for Radiator? Or One is common?

If only one fan, check the fan resistor, which controls the fan slow speed and high speed. The slow speed might not be turning ON. I had the same issue in my Palio, changed the resistor and it works well.

Also, since you anyhow have cooling problems, the refrigerant will be low, you will need to top it up.

[RJK]

Originally Posted by sameerpatel90

This is one of the common issues occur even during normal days but it more evident in this season only.

As far as my experience with repairing thousands of vehicles, following are the checks to be performed and possible solutions..

Her Sameer
Thanks for such a detailed step-by-step troubleshooter.
This post must be pinned.

Cheers mate

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by virage

I could not find a thread that has the same problem hence creating a new thread. Mods please feel free to move it to an appropriate thread.

I own a 2014 Fluidic verna Petrol 1.6; I am noticing an interesting behavior with the air conditioner.

-The AC does not blow cold air at standstill during the daytime.
-When the car gets up to speed, the AC starts blowing cold air and stops immediately when the car stops moving.
-When the car starts for the first time in the morning the first few minutes are cold.
-The cooling is very good during the night and long drives.


The AC cooling does not improve with engine speed, I revved the engine at a standstill for a few minutes and it did nothing.

The Engine temperature is normal and the car does not overheat.


I check with an FNG and he is adamant that the compressor and or evaporator needs to be replaced, without even looking at it.

I am suspecting the condenser fan is kaput or the Condenser coil is clogged up. Any ideas what may be going wrong?

Go to any aftermarket ac service guy and tell him to thoroughly clean the condenser and radiator with soap and pressure washer and do a gas recharge as well (Basic car ac service) this should not cost more than 1800 rupees at most.

This should tremendously improve things. If it doesn't, the condenser should be replaced.

[sameerpatel90]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Go to any aftermarket ac service guy and tell him to thoroughly clean the condenser and radiator with soap and pressure washer and do a gas recharge as well (Basic car ac service) this should not cost more than 1800 rupees at most.

This should tremendously improve things. If it doesn't, the condenser should be replaced.

You're not wrong about the mentioned procedure but not always the condenser and radiator cleaning should be done especially with pressurized water as this can lead to damage of the fins. This job must be performed only when there is excessive dust accumulation.

Not to forget the quality of ac oil recovered must be analysed for any sort of debris (metal wear and tear from the compressor). If this is the case removal of compressor and a thorough check shall provide us sufficient results to conclude for repair / replacement. Additionally, some of the condenser's have an option of replacing the condenser filter this shall bring down the cost of repair job, if this component has no such option the last resort is to replace the condenser itself. The possibility of replacement of condenser is less instead there are other components which needs proper and careful cleaning operations (ac lines, expansion valve, HVAC- heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit, blower assembly).

In conclusion, each concern must be taken up with keen observation of customer voice and accordingly perform only the necessary repair so that the customer is not burdened with surprising repair costs.

[chaudh2s]

If there is only one fan for radiator and condenser, check if the high speed fan is working or not. To check this bring the engine to normal operating temperature (drive around for 15-20minutes) so that the radiator fan starts working intermittently, keep the ac off so that you can judge when the fan switches on. Now stop the car, keep it idling, open the hood, wait for fan to start (you may race the engine a bit to start the fan), as soon as radiator fan switches on, switch on the ac. If you see a perceptible increase in fan speed, it means your fan is fine, problem lies elsewhere, but if the fan speed doesn’t increase, it means high speed fan is not working, and it needs fixing.

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by virage

-The AC does not blow cold air at standstill during the daytime.
-When the car gets up to speed, the AC starts blowing cold air and stops immediately when the car stops moving.
-When the car starts for the first time in the morning the first few minutes are cold.
-The cooling is very good during the night and long drives.

I had exactly same problem in my Chevy Beat.

The culprit was the compressor. Compressor had gone kaput and had pumped tiny aluminum fragments into the entire ac system and pipes and thereby completely choking it. Unfortunately by the time problem was realized, damage was done and I had to replace the entire cooling system

[mh09ad5578]

I have had this problem with my Duster and realized that the radiator fan had a loose connection and was not switching on at all. In motion, the air rushing in caused the conditioned air to flow into the cabin and at idle there was zero cooling. Be wary and get it fixed as in traffic the car may overheat or worse engine might seize.

A simple check for this is to open the bonnet and check if the radiator fan spins when the ac is switched on at full blast with the vehicle at idle.