Servicing of AC in old cars

vebmetal · 9th April 2008, 18:52

I was recently shocked to read Hyundai's labour charges on AC servicing. They had 5 stages, and the labour charges IIRC went up to 10K for the Stage 5 servicing!!!! That is ridiculous. (I saw the chart at Motor Plaza, Mathura Road, and I remember seeing it on their website though it seems to no longer be there).

Anyway, I have a 7 year old Accent, and it's AC is not what it used to be. If there are people in the back seat, it has to be put at maximum power, and even then it doesn't feel that effective. (keep in mind, it was never very good as compared to ACs in the Baleno etc.).

So what are my options to improve it's AC performance?

shuvd · 9th April 2008, 18:55

Get the work done from any non authorized car AC people. Ask them to clean the blower and the associated plumbing. Refill the gas (refrigerant?). A friend recently did the same for his Accent. Total bill came to around 4.5k, with the gas.

revvedup · 9th April 2008, 19:06

another thing remember to check if the AC system uses R12 refrigerant, atleast that's what my 98 Zen had and when I took it for servicing to a local mechanic he almost filled R134A.

Shashank.A · 9th April 2008, 21:43

Wrong gas will almost 'Blow' up the compressor...

The Local AC walla, will gladly service the AC and top up the gas for around Rs.1.5K...

I paid Rs.5 K for all the cleaning, and the cooling coil, the coil itself was Rs.3800.

LLL · 10th April 2008, 19:14

I just got my ac serviced from Samara hyundai for 1200. They gave me that 20% discount as well due to a camp going on.

Mostly you would need only gas topped up and cooling coils cleaned. This brought my AC performance back to original levels.

musicmanaman · 10th April 2008, 20:38

I have spent close to 20k on getting my AC to perform, my car is 99 zen carb.

The 1st local guy told me that the compressor had to be changed, then the evaporator coil, then the condensor and the ac filter bottel, now this he said would be cheaper if bought refurbished, so I agreed to do so, however no relief.

I changed the garage as I lost faith in the 1st one and thought that these guys are taking me for a ride, the 2nd garage said all looks fine but the compressor is weak and we can swith to a more powerfull blower, I agreed, however the air throw has increased but the cooling has futher gone down, and now I think that my earlier compressor was better than this.

I had read some where in this forum, about people switching to Sanden 507 compressors in Maruti 800's, and the performance being very good, however my macheanic says that the Sanden 507 is too big to put into a zen and that it goes into the 800 and Esteems as there is space to fit it in, however in zen there is no space for fitting a Sanden 507.

Now I feel that it I had initially invested in the original unit, the total cost would have been around 20k, but the problem is that I got it done at local garages and the problem is still not fixed even after spending 20k.

I'm lost at the moment and feel fustrated after spending soo much and getting nothing out of it, and the fact that a bigger compressor like Sanden also cannot be fitted into the zen.

I now think about the baleno campressor and wondering if that would fit into the zen, as in the forum Baleno owners have reported the AC performance to be really good.

So far the only cars that I have found the AC to be very good are Alto, and Mahindra Bolero, and heard that the Maruti Baleno AC too is very good, I just hope a solution comes up where my ac performance increases.

rmonie · 10th April 2008, 20:43

Local A/C walla refill is usually around .8 to 1K. You may need to get the blower and condensor cleaned as well given the age of the vehicle. This is contained within the dashboard and may require the entire dash to be opened.

GTO · 11th April 2008, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by vebmetal

I was recently shocked to read Hyundai's labour charges on AC servicing. They had 5 stages, and the labour charges IIRC went up to 10K for the Stage 5 servicing!!!! That is ridiculous. (I saw the chart at Motor Plaza, Mathura Road, and I remember seeing it on their website though it seems to no longer be there).

Before calling the charge ridiculous, lets analyse what procedures / parts are included in that fee. Can you ask them and list it here?

esteem_lover · 11th April 2008, 11:51

Putting in a more powerful compressor would generally also require a bigger condensor, Cooling coil dryer etc, right ? can someone confirm this ?

nishantgandhi · 11th April 2008, 11:55

Veb, go to a reputed AC walla and ask him to do a complete check up and servicing of your AC. I recently enquired about it for my Getz and was quoted 1500-2000 for the entire job.

johy · 11th April 2008, 13:56

Hi,

Been wondering about this one. With around 90% AC use, at what interval should the AC be checked? And at what interval the refill be done?

9th April 2008, 18:52	#1
vebmetal BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 798 Thanked: 21 Times	Servicing of AC in old cars I was recently shocked to read Hyundai's labour charges on AC servicing. They had 5 stages, and the labour charges IIRC went up to 10K for the Stage 5 servicing!!!! That is ridiculous. (I saw the chart at Motor Plaza, Mathura Road, and I remember seeing it on their website though it seems to no longer be there). Anyway, I have a 7 year old Accent, and it's AC is not what it used to be. If there are people in the back seat, it has to be put at maximum power, and even then it doesn't feel that effective. (keep in mind, it was never very good as compared to ACs in the Baleno etc.). So what are my options to improve it's AC performance?
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 18:55	#2
shuvd Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 1,081 Thanked: 7 Times View My Garage	Get the work done from any non authorized car AC people. Ask them to clean the blower and the associated plumbing. Refill the gas (refrigerant?). A friend recently did the same for his Accent. Total bill came to around 4.5k, with the gas. Last edited by shuvd : 9th April 2008 at 18:57.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 19:06	#3
revvedup BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 269 Thanked: 24 Times	another thing remember to check if the AC system uses R12 refrigerant, atleast that's what my 98 Zen had and when I took it for servicing to a local mechanic he almost filled R134A.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 21:43	#4
Shashank.A BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 484 Thanked: 10 Times View My Garage	Wrong gas will almost 'Blow' up the compressor... The Local AC walla, will gladly service the AC and top up the gas for around Rs.1.5K... I paid Rs.5 K for all the cleaning, and the cooling coil, the coil itself was Rs.3800.
	() Thanks

10th April 2008, 19:14	#5
LLL BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Delhi Posts: 635 Thanked: 2 Times	I just got my ac serviced from Samara hyundai for 1200. They gave me that 20% discount as well due to a camp going on. Mostly you would need only gas topped up and cooling coils cleaned. This brought my AC performance back to original levels.
	() Thanks

10th April 2008, 20:38	#6
musicmanaman BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: kolkata Posts: 927 Thanked: 25 Times	I have spent close to 20k on getting my AC to perform, my car is 99 zen carb. The 1st local guy told me that the compressor had to be changed, then the evaporator coil, then the condensor and the ac filter bottel, now this he said would be cheaper if bought refurbished, so I agreed to do so, however no relief. I changed the garage as I lost faith in the 1st one and thought that these guys are taking me for a ride, the 2nd garage said all looks fine but the compressor is weak and we can swith to a more powerfull blower, I agreed, however the air throw has increased but the cooling has futher gone down, and now I think that my earlier compressor was better than this. I had read some where in this forum, about people switching to Sanden 507 compressors in Maruti 800's, and the performance being very good, however my macheanic says that the Sanden 507 is too big to put into a zen and that it goes into the 800 and Esteems as there is space to fit it in, however in zen there is no space for fitting a Sanden 507. Now I feel that it I had initially invested in the original unit, the total cost would have been around 20k, but the problem is that I got it done at local garages and the problem is still not fixed even after spending 20k. I'm lost at the moment and feel fustrated after spending soo much and getting nothing out of it, and the fact that a bigger compressor like Sanden also cannot be fitted into the zen. I now think about the baleno campressor and wondering if that would fit into the zen, as in the forum Baleno owners have reported the AC performance to be really good. So far the only cars that I have found the AC to be very good are Alto, and Mahindra Bolero, and heard that the Maruti Baleno AC too is very good, I just hope a solution comes up where my ac performance increases.
	() Thanks

10th April 2008, 20:43	#7
rmonie BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 231 Thanked: 60 Times View My Garage	Local A/C walla refill is usually around .8 to 1K. You may need to get the blower and condensor cleaned as well given the age of the vehicle. This is contained within the dashboard and may require the entire dash to be opened.
	() Thanks

11th April 2008, 11:51	#9
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Putting in a more powerful compressor would generally also require a bigger condensor, Cooling coil dryer etc, right ? can someone confirm this ?
	() Thanks

11th April 2008, 11:55	#10
nishantgandhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,220 Thanked: 156 Times	Veb, go to a reputed AC walla and ask him to do a complete check up and servicing of your AC. I recently enquired about it for my Getz and was quoted 1500-2000 for the entire job.
	() Thanks

11th April 2008, 13:56	#11
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 972 Thanked: 622 Times View My Garage	AC check interval Hi, Been wondering about this one. With around 90% AC use, at what interval should the AC be checked? And at what interval the refill be done?
	() Thanks