[Cruiser_D]

Originally Posted by rohitoasis

I could not understand the 2nd sentence. Could you elaborate for me to check in the next opportunity i accompany him to the service station.

This is the information which I could gather while I faced similar issues couple of weeks back in my Brio. Have attached here a typical AC circuit diagram for automobiles (courtesey image- Honda Tech Forum).

The main comonents of the system are compressor, condensor, receiver drier (or Accumulater) , expansion valve (or orfice tube) and evaporator cooling coil. The evaporator cooling coil is commonly placed below the glove box and rest of the units are seen underneath the bonet.

The system is a closed circuit and once you press the AC button, it engages the compressor clutch which inturn engages the compressor. As a result the refrigerant inside the line gets compressed and turns into a high pressure gas (indicated in red in the diagram). The high pressure gas enter the condensor unit which pushes the warm air out and turn the refrigerant gas into liquid state, but still in high pressure form. The liquid line is further connected to the receiver drier which removes the moisture and contaminants and pushes the refrigerent liquid to expansion valve. The expansion valve opens out to the low pressure line of the system (indicated in blue) and the low pressure refrigerant liquid enters the evaporator cooling coil. The cooling coil is supplied by air with the help of evaporator blower and pushes the cool air inside through the ac vents. The vaporized refrigerent is converted into gas form and is pushed to compressor through the return line. And the operation cycle continues.

There are metering ports available at low and high pressure sides of the circuits. Typical values which we see in our temperature conditions are 30-35 PSI for low side and 180-185 PSI for high side at idle (guess this range would be similar for all manufacturers).

[rohitoasis]

Originally Posted by Cruiser_D

There are metering ports available at low and high pressure sides of the circuits. Typical values which we see in our temperature conditions are 30-35 PSI for low side and 180-185 PSI for high side at idle (guess this range would be similar for all manufacturers).

Thanks. Fairly clear now. So next time i should be able to inquire if this was the evaporator or the condensor which conked off and if it was indeed leakage i should find out what kind of pressure drop they are seeing in the circuit. Thanks again for your time and patience in explaining. Appreciate it.

[Drmani]

Originally Posted by Drmani

Hello friends, I have a four year old Renault fluence E2 diesel which has run trouble free for over 85000kms. The car was serviced only at ASS. Recently I have been experiencing Air conditioning issues with it. I had taken it to Mr. Suresh today, he said that the compressor, cooling coil has to be changed and quoted around 48000 including labour. The cooling coil had once been changed under warranty at around 50000 kms. My query is the market rate. The breakup is 13000 for cooling coil, 10000-12000 for compressor and 7000 for labour. Kindly advice.

I had then consulted Raghav From IGNITE, he checked and suggested a refrigerant top up and observe. When trying to fill gas the mechanic found out that it was not taking up the gas. He suggested me to take it to ASS as the car is such a rarity these days and procuring spares for the same would be difficult. I took it to ASS they checked and came to a conclusion saying they needed to change the whole AC unit, Compressor and gave a quote of 140000. I just lost it and sent a stinging email to RENAULT head office with CC to RENAULT INDIA, GM, President and forwarded all the previous mail exchanges since the time I was facing this issue. I wasnt expecting any reply, but to my amazement I received a call from RENAULT INDIA and promised me a follow up. Since the car is a high mileage one and out of warranty they agreed to waive of 50% of the cost as a good will gesture. The car is still in ASS at the moment and parts have been ordered. Thank you all for your advises.

[avis4398]

So I went to Suresh Car AC in T Nagar today. I had been having some issues with the cooling in my Ritz (2009, VXi, 82,000 kms) and decided to give Suresh a shot. When I called him to set up an appointment, he heard my issues and sure enough, said that it most probably was a cooling coil issue. However, he would like to inspect the car and then decide on the course of action to take. After checking the pressure of the gas etc, he came to the conclusion that the coil was indeed the problem.

He quoted seven thousand rupees for the job. Four thousand for the coil and three thousand for the labour. His guys then proceeded to dismantle the entire dashboard. When they finally got to the coil, it was filthy and what looked like coolant had leaked all over it. I wasn't surprised that I was having issues with the cooling! And the cabin AC filter was also missing from the unit. I'm assuming the MASS guys had forgotten to replace it when they "overhauled" the unit about a year and a half ago.

The difference after the work was done was astounding! I'm guessing I just got used to the low cooling levels and took it for granted. The AC feels like new, if not better! I stayed with the car throughout. The entire process took about four and half hours. Suresh kept checking on progress every so often. I feel that it was worth every rupee I paid. He also installed a new cabin filter. Total came to 7,600 rupees plus a service charge of 3% for swiping my card.

Now for the negatives. In spite of me repeatedly telling one of the technicians to be careful with the Bluetooth mic wire, on my way home the wire popped out of the trim. I undid the trim and re routed the wire. They could have certainly been more careful. More importantly, they fitted the steering wheel kind of upside down. Basically, when I'm driving in a straight line, I can see the clock in the speedo console but now I can't because the steering orientation has been changed. This is very disorienting for me. I called Suresh and told him about both issues. He has asked me to come back tomorrow and he he will set things right. The AC work is fantastic but I'm not very impressed with the way things were put back together.

Will I go back there again? Yes. But I will be ten times more vigilant than I was today.

[Cruiser_D]

Originally Posted by Drmani

I had then consulted Raghav From IGNITE, he checked and suggested a refrigerant top up and observe. When trying to fill gas the mechanic found out that it was not taking up the gas. He suggested me to take it to ASS as the car is such a rarity these days and procuring spares for the same would be difficult. I took it to ASS they checked and came to a conclusion saying they needed to change the whole AC unit, Compressor and gave a quote of 140000. I just lost it and sent a stinging email to RENAULT head office with CC to RENAULT INDIA, GM, President and forwarded all the previous mail exchanges since the time I was facing this issue. I wasnt expecting any reply, but to my amazement I received a call from RENAULT INDIA and promised me a follow up. Since the car is a high mileage one and out of warranty they agreed to waive of 50% of the cost as a good will gesture. The car is still in ASS at the moment and parts have been ordered. Thank you all for your advises.

Disheartening to hear that whole unit failed after 4 years. But good to know that Renault is ready to waive off half of the cost.

When they mention whole unit, which all components are they going to replace. Does it include all the main components like condenser, compressor, cooling coil, dryer? It is quite strange that everything failed together.

Since they specifically mentioned compressor needs to be changed, it could be a faulty compressor clutch or the compressor itself. But it is generally quite easy to check whether compressor is running or not, and if it is not then I am not sure why Raghav even tried re filling.

I suggest that you get a clear picture from ASS on the components they are going to replace so that we get a fair idea on the probable root cause of this issue.

[greenhorn]

Recent feedback from folks has been that if you go to suresh, he will changes the coil regardless of it is needed or not (and charges a bomb for it) - he will show you an old and dirty coil - which is of course old and dirty, but not sure if it really needs to be replaced
In my case, my issue persisted even after coil replacement, and was fixed only once some other valve was replaced, making me wonder if the coil replacement was needed in the first place

Wondering if anyone had a similar experience. My Rating goes down from 5 to 4. He is still effective, but he's becoming more like an ASC as he gets more customers, and the focus shifts towards less troubleshooting and more replacement

[dre@ms]

Rats have messed my engine bay wiring and hence the AC compressor isnt turning on. Steady engine alert icon is displayed in the RPM area and the alert displayed in the device connected to OBD port is Engine coolant circuit faulty. Make shift mechanic has identified that the line to compressor is at fault since the direct line turns on the compressor. Any mechanic available today at Annanagar area?

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Make shift mechanic has identified that the line to compressor is at fault since the direct line turns on the compressor. Any mechanic available today at Annanagar area?

I know a guy in kilpauk/Kelley's who just replaced the complete air conditioning system in my 11 year old swift. My close friends brother is a mechanic and this ac guy is in his same building.

[rkv_2401]

I went to Suresh Car AC to get my Elantra's AC repaired in July or August 2017. I will leave my observations below, for anyone who may find it useful.

1) Getting to his workshop is a pain. Getting out of there is even more complicated. My GPS wasn't working properly, and I found myself stuck in a tiny street that had been closed off for a temple's celebrations. I couldn't even get the car turned at an intersection and had to reverse for a while to get to a road big enough to turn around.

2) The A.C service is really good. The Hyundai A.S.S asked for 45k to replace the compressor, without even giving me a guarantee that it would work after doing that. Suresh asked for 9k to replace the evaporator coil, inclusive of labor charges, and the A.C is now way cooler than ever before. Seriously, it can freeze your fingers at lower temperatures!

3) Suresh asked for a couple of days' time to open the dashboard and inform me of his observations. My car is the 2004 model, so I was just happy that he was willing to service such an old vehicle. I was initially apprehensive of leaving the car behind, but after entering the workshop I noticed some Innovas and other, more expensive MPV/SUVs that were getting their roof AC serviced. This assured me and I left the car there for 3 or 4 days. He personally recommended that I remove the Bluetooth adapter when I go(not that I was planning on leaving it behind. :P). Chatted with him, and he told me about how he has been servicing car ACs since the launch of the Hyundai Santro in 1998 or so.

4) Although his A.C service is good, he messed something up with the wiring and the dashboard light stopped glowing. Couldn't rectify it. Whilst it was irksome, I've found that the dashboard light on my car is particularly touchy, and it was an easy fix at the A.S.S. They didn't even charge me anything!

[Padmesh]

Are there any good AC mechanics in Adyar side?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Padmesh

Are there any good AC mechanics in Adyar side?

Guy named Damodaran in Shastri Nagar. The right (when coming from LB road) next to Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam, then look to your left and there’s a small alley between an apartment complex and a tea shop. Damodaran’s shed is the first shop in the lane, to your right (it’s narrow and Tata aces are parked in it so drive carefully there will be like half an inch clearance at times)

[Padmesh]

Thank you, hserus, my 2014 Corolla serviced this Thursday/Friday by Harsha Toyota (annual regular service). They have topped up refrigerant and observed overnight for any pressure drop. They say it is holding. Now the AC cooling is good. If I face any further issues I will check with AC mechanic suggested by you.
Thanks again.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Padmesh

Thank you, hserus, my 2014 Corolla serviced this Thursday/Friday by Harsha Toyota (annual regular service). They have topped up refrigerant and observed overnight for any pressure drop. They say it is holding. Now the AC cooling is good. If I face any further issues I will check with AC mechanic suggested by you.
Thanks again.

AC is a sealed system and will not lose gas normally. You’re going to see the topped up gas slowly drain out within say two weeks.

At that car age most likely the cooling coil might need to be changed.