Team-BHP - Cleaning the Dusthouse

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravigop (Post 2766368)

Yes its true, but how old is your vehicle ? Once in 5 yrs or 80k KM its better to do this. The actual procedure is
1. to recycle the refrigerent & drain the engine coolant (if your car has HVAC)
...
6. reinstall the evaporator (with new o rings) and heater core lines.

yes, but this is not your regular aircon cleaning procedure, right? this is for cleaning the whole aircon system once in lets say 5yrs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravigop (Post 2766368)

The actual procedure is
1. to recycle the refrigerent & drain the engine coolant (if your car has HVAC)
2. remove the ac line from evaporator and heater lines from heater core
3. dismantle the dash remove the aircon unit out of car.
4. take out the evaporator and clean with running water
5. dry with mild compressed air.
6. reinstall the evaporator (with new o rings) and heater core lines.

Now its important to vaccum the AC lines for 30 - 45 mins before you fill the actual amount of refrigerant (mean for your car) in it and check for any leaks in the process.

I recently changed my AC compressor coil by FASS, would they have done the cleaning as mentioned in your post? Or is this a even more complicated procedure, which will be done only if the owner requests it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronH4WK (Post 2766569)

yes, but this is not your regular aircon cleaning procedure, right? this is for cleaning the whole aircon system once in lets say 5yrs.

Air con doesn't need to be cleaned very frequently, ofcourse those without cabin airfilters will get dirty driving in dusty road conditions but that alone will not cause any harm. Normally a aircon evaporator needs cleaning & flushing only when the cooling becomes ineffective or when algae smell comes out of AC vents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optimus7 (Post 2766677)

I assume you mean "AC Compressor" there is nothing named "Compressor Coil". Eitheir its just "AC compressor" or "Evaporator Coil". If you replaced just compressor then they would've done everything except dismantling the dash and taking the evaporator out & cleaning. The recovery, refill procedure & flushing would have happened.

@ravigop: They dismantled the dash, what they replaced was a coil, so i think it should be the 'Evaporator coil' or 'Cooling coil'. It was like a rectangular mesh filter kind of thing, the size was 1 x 1 feet.
I was informed that in Fiesta this coil is bound to last only 2 years. Entire cost was about 8K.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optimus7 (Post 2766809)

Yes thats true, its Evaporator coil or Cooling coil. I'm aware of the problem in old fiestas that will screw up the evaporator coil due to excess refrigerant pressure & vibrations in AC lines during engine start. This was a design issue which is ofcourse fixed in the newer generation fiestas.

My car has done 75K km. Mine is a fully auto HVAC that goes to select Fresh Air mode every single time I start the car! Again mine is a used car and when I opened the so called "AC pollen filter" to clean it, just like many others, i found none! The filter was removed and thrown by the previous owner.

Hyundai person told me this is the first thing they do when ever they get complains about "less cooling" (with the consent of owner). Also this filter is just above the motor. So in both modes, fresh and recirculation, air flows through it.

Hyundai says they can clean whole HVAC by removing dash for around 4000 INR.
3M says for approx 900, they can do the AC VENT cleaning treatment, which is for cleaning of vents. I want the evaporator also to be cleaned.

3M AC foam is NOT available for retail sale.

So now ordering OWS spray and taking of dash (DIY) in Diwali!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optimus7

@Himan: So the can is good for cleaning a car 5 times, then I guess its good value for money.
How long does the freshness last? In chennai it will be great if it can last a month, before requiring cleaning again.

easily a month. might vary though on a case to case basis. other options now available in ebay.in as well.

another alternative product is ABRO AC-100. While searching, I found it on Storeji's website and asked him to list on ebay.in, which is done now. http://www.ebay.in/itm/ws/eBayISAPI....04291460#rpdId Price is INR 788.

if there is no negative remark, then I will buy it. pl comment.

thanks,

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcpranav (Post 2940778)

I have placed an order for it. The delivery should be made in a week. Will post more after I use it. Only 10 more pieces are left it seems, so purchased it, my AC badly needs one.:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optimus7

I have placed an order for it. The delivery should be made in a week. Will post more after I use it. Only 10 more pieces are left it seems, so purchased it, my AC badly needs one.:D

Please post a review of the same once you have used it

Today I finally got time to use the ABRO product. The procedure was similar to the one explained in the video posted above. Was very easy to use. After injecting the content in all 4 ac vents, I could see water being drained out beneath the car. Couldn't make out whether it was clean or dirt mixed with water. Left it for 10 minutes, then switched on AC with blower set to speed 4, for about 15 minutes in fresh air mode.
Once the procedure was complete took the car out for a spin, the smell was pleasant. Can smell a great difference in AC, but since its been only a day, I will hold my judgement till a couple of weeks have passed.
The can will really last for 3-4 sprays.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ascertain (Post 1285950)

Hi everyone-

How many of you regularly clean up your AC vents? - especially those of yo who drive around mostly in the city- which is an environment of dust and smoke?

P.S: Try cleaning your vents , and do post your results.

HI Ascertain. Also would like to know if you do clean the filter in the cabin or only the vents??

I feel dust and dirt will accumulate in the blower box and filter as well. Would be great if you could tell me something about this please:

@Suhas

Yes the A/C filter in the cars does need a thorough cleaning, but I don't think that they do that at the service centers.
It is a bit difficult to access the A/C Filter- which is a mesh like structure,and if I'm not mistaken- there is a thread on that- with detailed pics on how to do it yourself.
I have not yet done it because of time constraints- but look forward to it soon.

For the present thread- i only cleaned the A/C vents- all the way till the bottom. That itself makes a huge difference.
In case you have a musty odor in the car during turning on the A/C - then the filter definitely needs a cleaning.