[MileCruncher]

First of all, AFAIK the FORDs like the FIATs have a single fan for both radiator and AC. Well thats how it was in the Ikon. If its the similar case then ideally the fan should be one once you press the AC switch. Since you have observed it in the city, my observation would be that the fan should continuously remain on because even if the compressor work is over, the engine temp would have reached the optimum leading to the thermostats opening the valve onto the radiator and the radiator fan being turned on.

The other primary reasons for the compressor tripping so frequently (switching on and off of the fan is an indication of that) are:

1. Excess gas in the system. Less likely as as per you the AC system till then had not been tampered with
2. Ice formation in the cooling coil leading to the thermostat cutting off. It could be a thermostat fault also.
3. AC relay faulty leading to loose contact

My suggestion for DIY troubleshooting would be the follows:

1. When you feel that this compressor tripping thing starts, get out of the car and open the bonnet.
2. Check everytime the fan goes off, whether the compressor also stops working or not and if it comes back again when the fan starts.
3. This will identify whether the problem is in the AC circuit or the cooling circuit.
4. If the problem is found in the AC circuit, follow the above 3 points. compressor should be the last go.
5. If cooling circuit, check the thermostat and waterpump.

Please do report what did you find.

Cheers

[gemithomas]

This was discussed during the initial days of launch and new owners trying to understand their cars. I think its mentioned on my thread too. The behaviour of your a/c is just normal. I suggest you dont let those illiterate a.s.s people fiddle with your car any more for this issue. The a/c compressor on the figo turns on/off every 20-30 seconds if you are idling on a hot sunny afternoon. Every time the compressor comes on we feel a jerk in the car. The probably reason for this behaviour should be 150cc compressor and the rubber engine mounts. The same behaviour is not seen in the Fiesta probably due to the hydraulic mounts.

The reason why they changed your condenser is that quite a few of the initial figo's had a condenser problem and probably that was the only knowledge that your a.s.s people had when you complained about the a/c.

PLEASE dont worry about this. Its quite normal behaviour on the Figo. AND PLEASE do not let the A.S.S guys fiddle with your car any more.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

illiterate a.s.s people fiddle with your car any more for this issue.
PLEASE dont worry about this. Its quite normal behaviour on the Figo. AND PLEASE do not let the A.S.S guys fiddle with your car any more.

Precisely. I too am sick of the knowledge or lack of it. Being in a small town with very few independent garage, I am determined to go the SS only for my regular service and am driving my Car carefully.

The A/C fan kicks in every 10 secs or so if the Car is let idle. I believe its normal as long as no warning lamp glows on the dashboard to warn you.

Wonder how Tirthankar (DRIVOBLOG) must have slept for 6 hours in his Car. He must be feeling like he is sleeping in a rocking bed.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Wonder how Tirthankar (DRIVOBLOG) must have slept for 6 hours in his Car. He must be feeling like he is sleeping in a rocking bed.

Slept in his car for 6 hours with AC..Isn't that dangerous?

A few of years back when heavy rains caused road blocks here in Chennai one evening, and vehicles were all stranded in the arterial roads of Chennai, 2 IT guys did the same in their Santro and the next morning they both were found dead in the car.
It was attributed to the low levels of oxygen and a high amount of toxic gases, in a manual AC car.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by Daewood

Slept in his car for 6 hours with AC..Isn't that dangerous?

A couple of years back when heavy rains caused road blocks here in Chennai one evening, and vehicles were all stranded in the arterial roads of Chennai, 2 IT guys did the same in their Santro and the next morning they both were found dead in the car.
It was attributed to the low levels of oxygen and a high amount of toxic gases, in a manual AC car.

It happened in Delhi also, It happens when the standing water on the roads due to the rains blocks the exhaust pipe and this forces exhaust gases to enter the cabin through the AC vents.

[Diesel lover]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Precisely. I too am sick of the knowledge or lack of it. Being in a small town with very few independent garage, I am determined to go the SS only for my regular service and am driving my Car carefully.

The A/C fan kicks in every 10 secs or so if the Car is let idle. I believe its normal as long as no warning lamp glows on the dashboard to warn you.

Wonder how Tirthankar (DRIVOBLOG) must have slept for 6 hours in his Car. He must be feeling like he is sleeping in a rocking bed.

Can you please post the link to this post/thread where Tirthankar (DRIVOBLOG) mentions the same about sleeping for 6 hours in figo.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Diesel lover

Can you please post the link to this post/thread where Tirthankar (DRIVOBLOG) mentions the same about sleeping for 6 hours in figo.

IIRC it was covered in Dream Carz publication.

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

First of all, AFAIK the FORDs like the FIATs have a single fan for both radiator and AC. Well thats how it was in the Ikon. If its the similar case then ideally the fan should be one once you press the AC switch. Since you have observed it in the city, my observation would be that the fan should continuously remain on because even if the compressor work is over, the engine temp would have reached the optimum leading to the thermostats opening the valve onto the radiator and the radiator fan being turned on.

The other primary reasons for the compressor tripping so frequently (switching on and off of the fan is an indication of that) are:

1. Excess gas in the system. Less likely as as per you the AC system till then had not been tampered with
2. Ice formation in the cooling coil leading to the thermostat cutting off. It could be a thermostat fault also.
3. AC relay faulty leading to loose contact

My suggestion for DIY troubleshooting would be the follows:

1. When you feel that this compressor tripping thing starts, get out of the car and open the bonnet.
2. Check everytime the fan goes off, whether the compressor also stops working or not and if it comes back again when the fan starts.
3. This will identify whether the problem is in the AC circuit or the cooling circuit.
4. If the problem is found in the AC circuit, follow the above 3 points. compressor should be the last go.
5. If cooling circuit, check the thermostat and waterpump.

Please do report what did you find.

Cheers

While I tend to agree with the other guys that this is just normal behaviour, I still think it is something wrong with the A/C.

My Figo is about 14 months old. I have done about 38,000 Kms across all kinds of roads. A lot of highway trips.

The only area where I have faced problems is the A/C.

Earlier while on highways with a lot of heat A/C would just cut off. The blowere would be blowing but only air will come in, no cooling. It will not work for a day or two after that and then start working suddenly by itself.

The same thing happened last rainy season also. Remember this was when the car was less than 6-8 months old.

Twice I tookl it to A.S.S and twice they changed the thermistor. The second time they said even kept the car for three days to observe.

In May this year the problem happened again. It disappeared after 2 days.
They changed the thermistor again.


About a couple of days ago, I was on a trip when on a the highway the blower started acting as if it is clogged or something. The air flow gradually reduced and when i increased fan speed sounded like it was clogged accomponied by a whining sound.After a couple of minutes, white smoke started pouring out of the blower. It was more like condensation smoke for want of other word and vents had moisture on them. I turned the A/C off opened the bonnet and checked and everything fine.

I turned off the A/C for a couple of hours tried again and it worked fine. Then the problem reappeared after another hour. It is like every one hour the problem shows up and disappears if switch it off for a couple of hours. Very frustrating.

A friend of mine says this is because of a problem with the blower coil. I'm planning to ask them to change the whole damn A/C unit.

Anyone had the same experience?

[Prass]

Seems your thermostat is fine. What I feel is less volume of air flows through the evaporator coil and hence ice forming in between the coil fins which blocks further airflow. The AC will cut off at this time and you will feel less cooling . This can be due to a clogged AC filter, faulty blower fan or some air is byepassing the evaporator coil most common being clogged AC filter. get this checked will be easy to fix. Also do a pressure wash to clean your condensor/ Radiator.

[fiery enzyme]

Ok I'm going to check my evaporator coil, maybe that is faulty.

Btw the haven't replaced my AC cowl filter. According to the manual it says it needs to be replaced in the 20k service. I asked them about in the 30k but they missed it again. They have offered to get it replaced if I come in. SO I'm going to get it replaced. Let us see how it goes.

[scorpio07]

Hey Guys ,
I am facing kind of similar issue, i hear an Hissing sound, initially thought it was from CD player. So took the disc out, then turned the audio off, still i get a hissing sound. its a brief sound for less than a second, sometime it occurs every minute sometimes every 2,3 or 5 minutes. I tried turning the AC off and the sound is gone, the moment i turn the AC ON it starts again. Its been happening for quite sometime, problem being even when playing music its loud enough to hear it. Anyone else facing this situation, my car is 2 years old. Its quite an irritant that kills driving. If you have faced this issue, has it been rectified and what was the solution.

Scorp

[tharian]

Originally Posted by scorpio07

Hey Guys ,
I am facing kind of similar issue, i hear an Hissing sound, initially thought it was from CD player. So took the disc out, then turned the audio off, still i get a hissing sound. its a brief sound for less than a second, sometime it occurs every minute sometimes every 2,3 or 5 minutes. I tried turning the AC off and the sound is gone, the moment i turn the AC ON it starts again. Its been happening for quite sometime, problem being even when playing music its loud enough to hear it. Anyone else facing this situation, my car is 2 years old. Its quite an irritant that kills driving. If you have faced this issue, has it been rectified and what was the solution.

Scorp

I do not think it is any issue as such. I have heard the same hissing noise when I turn on the a/c as well on my Figo petrol.
It is probably the sound of the a/c gas being injected and lasts just for a second.

But, in my case, the sound occurs only when I manually turn on the a/c. In your case, it seems it occurs everytime the a/c automatically cuts off and then on.
Dont think you should worry and inform the service center when you drop off the car for regular service.

[racer_m]

Originally Posted by scorpio07

Hey Guys ,
I am facing kind of similar issue, i hear an Hissing sound, initially thought it was from CD player. So took the disc out, then turned the audio off, still i get a hissing sound. its a brief sound for less than a second, sometime it occurs every minute sometimes every 2,3 or 5 minutes. I tried turning the AC off and the sound is gone, the moment i turn the AC ON it starts again. Its been happening for quite sometime, problem being even when playing music its loud enough to hear it. Anyone else facing this situation, my car is 2 years old. Its quite an irritant that kills driving. If you have faced this issue, has it been rectified and what was the solution.

Scorp

Yes I too have observed it. the only difference being that I think I hear a gurgling sound rather than a hissing one
I too think that its the sound of gas circulating in the pipes, and nothing major to worry about.

[yogeshnaik]

Until any diagnostic errors are not logged from the sensors, it is fine. You may ask the service personnel to check if any ECU errors for sensors are logged. Also there is a parameter value adjustment for the sensors that is done by your service personnel.

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by scorpio07

Hey Guys ,
I am facing kind of similar issue, i hear an Hissing sound, initially thought it was from CD player. So took the disc out, then turned the audio off, still i get a hissing sound. its a brief sound for less than a second, sometime it occurs every minute sometimes every 2,3 or 5 minutes. I tried turning the AC off and the sound is gone, the moment i turn the AC ON it starts again. Its been happening for quite sometime, problem being even when playing music its loud enough to hear it. Anyone else facing this situation, my car is 2 years old. Its quite an irritant that kills driving. If you have faced this issue, has it been rectified and what was the solution.

Scorp

My Figo is 2 years old today!

Is the "hissing" sound like a snake hissing or does it sound more like a "bad plumbing pipes" gurgling hissing?
I am asking that because I was getting a gurgling-hissing kind of sound from the air conditioner in my car. I asked the SA to clean out the filter (see http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ford-figo.html) and also re-gas the system when I got the car serviced 2 weeks back. It seems to have sorted out the hissing sound.