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Air Condtioner Efficiency

AfricaXJ6

NAXJA Forum User
Location
South Africa
Hi Guys;

I just had my aircon compressor repaired by an air con garage.

When i bought the vehicle the aircon did not work so i cannot compare.

when i collect the jeep from the shop and drove it home ; the outside temperature was about 32 degrees celcius.To me the aircon did not coll the inside effectively AND it did not feel very cold.I dorve form about 20 minutes and left the vehicle at home

The garage told me that they replaced the compressor;regassed the system and also checked for elaks using the dye.

Can anyone tell me effective are the jeep air conditioners.What temperature can i expect inside cabin with fan on full?

When i compare the effect of teh aircon with my wifes VW Golf; I must say that the Golf air con seems more potent.

Please offer some comments.

regards
collin
 
You should bring it back and tell them it NOT performing properly. You may have a leak that looses refrigerant quickly in intermittent cases, i.e. it worked fine at the shop, but lost a lot of refrigerant after you left.

A problem I had in an old mini-van was an intermittently working pressure switch for the fan. When the vehicle was at the shop, it ran great, but as soon as I got the vehicle home the AC malfunctioned again.

The 2.5L has just the engine driven fan, so there really isn't anything to check there.

BUT, if you have the 4.0L, I "believe" it has an electric driven auxiliary fan for the AC. That fan should turn on within seconds, if NOT immediately, of switching on the AC at the highest level and the AC compressor is engaged.

As well, at full load the AC Compessor should be engaged almost constantly. Only when the evaporator (the air coming out of the vents) gets too cold, does the compressor disengage and let the system warm up a little to prevent icing up.

So I would test it out by running the motor and turning the AC on at the highest level with the windows open (Highest Load). Open the hood and watch the compressor and fan, if either is off or cycling on/off while the AC is NOT very cold, then you have a problem with the AC. They shold only be cycling on/off if the AC is running at/near freezing temps. If they are cycling on/off while the AC is fairly warm, then something is wrong, i.e. low refrigerant, bad pressure switches, etc.
 
I see you're in SA - do you use R134a?

If it was an older system with R12, the switch to R134a coolant is less efficient, albeit mandatory in the US due to the 10X price for R12.

Aside from that, if it's an R134a system, optimum pressure is critical to performance rather than volume on recharging. It will overcharge as easily as undercharge. Both reduce performance of the system.

Sounds like a return to check again is best.
 
I run a garage in Phoenix and charge $32lb for R134a and $60lb for R-12. The price difference is not all that much when you consider what it takes to do the swap and do it properly. Like everyone said, take it back, something ain't right.
 
Runnin' here in the desert southwest during the hottest part of the year, my a/c rarely gets to be uncomfortably cold, no matter how long I run it (and I'm a former a/c-refer tech with a finely tuned system). It can definitely take several minutes in the hottest weather (>100*F) to feel like it is working very well at all.
Rear passengers are just S.O.L. ... ;^]

Your system should be working better than described for recently being serviced... so take it back and/or find another service tech.
 
Hi guys;
thanks for the advice.

i will surely take it back.

I must add that when i took it for a drive in the evening; outside temp at 24 degrees celcius; i could feel the air chill when the aircon was on fan setting 2.But i take note of teh experienced comments here.I will check it out again this week end and drive it for longer and follow some of teh checks suggested.If it does not cill inside cabin tehn i will ask teh workshop to check it out again.

Tie Rod:It is r134a ac system.
regards
collin
 
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