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[dbug]

2.5V6 Auto Elite.
Had Kwik Fit regass aircon 2day - now icy cold but "smoke" coming from front of car.  Checked & it looks like condensor leaking at bottom left hand corner - not smoke but gas + signs on floor under of dye.

Question - could this have been caused by KFit over gassing as I( wasn't over impressed with their knowledge or answers to my questions.  They said it needed gas and leak tested ok.

Other question - is there a howto on swapping condensor out (i can get it vacuumed FOC prior to removal), and maybe refilled by KFit FOC.

[sassanach]

its quite common for a ac system to vacumn perfectly only to subsequently dump all its gas when its charged.by the sound of it you wont need to retrieve the gas because its probably all gone with that size of leak!!.

[hotel21]

Take it back to QF and complain.  They should have found the fault whilst testing.  Also, they have a duty of care not to dump AC gas into the wide blue yonder and cost you cash at the same time....

[dbug]

Take it back to QF and complain.  They should have found the fault whilst testing.  Also, they have a duty of care not to dump AC gas into the wide blue yonder and cost you cash at the same time....

You're right - will contact them next week & keep u posted.
Thanx

[lee4206]

2.5V6 Auto Elite.
Had Kwik Fit regass aircon 2day - now icy cold but "smoke" coming from front of car.  Checked & it looks like condensor leaking at bottom left hand corner - not smoke but gas + signs on floor under of dye.

Question - could this have been caused by KFit over gassing as I( wasn't over impressed with their knowledge or answers to my questions.  They said it needed gas and leak tested ok.Other question - is there a howto on swapping condensor out (i can get it vacuumed FOC prior to removal), and maybe refilled by KFit FOC.

I doubt it was caused by overfilling as the machine we use is automated. All we do is put in the car details and its internal database loads the amounts.  But on the other point most of us know how to use the machine(its very simple)  but not the ins and outs of how the aircon system works or components.  I would of thought you should be able to get a refill after you fix it without any problems as the leak wasnt picked up. (just dont leave it too long before you contact them or get it done).
lee (kf employee)

[Mr Skrunts]

Sorry Lee, but I have to agree with the others.  This day and age we cant afford the gas leaks.

Local regagassers and air con specialts locally all test for leaks first.  being able to use a machine is just not good enough.  We pay good money for the service by what I thought was a trained engineer, the cost of gas cant be that much.

I think leak testing should be made compulsary in these circumstances.

Rant over, nothing personal Lee, it's your company policy that needs the sort out.

[lee4206]

Sorry Lee, but I have to agree with the others.  This day and age we cant afford the gas leaks.

Local regagassers and air con specialts locally all test for leaks first.  being able to use a machine is just not good enough.  We pay good money for the service by what I thought was a trained engineer, the cost of gas cant be that much.

I think leak testing should be made compulsary in these circumstances.

Rant over, nothing personal Lee, it's your company policy that needs the sort out.

No need  I agree with the others too I was just trying to point out it probably wasnt over gased.   And I also agree with you they should give more indepth training and let us get more involved as we're not supplied with uv dye or aloud to use it.
lee

[Mike Collins]

As an aside, if gas leaks are such a problem, why is the condensor the first thing to be destroyed in an accident?

A sense of proportion needed?

[hotel21]

As an aside, if gas leaks are such a problem, why is the condensor the first thing to be destroyed in an accident?

A sense of proportion needed?

It needs the cooling air flow the most.  The pump and evaporator in the car do not.....

[Mike Collins]

Agreed, I probably worded it badly, but my point was the almost paranoia about gas escapes.

[Taxi_Driver]

Agreed, I probably worded it badly, but my point was the almost paranoia about gas escapes.

When my aircon packed up.......i used a local guy, used him before........after checking i had no gas in the system (checked for pressure)......first thing he did was fill the system with nitrogen.......that isnt gonna harm the enviroment......and watched his pressure guages......they keep falling.....he found the leak.......unfortunately for me it was on a pipe attached to the condenser........so needed new condensor.....£300 summat   later it was working again  

[Entwood]

I believe (?) the present law requires a garage (?) to ensure there are no leaks in a system prior to gassing.

To this end they are SUPPOSED to do the degas/nitrogen test/regas procedure...  but what a lot ACTUALLY do is to check if there is pressure in system .. any pressure is deemed as being proof there is no leak, and off they go.

This is NOT a good check.

They also use their machines to inject the "correct" amount of refrigerant (in grams) ... but many don't actually calibrate for the length of hose between machine and car ....... this can lead to a significant underfill of the system.

I have no proof of any of the above, it was all told to me while my major air con problem was being fixed, however the printouts from the specialists machine were far more detailed than the one from the exhaust/tyre place ... and comparing the figures seemed to prove the arguments....

HTH

[markrl]

Unfortunately if you go the cheap route to Kwik Fit you get a refill from someone with an expensive machine but limited knowledge in this area. This is fine if your a/c is basically working and just needs a top up BUT if it also has other problems you need someone with specialist knowledge and experience. At kwik Fit you are then basically stuffed. You then end up paying twice as you will need to go somewhere else to get your leak or other problem sorted and then the system once again regassed. A good specialist a/c outfit will undoubtedly cost you a little more but at least they will have the specialist knowledge to fix the problem. Unfortunately as the Omega has now been out of production for 5 years the chances of only needing a simple top up are diminishing as time flashes by. We the Omega community are now all driving around in what the trade would call "Bangers"        

[Entwood]

I can do nothing but agree with markrl .... on mine the problem started as poor cooling ... the exhaust/tyre place (not KF as it happens) did a regas .. made no difference .. they then ran out of ideas ...

It was only information from HERE that enabled me to go back and force ( and it took a while) them to do a full pressure check - the first guy didn't even know how to !! - that revealed a "problem" ...

Which is how I ended up at the specialists .. who proved the regas wasn't full.. and the high pressure side was too low ..

[Kevin Wood]

The way I see it, KF is a way to get a cheap regas but they have their "money back guarantee" for a reason - because if a regas doesn't work they know full well they are stuffed.

If you go to such a place and they don't get it working demand a refund. I did. Had to write snotty letters to them but it happened in the end. This may be a more worthwhile route than going to a specialist and paying twice as much for the regas in the first place. :-/

Kevin