Aircon problem

Hi All,

Looking for some advice on an issue with my air conditioning in my 07 Jimny with factory fitted A/C. I took it in for a regas yesterday and on the way home the the high pressure line exploded with a bang and puff of smoke, spraying grey fluid every where (refrigerant?). See pictures attached. Looks like the line feeding from the condenser to the compressor?

Any ideas on what could have caused this and how this can be diagnosed/fixed? I have it booked in with the garage next week to assess. Is this safe to drive without causing more damage?

Thanks,
David

Hi,
I use to work for Halfords and one of the services they offered was an Aircon regas / top up, so I have successfully done a few in my time. Roll forward to my Jimny ownership (no longer at Halfords) and I decided the Aircon could do with a top up, so connected my STP kit and proceeded to top up.
It was impossible to get the correct low pressure reading, so I kept adding refrigerant in an attempt to get the dial in the correct zone. Got it in the correct area but noticed the load was so great on my compressor that the electric clutch was starting to slip, the compressor was almost stalling. I know this is not good so I removed some refrigerant, now possibly too much, and got the compressor happy again.
The thing to note is that for me (or at least on my Jimny), the Aircon top up did not appear to follow the rules and I had possibly over gassed it in an attempt to get the correct readings. Is it possible they have done the same?
I am by no means an Aircon expert, but my Jimny is not following the simple Halfords or STP top up instructions.

Yes You can drive without damage so long as your air con compressor clutch is disengaged and you are not turning it. It should be if the Aircon is off, but they can rust on / off.
If you look at the compressor the inner part of the pulley should not be turning with the Aircon off if all is working.
Hope this helps a little.

Probably also lubrication oil was part of the grey fluid. The refrigerant itself should evaporate and is not poisonous if it is not heated or inhaled through a cigarette.

When you refill the AC system, make sure that you also check for the oil content.

Thanks for the reply RainerK - didn't realise compressor oil was combined with the gas. See picture attached of the light grey oil down the side of the car..it's everywhere in the engine bay. Will check oil when refilling and replacing lines etc hopefully nothing else broken,

Thanks
David

First thoughts are it was pressured up too high at refill. Not sure about driving it with all the gas gone, it contains lubricant for compressor. I’d check with garage 1st.

Good info there Scimike. Now I understand a bit more about Jimny a/c. I did fridge plant maintenance offshore & on ships.
I was poking around my Jimny gen3 ac today, (not driven it much due to lockdown). I’d found condenser fan wiring was disconnected at plug maybe after maintenance. I seemed to get cool air without the ac being on, and when it was switched on it took a while for the fan to run. At idling speed engine seemed to increase revs when switching ac on. Glad to hear it’s an electric clutch on compressor, makes sense now, ta.