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.

Hi Clutha, thanks, no Aircon expert though, can't quite get mine to work 100% at the moment due to my regas issue. I have a plan to gas it until the fan cuts in / out at the same ratio as a good one, then call it quits.
Yes the rpm will increase to about 900 - 1000 with the AC on to compensate for the load of the compressor, it's normal.
Mike

I’ve been studying owners manual (unusual for me!) and see that mixing gases is a no no. Also charging video showing pressure gauge connected between lp side and gas canister, sounds the safest way to me.
Recharging systems I worked on was a totally different procedure, but our lecturers made vehicle recharging sound simple.
Just studied some YouTube stuff and am now sure my ac compressor clutch is stuck on. Accounts for rubbish fuel consumption, & less than brilliant heater performance.

R12 was quite a nasty gas.....134A not so much so....no idea how much oil was in the system but oil is hard to compress.....nigh on impossible in fact.

Replace the pipe and have it evacuated and refilled with the correct amount of oil and pressure of gas......then let me know what the amounts are for when I have my Jimny refilled.....in a year or so's time

The plot thickens.
Had a quick look at ac compressor clutch, it’s definitely not releasing. Strangely when I started the engine the condenser fan was running for a few seconds, when I had a look it was turning but appeared to have ‘switched’ off. Any operation of ac switch gave no change in engine revs and fan never came on again. Ventilation air was definitely being cooled. Checked fuse for compressor, ok. Fuse box cover markings indicated relay (middle of 3) was for ac. There was no relay fitted !!! Next check is to see if 12v is being supplied to compressor clutch, and get a wiring diagram!

Hi Clutha,
When you start the engine the condenser fan can appear to run, but in this instance it's the viscose fan drawing air through the radiator and spinning the condenser fan. After a few seconds the viscose fan coupling releases, as the engine is cold, and it stops drawing air and the condenser fan stops or slows down.
It's a sign the viscose coupling is working, as when the engine was last "hot" it locked the fan, so you may have just seen air moving the fan.

I believe (not 100% sure) that the Aircon has a pressure switch and if below a set level the the Aircon will not turn on. Well thats how the Toyota MR2 works, so assume the Jimny is the same. When you turn it on you should hear a "click" as the compressor clutch engages, you can also see it happen if you look at the compressor pulley. The centre of the pulley will start to rotate when the clutch is engaged, hence turning the compressor.

Mike

Not sure if this might help someone but these are my figures from a recent regas, the guy said my system was completely empty when he started. (see attached pic below)