Going from a once a year re-gas to a big leak with most of the gas escaping would not be a surprise. A good tight system should not need a re-gas. I had an E38 that needed a re-gas every 3 years, then two years then a year, then a full leak from both the condenser and the compressor. My M635 goes about 7 years between re-gasses and has done for more than 20 years.
Thank you for that, I've often been concerned about re-gassing being needed every 12-18 moths, but had put it down to the age of the car & system. Is it common that the re-gas procedure/dye check doesn't detect a leak at the time & I thought the compressor clutch wouldn't engage if the pressure was low ?
The compressor won’t engage if the pressure is too low, a safety feature to protect the system. Can’t 100% for sure say that is the case for all cars and systems, maybe older systems are different? My 2007 Porsche Boxster had no air con at all when I bought the car, blew warm air and I couldn’t hear the compressor kick in. I had a can of gas with approx 10% left, so connected the gauge and it showed near empty. Bought a new can and topped it up (green on the gauge) and it now works. However, I am noticing a slight drop off in the temp, so suspect there is a leaks somewhere. If I can be bothered I will need to chase this with a proper pressure/dye test.
Finding a great AirCon person is the trick. I moved from oop North to just outside Guildford a few years ago and fell on my feet when I discovered Gary at AutoAir near Woking. He runs out of his van and has painstakingly fixed my E34 and E38 after small leaks and also my wifes F33 after the cheapo BMW condensor failed on that. He is excellent at leak checking and installing but more importantly he is fantastic at procurring hard to find bits for older cars. The compressor on my E38 is apparently larger than normal as it has the front and rear AC so when it leaked and none were available anywhere at any price he knew a man that could make one up from my broken compressor and a close design new one. Thanks to him my M635, E34, E38 and E39 all have AC so cold you sometimes have to turn the fan down or temp up as yu can feel your hands and face starting to freeze. Last but not least, run your AC all year round or the seals dry out and leak.
This is one thing I (being a bit thick when it comes to this level of tech) don't understand. Each time the system has been re-gassed the process has been preceded by the very test you are referring to .. but no leak has shown up though obviously must be present. Appreciate your response.
You lucky sod, someone like that is a goldmine in this high tech day & age. nb. I do run my AC throughout the year though not constantly. As for leaks, please see my previous post #25 .. thank you.
At the risk of boring you guys can I throw another scenario into my AC problem? It may have nothing to do with my E39 AC itself but whilst referring to my previous post (#15) you'll recall me stating that although the climate would blow cool throughout a journey that commenced with a cold engine, on the return journey following a period of parking the system would blow warm air that even driving quite fast wouldn't cool down. This morning I carried out an experiment, arriving at my destination & prior to switching off the engine I shut the climate system down. Returning to the car an hour later & driving away the system was back to blowing cool air instead of the warm that's been the norm for several months .. any help with a diagnosis guys ? I accept that the failed AC is probably a separate issue.
I don't possess a BM specific scanner because I don't work on cars these days. Our local garage only has generic scanners, I could take the car to an indy. but just wondered if my update would generate any theories. Appreciate your reply nevertheless.
Essex I believe. If you are passing through the Midlands anytime I’d be happy to plug my Topdon code reader in.
Hopefully you manage to find a good independent AC place that can help. I posted a couple of months ago about the 2017 F20 118i that we have owned from new. Climate control run year round. Never anything required other than servicing in the 78K miles / 9 years of ownership until May when my son who now owns the car said the AC was not as cool as it used to be. Booked in for check at 'AC specialist' - couldn't identify the fault. The local BMW dealer who have always serviced the car took it in and did a full diagnosis. The main culprit was the compressor had broken but the condenser was also in poor state along with a couple of pipes. £2.6K later the car was fixed and the majority of that was parts!
Thank you, there is a reputable indy. in my area that I could fall back on but I want to give my local guys a fair crack of the whip first as I've had excellent service over many years with various makes/model of cars. nb: I've wondered about the compressor myself .. yes the clutch engages & the idle revs climb slightly, but is it actually doing it's job? If it's the original unit we're looking at 28 years & 181K miles. When it comes to the condenser surely a build-up of debris would result in a gradual loss of AC efficiency rather than a sudden one & if something solid has inflicted terminal damage would that not result in a total loss of pressure?
