Air Conditioning Fault !

[Patteri]

Hi everyone

I have just purchased a c8 hdi 2.0 2003

I have a problem with the aircon

I took it to have it regassed and still doesnt work

It blows warm air

The garage said that the meters all read fine , both positive and negative pressure

Iv tried to locate the actuators to see if there was a valve stuck open/ closed ,but didnt

Have much luck

Any ideas ????

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

When it was regassed did it work at the garage ?

To use the aircon, the cabin fan has to be switched on and run, the engine cooling fan will run and you will hear a clunk at the engine as the compressor clutch operates - do all these things happen ?

[Patteri]

Hi

It was regassed 2 days ago

I set temp to 14 * fan on full blast but nothing happens

[Patteri]

Hi i have forgotten to mention

The clutch in the compressor ingages with a clunk

Everything suggest the system is ok

However still no cold air :(((

HELP PLEASE

 

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[paul.h]

Do the air con pipes under the bonnet get cold. If so, and it looks as if you have climate control rather than a manual system, it is likely a problem with a heater flap motor - so the flap is not moving to the cold air position.

[Patteri]

The flap under the dash moves and get hot hair when encrease temp

However when i turn to 14 it gets less hot !:(((

[paul.h]

The air con pipes under the bonnet will be aluminium metal ones, about 1 cm in diameter. If the air con is working, the one from the compressor to the front condenser matrix will be warm/hot and the one to the compressor from the cabin bulkhead should be cold and probably have condensation on it.

 

It sounds as if the warm air flap is not closing fully. With the air con off, and the cabin fan running to pull in air from the outside, can you set it so the air in to the cabin is still at the outside air temperature to help confirm this ?

 

If it is a flap motor, then the dash may need to be removed to get to it. If paying for the work, a motor may be about £60 but also about 6 hours labour - this could be the reason why the previous owner did not have it fixed. The flap motor ( 2 if separate control for each side) should be at the side and top of the heating unit.

 

One other possibility to try is a battery disconnection in case the heating controller needs resetting. This is from my Common Problems post in the C5 section:

 

If you need to disconnect the battery and not do a BSI reset procedure, I have found the following has not given me any problems on a 2004 and 2007 C5 and a 2003 C3:

- remove the ignition key from the car

- open the bonnet

- wait a few minutes for the BSI to shut down

- disconnect the battery negative terminal

 

When reconnecting

- ignition key out of the car

- reconnect the battery

- wait a few minutes

- insert the key in the ignition and wait a minute

- turn the key to the first position and wait a minute

- turn the key so the dash lights come on and wait a minute

- start the engine

- take the windows down and up to reset the anti pinch

- reset the clock (and radio on the C3).

[Patteri]

Thank you moderator

Your replies are very knowledgeable and easy to follow :))

When i turn the AC ON everything reacts as it should !pipes , one hot one cold. , compressor engages etc .

The actuator near the pedals , moves , etc however , still not cold air :( , i have disconnected the battery and performed the reset, but still not joy !

What puzzles me is the following

If for instance , the actuator is working , but the valve inside is snapped ( as known to happen due to cheap plastic used by citroen)

Why , when i increase the temperature or indeed decrease it , it changes ok from room to very warm

I guess i will take dash out and see

Also near the actuator , under the dash , i can see an aluminium

rad , is this suppose to get cold ??? Because it doesnt !!!:(

 

Thanks again

[paul.h]

You might find it useful to see the Citroen parts diagrams on the service.citroen website, register as another professional, member of the Citroen Owners Club and then you can use your car VIN to find the exact model/parts. When I had a look, the heater flap motor seemed to be at the top of the air con unit. It could be the heater flap is not moving its full travel to give cold air.

 

Within the air con/heating unit under the dash there will be 2 rads, one with engine coolant for heating so will get hot and the other with the refrigerant so will go cold with the air con running.