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Would appreciate tips on where to start:
Aircon does blow cold air, but not sufficient to cool the car down. What I have done so far
1. Checked Low Port pressure, perfect alsost on the high side
2. Replaced clogged Cabin Filter
Would appreciateciate advice on how to go further.... I have found a post somewhere to do with the comprehensivessor control valve spring issue (factory MM)
Don't feel like takeing the total bottom off... if there is something else to check before.
Gag, I know it's always easier to do what you choose not too. Its well documented here over the years, that reversing the compressor spring will most likely solve your issue. It's not that bad to get to on our 3.0 litre motors.
I wish this fix was known before I spent hundreds DIY'ng a new compressor and R134a. I have a "How To" DIY your own AC in the above "How To Guidesat the top of the page.
Aircon does blow cold air, but not sufficient to cool the car down. What I have done so far
1. Checked Low Port pressure, perfect alsost on the high side
2. Replaced clogged Cabin Filter
A little more background, please.
Is this a new problem, or going on for a while?
How long since the AC system has had a full evac and recharge?
Have you tried running the system in manual? On the control panel, reduce the temperature setting until LO is displayed. This bypasses most of the automatic controls.
Re: the automatic controls. How is the outside air temp indication compared to the actual temperature? If reading significantly low, the controller won't request much cooling in auto mode.
With LO selected and the engine warm, open the hood feel the three lines to the heater core. They should not be hot. If hot, that means the DCCV is letting hot coolant reach the heater, and then on to the cabin. The AC could be fine but heat is being inadvertently added. The lines run along the (correction) US passenger side inner fender. It can be hard to determine if the coolant in the lines is hot due to high temps under the hood, the adjacent exhaust manifold, etc. Try selecting HI and see if you can feel a difference as hot coolant does flow. If no difference, the coolant in the lines was hot even when max cooling (LO) had been selected.That's likely a bad DCCV.
With max cooling selected, feel if the thermal expansion valve is cold. This is on the engine side of the firewall, in the middle directly behind the engine. This will help determine if the AC system is putting out any cooling.
You mentioned the little spring thingy in the compressor. While it could be at fault, I'd hold off on that until you've ruled out some other likely causes. I thought that only caused a problem at low RPM. If that's the case, your AC would work fine on the freeway but warm up at lower speeds. Can anybody please confirm if that's a proper description of the symptoms of a compressor spring problem?
If it's been a while since the AC was serviced, and selecting LO was no help, I'd lean towards a low refrigerant charge. This is a very common condition that will cause poor performance.
You had mentioned the pressure readings looked normal. Before you ask, please be aware the pressure readings do NOT accurately indicate the quantity of refrigerant in the system, which is very important. The readings mostly indicate compressor performance, but not the volume of refrigerant. There are so many variables with pressure readings that's is super easy to misdiagnose based on the gauges. Unless I find a gross error telling me something major is wrong, I don't put much stock in the gauge readings. They aren't conclusive. You can catch a big problem, but can't use the gauges to confirm everything is good, especially the refrigerant quantity.
My thoughts on the possibility of low refrigerant, copied from another recent thread.
"What are you feelings on gambling? Would you rather take it to a shop and have it fixed in one fell swoop and know it's right? Or are you like me and willing to invest/gamble a little of your time and money, with a very realistic chance of an inexpensive fix?
When was the last time the AC was serviced? If it's been 3 or 4 years, the most likely culprit is a low refrigerant charge. No matter how well the system is sealed, you can expect the system to slowly bleed down.
If it's been a while on the AC service, I'd lean in that direction. Carefully look over the compressor and exposed lines for any stains from leakage. If you don't see any smoking guns needing repair, a recharge is a good gamble. Per the party line, a full discharge, deep vacuum, and measured refill is the way to go. Then you'd know the system has the proper amount of refrigerant.
However, cheap and lazy as I am, I've had good results with what I'd call an investigative top-off. As long as you've got some cooling, rather than do the full service, you can try adding a SMALL amount of refrigerant, maybe 3 ounces. See if the condition improves. If so, add another SMALL amount. The secret is to STOP when you see no more improvement. That's the hard part. I've had about an 80% success rate over the years with this.
If it doesn't work, do more troubleshooting, repair the fault, and then do a full evac and recharge. I've caught a lot of grief here suggesting the top-off method, but as long as one is aware of the potential shortcomings, I think it's worth a shot. I've never damaged anything this way. If accidentally overserviced, the pressure sensor won't let the compressor run, that's all, and you'll have wasted a little of your time and a partial can of refrigerant."
I think you meant what Gysgt Kerr, USMC, always referred to as "your OTHER right!" Karl. Both of my LHD X202's have the heater hoses running along the right inner-wing.
How long since the AC system has had a full evac and recharge?
Have you tried running the system in manual? On the control panel, reduce the temperature setting until LO is displayed. This bypasses most of the automatic controls.
Re: the automatic controls. How is the outside air temp indication compared to the actual temperature? If reading significantly low, the controller won't request much cooling in auto mode.
With LO selected and the engine warm, open the hood feel the three lines to the heater core. They should not be hot. If hot, that means the DCCV is letting hot coolant reach the heater, and then on to the cabin. The AC could be fine but heat is being inadvertently added. The lines run along the US driver's side inner fender. It can be hard to determine if the coolant in the lines is hot due to high temps under the hood, the adjacent exhaust manifold, etc. Try selecting HI and see if you can feel a difference as hot coolant does flow. If no difference, the coolant in the lines was hot even when max cooling (LO) had been selected.That's likely a bad DCCV.
With max cooling selected, feel if the thermal expansion valve is cold. This is on the engine side of the firewall, in the middle directly behind the engine. This will help determine if the AC system is putting out any cooling.
You mentioned the little spring thingy in the compressor. While it could be at fault, I'd hold off on that until you've ruled out some other likely causes. I thought that only caused a problem at low RPM. If that's the case, your AC would work fine on the freeway but warm up at lower speeds. Can anybody please confirm if that's a proper description of the symptoms of a compressor spring problem?
If it's been a while since the AC was serviced, and selecting LO was no help, I'd lean towards a low refrigerant charge. This is a very common condition that will cause poor performance.
You had mentioned the pressure readings looked normal. Before you ask, please be aware the pressure readings do NOT accurately indicate the quantity of refrigerant in the system, which is very important. The readings mostly indicate compressor performance, but not the volume of refrigerant. There are so many variables with pressure readings that's is super easy to misdiagnose based on the gauges. Unless I find a gross error telling me something major is wrong, I don't put much stock in the gauge readings. They aren't conclusive. You can catch a big problem, but can't use the gauges to confirm everything is good, especially the refrigerant quantity.
My thoughts on the possibility of low refrigerant, copied from another recent thread.
"What are you feelings on gambling? Would you rather take it to a shop and have it fixed in one fell swoop and know it's right? Or are you like me and willing to invest/gamble a little of your time and money, with a very realistic chance of an inexpensive fix?
When was the last time the AC was serviced? If it's been 3 or 4 years, the most likely culprit is a low refrigerant charge. No matter how well the system is sealed, you can expect the system to slowly bleed down.
If it's been a while on the AC service, I'd lean in that direction. Carefully look over the compressor and exposed lines for any stains from leakage. If you don't see any smoking guns needing repair, a recharge is a good gamble. Per the party line, a full discharge, deep vacuum, and measured refill is the way to go. Then you'd know the system has the proper amount of refrigerant.
However, cheap and lazy as I am, I've had good results with what I'd call an investigative top-off. As long as you've got some cooling, rather than do the full service, you can try adding a SMALL amount of refrigerant, maybe 3 ounces. See if the condition improves. If so, add another SMALL amount. The secret is to STOP when you see no more improvement. That's the hard part. I've had about an 80% success rate over the years with this.
If it doesn't work, do more troubleshooting, repair the fault, and then do a full evac and recharge. I've caught a lot of grief here suggesting the top-off method, but as long as one is aware of the potential shortcomings, I think it's worth a shot. I've never damaged anything this way. If accidentally overserviced, the pressure sensor won't let the compressor run, that's all, and you'll have wasted a little of your time and a partial can of refrigerant."
Wow, that is long winded above.
So your options are:
1) Check DCCV signals
2) Reversing the compressor spring
3) Really investing a lot of your time that would take in investigating post #5.
4) brother aholbro's late hat toss "your OTHER right"
Monty, I will take post #4, reversing the compressor spring. you can keep the goat!
I truly hope that the OP gagleisz posts back the fix, but I have a feeling.....
Last edited by joycesjag; 06-01-2017 at 11:29 PM.
Reason: brother aholbros #6 post or option #4
Based on the description, I doubt the DCCV is opening. The experience I have made is that if it opens when it shouldn't you get hot-as-F air out of the registers; not "cool but not cool enough" air. Setting temp selector to "Lo" and fan speed to High will result in tolerably cool air from the center louvers, but it will still be hot-as-F at the outboard registers and the rear seat feed at the back of the center console.
IMHO, it is foolish to skip the spring mod if you have decided to evacuate and recharge the system, in order to address lack of ice cold air. Once you have the refrigerant out, the compressor mod is practically already at "Bob's yer uncle" condition!
I think you meant what Gysgt Kerr, USMC, always referred to as "your OTHER right!" Karl. Both of my LHD X202's have the heater hoses running along the right inner-wing.
Good catch, thanks. I went back and fixed my error. I'll blame it on dizziness from being up on my soapbox...
Please note I'm not poo-pooing your spring suggestion. I think the most recent post had an excellent suggestion to do that mod if you reach the full evac/recharge stage. But as lazy (and cheap) as I am, I think 15 minutes' worth of troubleshooting is well worth it to first rule out some other possibilities.
I'm getting too old (and cranky) to crawl under the car unless absolutely necessary. You can decide if this is good or bad, but such things now factor into my priorities when planning my troubleshooting steps.
Gents.... I have done a quick testing on the DCCV, looks the driver side is not behaving. ACC tries to engage the solenoid, but it will not stay closed fully, from what I gather without taking anything apart yet. Just checking temperatures on output hoses and clicking sounds from DCCV. I will replace that first, and see how far I got, and will post it tomorrow evening... provided I can buy the part on the weekend.
Just clamp off the DCCV hoses and you will have the answer in 5 minutes if the valve is malfunctioning.
If the ac isn't cool enough in Yeovil you do have a problem!
Don't forget that intro in the new members section once you get cooled down.
Just clamp off the DCCV hoses and you will have the answer in 5 minutes if the valve is malfunctioning.
If the ac isn't cool enough in Yeovil you do have a problem!
Great advice! Would probably be even better if I knew what 'Yeovil' was...
Just for giggles, I took some temperature readings on my '02 V6. 75F ambient temp, car fully warm after 30 minutes on the freeway. Center duct temp 38F. Coolant temp approximately 200F on scanner and as measured at radiator inlet. For the heater lines, I took the readings on the metal lines near the front of the engine.
With LO selected (no coolant flow to heater if DCCV valves have both closed properly), all three lines measured about 150F.
With HI selected (max coolant flow to heater core), the two smaller lines on top quickly shot up to 200F. These are the lines feeding the two halves of the heater core. The common return line, the larger line at the bottom, dropped slowly to about 140F.
Once I went back to LO, it took a while for all lines temps to equalize again. This puzzled me at first, but then I realized the two smaller lines were still full of hot coolant. It wasn't flowing any more, so all that heat was still trapped. So if you test the line temps like this, you won't see any dramatic cooling after selecting the DCCV valves to close. You'll see a sudden increase when first opened, but no quick drop off when closed again.
Trim the mounting flange like he suggested to save a lot of aggravation.
Also, be aware the DCCV may not be your only fault. You could have two or three issues at once. After clearing the first fault, things may still not be perfect. If that's the case, confirm the results of the DCCV replacement, and then continue troubleshooting.
...Its well documented here over the years, that reversing the compressor spring will most likely solve your issue. It's not that bad to get to on our 3.0 litre motors.
I wish this fix was known before I spent hundreds DIY'ng a new compressor and R134a. I have a "How To" DIY your own AC in the above "How To Guides at the top of the page.
Agreed. I did this to our 3.0L S-Types and it made an instantly huge difference in A/C performance.
Hi.... As promised.... Please find a quick and simple way to replace the DCCV all heat control valve.
First... I bought mine on eBay from Germany for 59 GBP... Much cheaper than Jag and looks just fine... and I can assure works fine as well.
In my case I have drained the coolant, due to it seemed old and dirty, otherwise I would have used hose pinch right at the junction of the metal pipework joins the rubber hose from heating, and on the other one from the main circuit right at the junction.... for people not wanting to buy hose pinch... I usually use a small chinese G lamp with a piece of metal strip.... works just as fine and a lot cheaper.
Here is the list of tools you will need:
1. Some small ratchet set with 8mm head and a half extender to reacha the bolt in the DCCV
2. A decent half size screwdriver.... Will see later why.... Saves the third hand and a box of Andaxin
3. Plier.... or for the advanced a Clip Plier
Method:
1. Disconnect the wire on the DCCV. The red security thing has to be pushed in to release the connector
2. One bolt hold the thing M8. You need to put the half extender on than put the small ratchet head on... Bolt is long. Than the DCCV slides out toward the engine.
3. You can pull the DCCV up between the hoses and the engine, so you can reach the hose clips.... So much easier. Use a normal plier to take tham off. For simplicity I suggest to replace... mine were kind of rusty... did not trust them any more.
4. Mark one of the hoses leading into the radiator with sg, as you will get confused on which one is which... at least I usually get confused.
5. Put the new DCCV on...
use new clips.
6. Slide in the DCCV into the place (it goes into a slot). Use a sccrewdiwer to push the hose end suing the engine as a support... otherwise you will not have enough hands to put the bolt back in.... as the DCCV has to be fully in a twisted in an angle to get the bolt into the slot... maybe put some grease on the bolt... in case you have to take it out again.
7. Connect the electrical plug.... and you are good to go.... Bit of bleeding off will be needed on the auxiliary tank small valve next to the refill cap, after turning the heat to max.... Rev the engine to 1500...2000 after the full temp is reached and set heat to max in cabin.
Total work time... approx 45 minutes.... That is including an espresso with my wife after the valve finally was taken out and method figured out.
As optional... you ca check if the Climate controller was damaged.... however I took it out and found no errors on it.... Really simple board.... really crap workmanship on the PCB. My wife (good with PCBs) fixed a fair few commonent soldering... Now the lights are perfect and the LCD is much brighter. If there would be any damage it would be clearly visible with red ash burn marks on the PCB....
06-01-2017, 04:15 PM
3.0 V6 2005 Aircon Low performance
Probably about as toasty as Oregon.
