Odd situation and I don't think it's the refrigerant because once the AC starts blowing cold, it's quite cold and stays that way, no change at idle or increased speed, etc.

Anyhow, I noticed that when I first turn on AC (set on AC, recirc, high fan), it blows quite warm for about 10 minutes then suddenly starts blowing cold. It's pretty consistent. I haven't tested yet to see what happens if say I go to the store, shut off the car then start again..if it repeats the process or blows cold to begin with.

I do open all windows and sunroof to disperse the hot air from sitting in the sun for a few minutes before turning the AC on.

 

Does it change at all if you are not on recirc? Could be your recirc door flap is not working correctly and you are pulling in hot outside air, possibly through a clogged pollen filter.

How does your condenser look? If the fins are beat up or it is caked with dead bugs and rocks you could try and straighten the fins and remove debris.

 

Good suggestion on the recirc, but I did try that already (toggle on and off) didn't seem to make a difference. One question I'd have though, let's say recirc is on, I have been driving awhile and cold air had been blowing. When I start the car again, shouldn't the flap still be in the recirc position? I assume so, but wasn't sure. Pollen filter is brand new basically, so not that.

I will check the condenser, but I was just all in the Jag doing all sorts of work to it and don't recall any issues, but didn't specifically look at this, so I will.

 

You should feel the air out of the vent get cooler sooner if the recirc door is truly closing. If the behavior is the same with recirc on or off the car is probably pulling in this awful 95 degree weather we are having so would take a long time to cool down. If you hit the recirc on/off do you hear the flap motor running?

I wouldn't rely on the recirc being in the same position when starting the car. My father's GM car and a friend's Audi from mid 2000s both automatically open the recirc flap every time the engine is started and close it when the car is shut off which wears the actuators out so I have had to replace that part on both those cars. I would love to know why they decided to program that behavior in. Keeping mice out of the car? I don't know what if anything Jag programmed in for the recirc door. I'll try and listen for that actuator next time I drive it.

 

Check the AC compressor clutch relay (R6 in the power distribution fuse box) as their contacts can cause the clutch to not engage or be sluggish.
You can probably do a quick swap out with R5 to see if the behavior is different.

 

Extract from a Jaguar publication:

Moisture Purge
To combat the fact that moisture is present in the evaporator matrix area, a number of innovations have been designed into the system to prevent windshield fogging and odors from the A/C system. The doors, except the heater matrix, are made from plastic and are foamless; this prevents moisture being stored by the foam, which assists in reducing the chance of odors being generated. The climate control system calculates the accumulative amount of time the A/C system has been engaged. If this time exceeds a period of one minute at 15 – 20˚C, then the system qualifies for ignition-on moisture purge. At the next ignition on signal, the defrost door is closed and the foot door is opened, air is blown through to the footwells at 30% blower speed for 30 seconds. NAS production vehicles All positions will purge, except the defrost position, which can purge through panel/ face vent if required.

And you thought you were in control?

 

For the X-TYpe, the recirc door opens every time the car is turned off. The basis for this is to ventilate the car. When in RECIRC, the car is circulating the air back on the cabin. So, the air in the car does not get refreshed with new air. While this helps with getting the air cooler and quicker, it is not necessarily a good thing to have on long term. If on recirc and you get a fowl smell in the car, it is going to take a really long time to get rid of that smell. Where, you open the recirc valve, it will be gone in 30 seconds. The "big worry" is that if you have a well sealed car and use recirc for a long time, you could in theory deprive the driver of oxygen as they will have used up some breathing. Most cars leak enough that this is not an issue. But, it is theoretically possible.

 

Maybe needs spring mod?

 

Did the factory install the spring on the wrong side of the valve??

 

NO!!!!!!!

But reversing the placement seems to help with a slightly weak compressor.