2016 XJL 3.0 PETROL
Hello, I started facing issues with my AC last year, where in hot weather the ac won't give cold air when i first start the engine, so i had to turn off the ac switch or even shut off the engine and back on again so the compressor kicks in. Also while driving the compressor would start giving moist warm air for a minute until it starts compressing again.

I also noticed this more when i accelerate giving gas and the car down shifts on the move.

Later on the performance started worsening until one day it stopped working completely.

I took it to my mechanic and he said the compressor must be repalced along with the condensor and expansion valve. He did the job with a japanese made compressor and when it works it cools perfectly, but the same issues from before are still happening :

1-compressor not kicking in in hot weather until i restart the car
2- moist air coming out of a sudden then it cools again

With the new comoressor a new issue appeared where when it cuts and gives moist air it makes a gurgling motor noise that varies with throttle then it starts compressing air and the noises go away. This point could be due to a faulty compressor (which is fine and he can replace the compressor again)
He replaced the expansion valve again on his own expense saying it was faulty.

My main questions are:

​​​​​​1-what could be the cause of the initial issues i mentioned?

2-why did the issues persist after replacing the compressor,condensor,and expansion valve?

​​​​​​3- why is the compressor making noises when it cuts?
Thanks
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Always, always start with high and low side pressures when dealing with AC stuff.
Your mechanic needs to give you this as a start. What are they now?
Has he put gauges on the car when the AC was having problems?

Has the car been scanned for codes? This can be the answer too.

All your descriptions don't really help? Get a small thermometer and measure the air temperature coming out of the AC ducts.

It sounds like a DPS problem but the new compressor should have come with a new DPS? Did it?
One good check of the DPS valve is to start the car cold and turn on the AC whether you need it or not. Now open the hood and verify that the engine fan is running on low speed. If the fan is NOT running then the AC won't work. Not sure this is your problem but you can do this without cost.

I try to stay with OEM parts if possible but they do come from all over the world. My 2014 XJR uses a Sanden compressor from Poland.

It's rare to have bad expansion valves unless the system is full of debris usually from the compressor eating itself. If this did not happen the system should be clean? This is NOT an easy repair and I can't see where any mechanic would want to repeat doing this repair. Since you have the V-6 that may give you more room but that expansion valve is a tough one to change!

If your car has the magnetic clutch type compressor (Note some do and some don't) then yes it will make a noise everytime the compressor engages.

Who is working on this? A Jaguar guy or just an AC guy in a shop? Experience does count with these cars but it won't always help either.
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It does seem odd that the condenser and expansion valve were changed given the A/C was working on and off. If the compression had exploded and contaminated the system which would require a change of those parts (and more), you wouldn't have had the A/C working at all.

 

By the time everything had to be replaced the compressor had stopped working completely, and it it had contaminated the system hence the condensor was replaced.

 

He did not give me any information on pressure and the car is clear of codes. And i am not sure if the dps valve comes with the new compressor.
As for the sound i believe it's not a magnetic type since when it was working i never heard the click noise of the compressor kicking in.

 

OK BIG difference!!!!

Please tell us ALL that happened. You have a contaminated system and the evaporator is full of junk too? I don't see where he did any flushes?
Next do you understand that the XJ has dual climate control. So this means you have a dual path evaporator and that means there is really no way to flush it because with dual paths any blockage in the evaporator is easily bypassed by the flush.

If the evaporator can't be flushed properly replacement is the only option and that is a HUGE job as the dash needs to come out.

How bad was the expansion valve? When disasters like this happen "hopefully" most of the garbage was trapped in the expansion valve.

I think your in for a long and expensive repair.
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So let me get this, you mean if the evaporator is clogged it causes the compressor to stop and resume and sometimes causes it to delay starting? And then why does the compressor make noises when it cuts? Is it just because it's faulty from the factory or something else?

 

With out any data we just don't know? Again without pressures is like trying to diagnosis heart disease in a human without looking at your blood pressure?
It all depends on how bad it is? Can you get any pictures of the expansion valve he replaced? What did the compressor look like inside? Any chunks or just black stuff? What did the oil look like and was the compressor drained to take a look?

Did the AC ever work right? You mention it might be bad from the factory-was the replacement compressor from a Jaguar dealer? Maybe you have a warranty on it? All AC warranties require you to flush the system and at least replace the dryer bag. Was this done?

The AC is a system so yes problems with the evaporator can cause problems with the compressor but we don't know without any data?
Stuff like was ONLY R134 put in and no magic gases? Was oil put in? How much and what viscosity?

Can you start at the beginning when the AC was working properly and then tell us step by step what happened and what was done to the car?
Sorry for the bad suggestions but I can only work with what you tell us?
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I did not get any pictures of the expansion valve but the mechanic said that since the compressor stopped working the system had to be flushed and the condensor and expansion valve replaced
​​​​. So it wasn't a disaster of a dirty system, just slight contamination.

As i mentioned in the beginning of this thread the AC was working fine until i started having the problems last year, delay in cooling, suddenly cutting while accelerating. The compressor is aftermarket. This compressor is giving ice cold air which is great, yet it makes noises when i notice it stopping. If it's faulty that's fine it will be replaced under its warranty but my issue is that the issues are the same with old and new compressor.

As i replied to your previous questions, the ac was working and one year ago it started having the mentioned issues and still have the same issues after the components were replaced. No more work was done other than replacing compressor, expansion valve, condensor, some leaking o rings, flushing, cleaning, gas replacement.




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The compressor was replaced with a different more expensive brand and it is all good now , all the weird noises are gone and it is not cutting anymore. i can still hear a slight noise but i am assuming this is normal compressor operation.
But for some reason i think the car became louder not sure why.

 

Gotcha. So is this the second compressor replacement under your ownership. I thought i remember you doing this once before