So here's the situation:
- the A/C blows a little, fairly cold, but adjusting fan speed and temperature don't seem to change much, if anything...for instance it won't blow noticeably stronger if turned all the way up
- going outside the 20-24°C (68-75°F roughly) range causes the fan to stop - and no, I haven't left it on "auto". ;-)
- until a friend checked the fuse for the fan behind the back seat yesterday, it wouldn't blow at all...the fuse was fine, but it seems like taking it out and putting it back helped somewhat
- my XK had a battery change @ Jaguar's recently, but I didn't notice any issue with the A/C right away...but maybe I didn't go out of the range in which it still somewhat works. And it only stopped blowing altogether later, until the said friend checked the fuse.

Any idea of where that could come from? Anyone here faced the same symptoms? They seem to point towards an electronics issue, but I can't tell for sure... :-/ Summer is getting close, so thanks a lot in advance for your replies and tips!

 

Likely either the fan or the fan resistor/controller inside the dash.

 

Thanks for your reply. Could it be the consequence of a low refrigerant level or can that be ruled out?

 

The speed of the blower fan has nothing to do with refrigerant level. Failing blower fans and failed controllers are the most common issues, though it could also, less likely, be the climate control module.

 

Thank you very much. In any case, I guess it still requires taking the whole dash off, right?

 

Not necessarily. The blower takes minutes and another member here managed to reach up inside the dash and remove the resistor with the old blower out.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-%245-184627/

 

Thank you once more...I wouldn't see myself doing that myself, though... And could a failure of that resistor also explain the apparent absence of temperature change even when adjusting it?

Just to be clear about what I meant in one of my previous posts regarding refrigerant level: I was wondering if it could trigger something like a "degraded mode", which would result in the behavior I have observed, if the level was low.

 

When you say the temperature doesn’t change do you mean the climate control display doesn’t change when you select a different temperature?

Low refrigerant charge has nothing to do with the electrics, when working correctly, the climate controls and blower fan will function as normal, but if the refrigerant’s low, the air will be warm and humid.

 

When it blows, it does blow pretty cool air...so yeah, most likely not a refrigerant problem.

To clarify the temperature thing: when I adjust it with the blue/red arrows on the dash, the temperature displayed does change. What doesn't seem to change is the actual temperature of the blown air. One could argue it's because the temperature range in which the blower works is fairly narrow, but still, a difference of a couple of degrees should still be felt. And I don't feel much of a change in this respect, if any.

 

Quick addition: likely the resistor unit on the blower assy. One additional lower probability consideration is the aspirator, which may need to have the dust blown out of it after 10-15 years of use. Aspirator monitors cabin temp.

Little black screen to the lower right of the wheel (LHD cars). It can be removed after removing the wood trim piece. I didn't bother removing it, just used a computer air can for a couple of shots through the screen opening.

Less likely, but worth a look.

 

Thanks for this one, I'll check it out...definitely worth a look. My XK is 16 years old and I don't know if that has ever been done by one of the previous owners...

 

By the way, do you know how to remove that wood trim piece, so I can access the aspirator?
Thanks in advance!

 

It pulls straight out BUT you don’t need too, it’s behind the small plastic grille. Just spray air into it. Age is less important than environment. Mine’s 14 years old and perfectly clean.

 

When I replaced the one in my '07 XKR I found that the sponge gasket had become quite hard compared to the replacement so that may contribute to the noise as there is less sound damping.

 

Just another idea that came to me: given the battery has recently been changed, couldn't that blower issue come from some electronic glitch consecutive to the battery change?

Then do you guys think unplugging the battery for a while and then resetting what needs to be afterwards could fix the issue or help at least?

Thanks for your opinions on this...

 

Several years ago, another member had a similar issue. He replaced the climate control board in the console and that resolved the problem. At this point without proper diagnosis, anything's a guess so just try one at a time and see what happens. However, I doubt your issue's related to the battery and more likely something with either the charge, the compressor or the controller.

 

I have noticed that the A/C blows more when I drive faster. The temperature remains the same (still cool), but the air flow is a bit stronger when driving at freeway speeds. Could that help to shorten the list of possible culprits when it comes to the cause of this malfunction?

 

when is the last time you changed the filter…. or even looked at it?

 

Well, I've had it for about 1.5 year now and I confess I never did it myself...but I had it serviced each year since I bought it. Isn't it something they check normally?

 

Finally tried it yesterday...didn't change anything or anything I could notice anyway...
So I guess it'll most likely have to be the resistance module or something of the like.

The good news is it still blows cold when it wants to blow...which seems to indicate the compressor and fluid are OK.