How often is air con servicing needed (if at all?!)

[TripleBee]

Just the panel with the air vent holes is good.
If you (or someone else) change the rear temperature, do you see something happening, like little arms moving around?

 

[WelshGas]

When you say the direction part do you mean the little wheel that just opens and closes the air vent? Because actually one of the little thin flaps doesn’t work. It sounds like you’re talking about other flats that are inside the ducting

When you say pull off the right rear cover do you just mean the little AC or the whole panel?

By the way thank you so much for being so helpful!


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The Panel referred to is in the Boot, opposite side to the Wardrobe. A louvred Grey Panel.

 

[NRDSRFR]

Thanks everyone, it’s late and dark out so if I’m going to remove any panels it will be another day! I do have a set of plastic levers to remove panels hopefully I won’t break too many clips. I should really get a service manual if I’m going to start pulling my van apart to make sure I do it properly


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[NRDSRFR]

So I got the panel off and the little white arm had full range of motion when adjusting rear temp from Hi to Lo. The rear HVAC unit was blowing both hot and cold. It twitches a little when in the mid range which I presume might be normal as the climate control adjusts the hit the specified temp.

I can’t explain why it wasn’t working in the recent heatwave, but in any case it seems fine today so fingers crossed it’s ok in general. I’ll have to wait for some hotter weather to retest.

In any case thanks for the info everyone and see below for a photo and video of the arm working in case it helps anyone else.

 

[flying banana]

Run it regularly. And if it works leave it alone.those 'services' are a con. It's like paying someone to top up the washer jets. Ridiculous. Why don't they service the diesel heater?

 

[K-Rog]

Thanks for all your advice, I decided not to get it done!

 

[babble]

so, slightly different perspective from me. my friend is a renault mechanic and now owns a garage and he recommends very stongly that you should get your air con regualrly checked and/or serviced. He says the number of people who come in when it is too late and the air con is shot is huge, and they then need a whole system replacement (which in a vw climatronic could cost thousands.) I guess the anual service might be overkill, and some may do a change of gas when it isn't needed, but it certainly isn't something to never worry about, regardless of what it says in the vw service manual.

 

[2into1]

Why don't they service the diesel heater?

That would require some specialist knowledge of the camping equipment

BTW, did we find a reason why servicing the air con system leads it to have a longer life? I know with the similarly scheduled brake fluid change that the fluid does absorb moisture, loses efficiency and the moisture can corrode the braking system, but does skimping the air con service do harm?

 

[WelshGas]

That would require some specialist knowledge of the camping equipment

BTW, did we find a reason why servicing the air con system leads it to have a longer life? I know with the similarly scheduled brake fluid change that the fluid does absorb moisture, loses efficiency and the moisture can corrode the braking system, but does skimping the air con service do harm?

Many will say No, but during the service the system should be emptied and re-charged and the re-Charge contains a new dose of lubricant to keep the seals supple etc:. You change the engine oil frequently!
I run mine continuously summer and winter and so it gets serviced 2 yearly, but that’s me.

 

[Legin]

I fix and charge my own a/c. Yes I have the gear.
There are only two absolute donts imo.
Firstly if you see evidence of a leak ie usually a tell tale of oil somewhere then dont leave it because its possible the oil is leaking preferentially to the gas. This is the worst situation as the oil leaks away but the a/c keeps going and the compressor is destroyed, thankfully its quite rare but does happen. An absolute mess to fix and expensive. Servicing doesnt spot this any more than you can do yourself. Look for dirty patches on the condenser and the alloy pipes. Usually resulting from stone impact or corrosion so look where stones and salt can get.

Secondly if your a/c starts to lose cooling performance or worse stops then get it serviced / repaired urgently as with no gas it gets air in then which overloads the receiver drier which then results in the a/c contents becoming corrosive.

So if you do the visual one above and get it attended to if performance noticeably drop off then your good to go. Thats it simple. In practical terms you can get up to 5 yrs in my experience.

 

[babble]

That sounds sensible Legin. Maybe as a rule of thumb you might say to get it serviced either when it starts showing any indication of loosing performance, or every 3 or four years, whichever comes first, and take a look at it every now and then too. I think the only really important point is not to leave it for a decade and then be surprised when it packs up completely.

 

[TripleBee]

I checked my aircon 2 weeks ago, and after over 9 years (of rarely use, only in hot weather), I was only missing 100 grams of gas. Now it is topped up again with 825 grams of R134a, and a little oil with fluor tracer.
I will eventually need a new condensor as the black paint is completely gone in the left underside of it. It shows corroded alluminium, and will start to leak there sooner or later.
I noticed that the new T6's have grey aluminium condensors, not painted black anymore. Any stone chip in that black paint causes water and dirt to get trapped there causing the corrosion, and eventually leaks!

 

[haydnw2]

Two evaporators, one compressor.

Was there ever a consensus as to whether this doubles the cost? I'm booked in for a clean and recharge but not sure whether I'll need to point out that there are two evaporators, and whether that's likely to mean they double the cost. It's smelling a bit musty when the A/C is on, and I've changed the pollen filter, so don't really want to do half a job in case it doesn't eliminate it.

 

[WelshGas]

Was there ever a consensus as to whether this doubles the cost? I'm booked in for a clean and recharge but not sure whether I'll need to point out that there are two evaporators, and whether that's likely to mean they double the cost. It's smelling a bit musty when the A/C is on, and I've changed the pollen filter, so don't really want to do half a job in case it doesn't eliminate it.

The only difference could just be related to the amount of gas used. Labour and filter would be the same whichever system it is.

 

[Daveb999]

I bought my 13 year old van quite recently. The air con / air was almost non existent. Had it serviced / cleaned out and its all working really well again. That I think was the first time it has been done in 13 years through..

 

[TripleBee]

The only difference could just be related to the amount of gas used. Labour and filter would be the same whichever system it is.

The double system uses 850 grams of gas. But it has 2 evaporators. So cleaning both (which they probaly won't do) would take double time.

I'd say, don't touch it untill it's broken (or smelly).

I had a smelly aircon, but the smell only came from the front vents, not from the rear.
You can easily find out when smelling directly from the vents. Don't inhale too deep or too much, as it certainly is not that healthy (mold and stuff...).

 

[WelshGas]

The double system uses 850 grams of gas. But it has 2 evaporators. So cleaning both (which they probaly won't do) would take double time.

I'd say, don't touch it untill it's broken (or smelly).

I had a smelly aircon, but the smell only came from the front vents, not from the rear.
You can easily find out when smelling directly from the vents. Don't inhale too deep or too much, as it certainly is not that healthy (mold and stuff...).

Easy enough to clean/sterilise both systems using AirCon specific aerosol cleaners.
Many available.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01366SQXM/?tag=eliteelect-21