Went for an AC Recharge.....and?

[Beulahjag]

Hi all, I have warm air coming out of vents with AC on for the last few weeks. So thought id get along and get it recharged.

They hooked up and took 530 out and put 800 in. The moment of truth....It was just the same with warm air out of vents. Grrrrr

The mechanic believes the AC pump is ok and that there are no apparent leaks either, a point confirmed by the fact that 530 came out of it.

He did say whilst looking at that the pipes at the bulk head one should be stone cold but both are quite warm.

He suggested i look in the cabin at the heater control unit firstly. Any thoughts what to do where to look, please? 

Rgds

Stuart

[Lazlo Woodbine]

http://jaguarclimatecontrol.com/diagnose/

[Beulahjag]

Thank you Laz. There is a fair bit to look at here. Let me see what i can do.

Cheers

Stuart

[JOE-DOT-COM]

hi

have a look at the dccv, Dual coolant control valve

its a water valve that control hot water to the l/h and r/h heater matrix

there 2 solenoids, when heat is on, there will be 12volts there, water will flow and you will get hot pipes

if you put it on lowest temp, then the solenoid should close, no volts on the solenoids, if the pipes both still get hot, the valve are stuck open and your aircon will never blow cold

cheers

Joe

[Beulahjag]

Thanks again Laz. And thanks to Joe. 

 

Think we are down to the heater control valve so attempting that next. But....would it be wise to get 2nd hand and if so where from?

Lots on E bay but what / how do you avoid the cheap imports that will only last 5 minute. I hear that you need a Siemens unit to be sure and one that's been tested.

Any suggestions on where i try firstly please?

 

Cheers

[Beulahjag]

An update: I ordered a new Heater Control valve as I planned and whilst inspecting most things I came across what is likely to be a future issue with the main rad.                             The bottom three cross bars seriously sag to the point there is a 30mm gap above in the middle (pics to follow). So new rad ordered too (see post I made earlier today). I started the gentle tear down and didn't get that far when i noticed the top hose had separated from a small feed (Plastic connector seems like bacolite material...brittle).This was probably where my slight leak was coming from. (i did think that it was the header tank but that looks to be in good order). Seems to have been dripping and most things below were covered in pink. Proceeding i need to remove the fan and to do that i need to get the front engine cover /belly pan off as the loom connector is sat behind it.  The spire clips and screws that hold that cover are seized solid so i have still to deal with this. I was going to try and drill them out (when it stops raining) but suspect that i may melt the plastic surround. Has anyone got any better suggestions to removing these bolts with least fuss ?

Thank you 

Stuart

[Lazlo Woodbine]

They're a nightmare those things. If you can get onto the screws with some pliers, grips etc. then they should snap pretty easily.

If it helps the bumper is surprisingly easy to take off. A screw in each wheel arch about in line with the reflectors and one between the main and dip lamps either side.

[Beulahjag]

OK Thanks, Ralph that's good to know. It's still raining and my garage is full so i will have to wait till it stops.

Good news today is that the new Rad arrived. The bad news is ... it looks like it was damaged (one of the lugs is snapped) in transit...the box was open

Suppose another required.

[Beulahjag]

Hi, to update. I now have air conditioning....wahoooo and the system doesn't appear to be loosing any more water as previous. 

....with the help from Laz and the link above (thank you)

I replaced the heater control valve, the radiator (see pic of the old one) (after 4 attempts at getting one delivered)..the first one was the none Oil cooled - mine is Oil cooled, the second was also damaged with the lugs and third was another issue in that the Oil outlet connector back to the auto box wouldn't connect up...too small. I even tried the old one to restore some sanity to my by now frazzled brain and it was fine to fit. The rad dealer was initially having none of it though.  I insisted they sent another so i could get back on it first thing the following morning. It duly arrived at 8am but was also damaged again in transit as one the lugs was partly snapped off.....Grrrr .. Despite this further set back i did manage to get it to fit with just enough lug remaining....just as well as I couldn't wait any longer......

The top hose was also replaced with a genuine as this was cracked on what seems like a baco-lite connector and was a leak source...see pic. I also took the opportunity to replace the cracked serpentine belt...this was a little challenge because the well known motor factor couldn't decide which would fit so gave me a couple to try....but asked me to pay for both! They were both short by 4 or more inches so i took my belt off and took it with me to compare... they didn't have any remotely near so went to Jag dealer in Norwich. Downside.... whilst paying twice what the factors were after ...upside it measured up and fitted perfectly at Jag dealer....result.  

I also cleared out the in-cab sensor as a precaution as upon inspection this appeared to be chocked with dust etc.

Overall, whilst it went as I had expected (some struggle normal) and with the help from Laz and the link above (thank you) I had also expected that the captive bolts that hold the inner liner and under-pans in place would come off with a little force i was completely floored and took the whole lot off including the bumper. They had to be cut off carefully as they could easily melt the plastic surrounds. I ended up with some plastic repair work to the bumper where the connectors come together and the under-pan. The Inner arch liner wing clips were also replaced (main dealers at £2.50 each) as they were in bits too. I got a full set of SS screws and U clips from E bay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/S-TYPE-JAGUAR-BELLY-PAN-UNDERTRAY-SPIRE-SPEED-CLIPS-STAINLESS-BOLTS-SCREWS-X-25/121492014899?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649. These were a great improvement once applied with some large helpings of spray grease. 

Its now back on road and now looking at what else i can sort in my spare time.

Next job....I have a small oil leak at the bottom front of the motor....maybe a sump gasket ?

[Russ68]

Well done Stuart! A lot of hard work, but I'd call that a result! That rad you took out looks proper gone!

I replaced my drive belt and Berkshire Jags got it right 1st time, really, really tight though! Other than the header tank I've not had to do much on the cooling system, although AC needs charging again so need to track down that leak / fault.

Unfortunately I've not had time and opportunity to drive my Jag recently, let alone work on her, hopefully this will be resolved in the weeks to come!

Good write up, well done 

[Beulahjag]

Thanks Russ, appreciate it.

The other thing that i had to sort out after fitting the rad was the auto box fluid replacement....It wasn't possible for me to do it even whilst jacked up. Couldn't get at or any leverage.

I had seen the U Tube video on dropping the box support cross member. But i decided that i'd done enough and went to a guy whom has a 4 post lift nearby.

It took him 20 mins and a lot of force.... he put a 0.5m long wrecker on it to loosen the filler bolt first. 

Now Im looking at the next project.

Project R!

[Beulahjag]

I have another leak and just when id got all the air out of the system too! 

Coolant fluid running out from the bottom left (as pic) of the 3 hoses that come up from the HCCV.  just where it joins the metal section. 

It was leaking from the crimped joint. No point in making a repair... new hose required. It was loosing lots of coolant.

Stuart