I'm not sure if this is the correct section to post a new topic. Please feel free to move it to the appropriate section.

I've had my AUII (Forte) 2000 vehicle for about 3 years or so. I've used the aircon many times and seemed to be working fine, could be lot colder but still works.

However 2 days ago, yeah it was a 38 degrees in the shade and little wind. I was coming back from a mangrove trip and noticed the aircon seemed to be pumping out a fine mist in the centre vents, but did not felt the air inside get any cooler, it was a tad cooler than outside air but not by much.

This morning start my car, 5.30am, mist again appeared from the central vents, felt cooler than outside , it got more colder then became less cold as I drove towards Hendon, via Gatton Clifton Road.

I tried to get my aircon serviced at 3 different aircon places, all three places reckon my aircon has a blocked tube, but could not say where the blockage is unless they pulled the entire aircon unit apart. Having very little in the way of dollars, I politely said no to pulling the system apart.

Seems to be a few aircon shonks who would have no hesitation of making a few dollars from anyone who knows very little about auto aircon systems.

Question is

1. Is that mist normal, if not, what would this indicate.
2. Is there any reputable or reliable aircon people in the Brisbane area that can have a look without charging a fortune?

Whist on this topic.
When I turn fan speed setting to 4 (Highest number), I get a very noisy fan, go back to number 2 setting, fan is much quiet but very little airflow.

A mate has an AUIII and has no problem with his fan. no fan noise at high or low settings.

I open to ideas and suggestions,

Cheers, Bondy99

bump

check ac fan is not spinning on fan motor shaft and check air intake is not blocked with leaves etc.-
system blockage is possible causing icing of system hence condensation mist - low refrigerant charge can create the same symptoms - if it was a leak system would probably be empty by now - or require pulling apart to repair.....

do you know what readings were on test gauges when you had system tested ?

however if 3 different places gave the same answer you may need to have it pulled apart !

TedW,

Thanks for your input, I've had some leaves build up so might give that a check.

AC Fan is good, could be low refrigerant as you said. Somehow I don't there is a leak otherwise I would have lost refrigerant ages ago, everything still worked fine when I took the vehicle for aircon service, they could not service the unit as they mentioned about blockage..

Ummm, two days ago I also took the fan belt off to check all the pulleys to determine which device has a worn and noisy bearing, I could not really tell a they all felt the same , perhaps the water pump pulley had a slight noise.

When I put the ribbed belt back into position, I rotated the power steering pulley in the opposite direction of normal running, that's when I started to notice that condensation mist. Would turning the aircon pulley in the opposite direction when fitting that ribbed fan belt be the problem?

Not one of those aircon places I went to provided me with any readings. I did request it but never given the readings.

I used the aircon this morning and seemed cold again then noticed condensation mist again after 10 minutes, I switched aircon off to prevent further damage.

I think the mist is reasonably normal, mine does it, my old ghia did it,, its like when you open a freezer on a warm day and the cold air hits warmer air you see mist... if the mist was gas leaking you would suffocate..
if it had been re gassed they should have changed the orifice tube in the a/c line that has a filter on it that clogs up with fine particals

a common thing to fail on au is the pressure or temp switch on the a/c line where the hot dog shaped chamber is just behind or below the pump, its the larger of the 2 sensors, as a test unplug that sensor and try your a/c, if your a/c comes good its that switch that's faulty.. you can run the a/c with it un plugged but your thermo fans will run full speed when a/c is on and will put a fault code.. mine is faulty and im running mine this way, only because all the second hand switches are stuffed and ford wanted $160 for the switch..

as for fan noise it could be a leaf stuck in there

Troyman,

Thanks for your input, that could well be the case.

Since I've had the car, I've been trying to get a service done on the aircon , its never been done since I've had it. I've asked for a top up on refrigerant but never was done due to some mysterious blockage.

That could well be the problem re- pressure or temp switch. I'll definitely be doing that test and see what transpires. Hefty price for a switch. Ford should be more relaxed with the price.

Don't suppose you know what the part number is for that switch?

Cheers

Still have not quite got around to checking the temp / pressure switch on the a/c line.

Two days ago it was pelting down rain, used the aircon on demist with heater, seemed to work ok and interior of vehicle was warm.

Switched aircon back to cold, it did get cold then mist started to show.

Had used the aircon 4 times since, when aircon is first switched on, one can feel cool air (drop in cabin temperature)....after 10 to 15mins , yep mist starts to come through again.

TROYMAN
I assume one unplugs the large connector, bit of tricky plug to get at due to confined space from above. Leave the plug disconnected, start the motor and run the aircon unit to see if temp goes colder and see if no mist developes...

Cheers

yes leave it disconnected, even take it for a short drive using the ac.
the mist will probably still be there, mine has always done it..

I was using my ac yesterday on a drive to the coast, it was about 35 deg and after every time I stopped the car, got back in and turned ac back on I got the mist..

this is from a day when it was raining, is the mist like this???
http://youtu.be/ChUI_x1dVEw

G'day TROYMAN,

Yep, the mist is very similar , if not, the same as shown on your video.

I tried to disconnect / unplug that lead this morning, but could not unplug it. I tried to unplug it from the top.

Might have to come up from below perhaps.

Is there a trick to disconnecting that lead to the large switch?

Cheers

it is rather difficult to unplug, it has a tab that sits over a raised section, very similar to the tab on the ignition switch plug ( if you have seen one)..

might be easier from underneath. mines a v8 so the positioning is a little different, I pulled my airbox out to get to mine..

Ok, will try from underneath, might be easier.

38 degrees today, will try this arvo when it gets cooler.

Cheers

Other thing if you can find a code reader with live data viewing...

Mine stopped working the other day (full AU system into an ED)... Couldn't find why and hooked up the code scanner to check on the pressure of that switch and discharge and evap temp sensor... My evap sensor was showing a nice -20odd degrees...

Pulled all the glove box surround out to see if there was any hope in hell of getting the sensor out the side of the box... Whilst wiggling wiring to get to it the temps went back to mid 30's and seemed fine... Wiggled some more and it went back to -20 odd... Unplugged the box loom and checked all the pins, squeezed some up tighter... Plugged it back together and has been fine every since...

If your's is shorted then the evap sensor will read constantly hot, the compressor will run until the pressure kicks it out but the evaporator will freeze, limiting the air being able to pass through it and it wont cool properly, if it is frozen then it too will be blowing mist and ice as there will be loads of it in the evaporator (heaterbox)...

Something else to try after this sensor Troy mentions... Or just get a code reader and see which sensor in the system is throwing a code like I did... Helps to know where to start looking!

Cheers,
Tim

@Timmy A.

Thanks for those suggestions Tim,

I do have a programme called ForSCAN I've installed and runs on my laptop.

I know very little about as to running it to find error codes. I know how to connect it to the OBDII socket, allow ForSCAN to detect and connect but that's about it. I know it can clear error codes.

I'll need some guidance on using that programme as no instruction manual came with it.

Cheers

I have a handheld, have no idea with the computer based stuff... Ask frankieh, see if he has used it... He's pretty handy with that stuff...

Cheers,
Tim

Ok, I'll see if frankieh has used it.

Tim,
What's the name of the handheld you got?

Cheers, Peter