Air Con

Hi All My air con seems to have become less functional (doesn't blow icy cold anymore) since last year. Is it likely to just need a recharge or could it be more serious? Is it a job for a Porsche specialist or can any garage do it? Any ideas of cost? Thanks in advance for your help as always.

Have you had it switched on over the winter. It's a lesson I learnt the expensive way on a BMW. I never ever turn it off now and that means the system keeps well lubricated all the time. If its off all winter the refrigerant (sp?) is not circulating and the seals dry out and perish. Hopefully you will just need a re-gas but I had to have a new unit. Cheers

Sounds like a re-gas. Usually re-gassing can be done by an independent air-conditioning company (check yellow pages for your nearest) - I don't see why Porsches are any different, although my only experience was on an MGF we used to own. That was 2-3 years ago, and it cost around £55. I think the MG dealer was about TWICE that price (!!), and I had to take the vehicle in to them and leave it, whereas the company I chose visited me at home. Regards, Neil.

Thanks for the replies I never turn it off, but it does get casual use only in the winter. I'll try a re-charge at an air con place and see what happens.

The previous owner of my 996 regassed the car at his local OPC before I bought it (in March). The invoice says £99 for the labour and £30 for the Freon gas. Add VAT to both, and you get £151.58!

Use a torch and look in the vents in the front bumper at the air con rads/condensers on both sides the aircon rads sit infront of the engine cooling rads, and see if there is any dampness or wet oily type patches on them, if so your condensors are leaking which is common due to road debris, muck and other cr@p which corrode the rad. i had mine regassed only to have the condensers replaced a few months later due to it all leaking out again It can be done at an indi, IIRC around £115 per rad plus the gassing at £70

Thanks Elliot, I'll have a look at the weekend. I didn't realise those rads were for the air con.

its a boxster but i think more or less the same, look at the pics and you will see the 2 rads piggybacked per side, aircon in front, water cooling behind http://www.realtime.net/~rentner/Porsche/Radiator/Radiator.html

£115 per rad is a good price, even Eurocarparts are £150 plus VAT each.

okay Paul..... maybe more then, hence my IIRC [ ] I will look the bill out sometime remember the 10% OPC discount if available

I've just had this done at Hartech they charged £120 each + VAT for the Rads.

Thanks Elliot Both have damp corners and the far reaches were stuffed full of dead leaves, crisp bags and tab ends, even a quarter of a tennis ball. Looks like a pair of condensors will be the order of the day.

Ah well........At least you saved on a wasted re-gas its quite a common problem with aircon 986/996 models

Probably a leak, and 9 times our of 10 it is the radiators at the front which rot out at the bottom where all the cr*p collects. Probably too late now, but these need vacuuming out regularly.

Just had my condensors done with a re-gas. £450 ish at the specialist. If they haven't corroded to death, you've probably had a stone punch a hole through one of them.

Mine are shot, awaiting replacement. They are right in the firing line for everything that flies up from the road (bugs, leaves, stones, general rubbish), so there's always a good chance they can get damaged. It's important to clear out the recesses around the rads/condensers because that's where the general detritus collects and festers, and so leads to corrosion.

thanks all, will get the condensers checked out. Ed

I definitely wouldn't rule out Kwik-Fit. I've heard of quite a few people who have taken 996s to them. As long as they know the correct weight of refrigerant and oil to add, then it shouldn't be a problem. The system uses 900g of R134a and 195cc of oil. They should evacuate the system first, and then refill with the correct quantity.

Hi Richard, Thanks for that rather specific and informative information. I will try them and see what they say. Do you think they are qualified to detect any potential leaks in the system? Thanks, Rob

I would think they should be able to check for leaks.

I don't think there is an issue with "qualification" as the leak detection is done completely automatically by the equipment used for the re-gas. It takes over an hour for the machine to evacuate the system and recover whatever gas is left in there, the system is then pressure tested with nitrogen and any loss of pressure indicates a leak. If a leak is detected at this stage the machine will not refill with refrigerant and, incidentally, Kwik Fit will not charge you either!! The system will be refilled only if it's determined leak-free. Richard, are you sure about the 195cc of oil?? The figures I have for my 964 - admittedly a different animal - are 660g of R134a but only 19ml of PAG46 oil. Regards Dave

That's what the manual says, Dave. Of course, it won't evacuate all the oil, so I believe they allow for that when refilling.