AC Cooling coil expensive to replace

[Koster]

BTW what's the normal frequency of topping up air con gas?

[Toeknee_33]

25 minutes ago, Koster said:

BTW what's the normal frequency of topping up air con gas?

It's a closed loop system. If there is no leak - then there should be no loss of gas. 

Edited March 25, 2021 by Toeknee_33

[Beregond]

10 minutes ago, Koster said:

BTW what's the normal frequency of topping up air con gas?

dun need top up if perfectly ok. new car 2-3 years also dun need touch 1

[Koster]

Just now, Beregond said:

dun need top up if perfectly ok. new car 2-3 years also dun need touch 1

Thanks. My 2 yr old mazda air con changed under warranty but it's not cold after 2 years. Wonder if it's because of leak.

[Koster]

2 minutes ago, Toeknee_33 said:

It's a closed loop system. If there is no leak - then there should be no lose of gas. 

Thanks bro!

[Beregond]

6 minutes ago, Koster said:

Thanks. My 2 yr old mazda air con changed under warranty but it's not cold after 2 years. Wonder if it's because of leak.

very easy to know. either u ask ad to check if still under warrently'

or u visit any outside ws and request to top up gas. if after they top up. it become colder, then confirm plus chop is gas level issue.

if every ws also tell u very full already cannot top. then other issue.

(if under warrently do not let mazda ad know u go outside top gas etc etc)

[Mkl22]

22 minutes ago, Toeknee_33 said:

It's a closed loop system. If there is no leak - then there should be no loss of gas. 

its closed loop, but still some small leakage over the years. fridge almost zero leaks over time since hermetically sealed compressor and brazed connect lines, plus it is not moved much. Home aircon you have 2 joints one at the compressor end and the other at the blower. also the lines can be long, thus higher chances of leaks. Car aircon is the worst, vibration and the need for multiple joints and plus a rubber hose section to the engine from the chassis. much more leak points.

So i accept some normal leakage over the years for cars. i topped up some gas for my COE car after 10years when i bought it from the 1st owner. he never touch the aircon. after topping up for the last 1,5years, it has been cold and working fine.

Edited March 25, 2021 by Mkl22

[mersaylee]

3 hours ago, Toeknee_33 said:

Long story.

During the recent cold spell, 1 night, i felt very cold in the car, so upped the temp from the usual 22.5 to 26.5 degC. A week later, when the sun finally emerged, i felt the aircon was not freezingly cold like before. Brought the car to Markcool, and they diagnosed as cooling coil dirty/leaking and wanted $1300 and 2 days of downtime. Arrangements were made to drop the car off the next day.

I thought about it as I was driving off, and felt that the diagnosis was not right. If it was dirty, the decline should be gradual. If it was leaking, then why no hissing sound and the aircon gas was still full? Besides, i dont fancy the idea of stripping out the dashboard and end up with a cabin full of rattles. I decided to stop and do research on MCF, found that L&Kim was recommended, drove from Woodlands to Ubi. 

The young technician did the usual diagnosis (check compressor running, aircon gas full, noted that the hoses were cold), whipped out his gadgets, went inside the car, quickly noticed that 1 side of my dual zone climate control was cold and the other side was not, attached his tablet, pressed a few keys, and told me its settled. He explained that the solenoids controlling the air-mixing flaps have gotten stuck and didnt return to its normal position when I upped the temp to 26.5. All he did was to reset them. Job done. And he declined payment.

Left the place a happy man.

 

Thanks for the valuable sharing...

I guess it's best to set temp to 21 if not 20 and leave it alone...only use the vent dials to moderate air flow...😁

[Hamburger]

Best is to set it to the lowest possible temp. Car air con don't run on thermostat and no merits in setting a higher temp than the lowest possible. And it certainly have no bearing on longevity of the hardware nor FC. 

 

Full blast for me anytime any day. 

[Toeknee_33]

7 minutes ago, Hamburger said:

Best is to set it to the lowest possible temp. Car air con don't run on thermostat and no merits in setting a higher temp than the lowest possible. And it certainly have no bearing on longevity of the hardware nor FC. 

 

Full blast for me anytime any day. 

In my car, although I have sufficient blubber, I will still freeze to death. Haha! 

[Optramagnum]

6 hours ago, Toeknee_33 said:

Honestly, I have MCF to thank. I was about to commit to the coil change at Markcool, until I decided to research in MCF, found L&Kim, went there for a second opinion, and thank goodness, it was not a cooling coil issue and just required 5 minutes to fix, FOC somemore! 

What was the issue in the end? 

[Toeknee_33]

2 minutes ago, Optramagnum said:

What was the issue in the end? 

You might have missed this post. 

[Optramagnum]

2 minutes ago, Toeknee_33 said:

You might have missed this post. 

Oops sorry. Glad you had a pleasant experience. 

[Wallaw819]

the best is just to bypass the heater core under the dash. it add un-necessary heat (90°C air) into the system.

once the heater core eliminated the blend door will not serve any purpose (even if it fail no problem).

typical car air-con system.

 

 

[mersaylee]

36 minutes ago, Toeknee_33 said:

In my car, although I have sufficient blubber, I will still freeze to death. Haha! 

Suit up like Stiq...then can jiak ice cream...😁

[Toeknee_33]

2 minutes ago, mersaylee said:

Suit up like Stiq...then can jiak ice cream...😁

As a matter of fact my racing suit and helmet is in white, and when I don that for my endurance races, I get slow-roasted in my racing car. Haha! 

[Stratovarius]

Seems that this L&kim is a must visit. My AC recently got hissing sound and not as cold as before. Might go down and ask them for a check.

[Mkl22]

1 hour ago, Wallaw819 said:

the best is just to bypass the heater core under the dash. it add un-necessary heat (90°C air) into the system.

once the heater core eliminated the blend door will not serve any purpose (even if it fail no problem).

typical car air-con system.

 

 

Sorry I Disagree. The heater core is used to blend the air and give good comfort as well as maintain the lower humidity levels by running the compressor. A huge mistake to bypass heater core for climate control systems. 
 Same reason why you shouldn’t remove the thermostat for a “cooler” engine as some local mechanics lead you to believe. 

Edited March 25, 2021 by Mkl22