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Asthmatic air con after long journey

Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 4:19 am
by djbobbins
Anyone else experienced air con problems after a long journey? We did about 400 miles with only one short (5 - 10 minutes) break recently, in conditions that started at about 16 centigrade and misty, finishing at 30 degrees and baking sun.

By the end of the journey the air con was nigh on useless - blowers running at full speed but no flow of air from the vents, no matter whether on external or recirculated air. I’d parked under trees a couple of days before so wondered if there was leaf debris in an air duct somewhere, but no - after an hour’s stop for lunch and a large puddle on the floor (the car, not me!) it seems to be back to normal.

I assume therefore that the issue was ice forming on the condenser, which built up enough to block the flow of air into the car.

Just curious if this is an isolated incident related to the length of the journey, or whether others have had similar issues? It definitely made the end of the journey uncomfortable!

Re: Asthmatic air con after long journey

Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 6:28 am
by ron in new mexico
I have a phev but have used the air conditioner extensively, some on trips of 150 miles or so. It tends to be dry here in New Mexico, but I have not had this problem, regardless of weather. We are in our rainy season now.
Makes sense to me that could happen if it was very humid and hot. The only other possible would be by my guess(I am no mechanic), if the refrigerant was low for some reason. I would ask them to check that on my next service. It should be completely full with a new car. A older car will normally loose some refrigerant, it serves as a lubricant as well as providing the cooling, and a small amount is lost in that process over time. But that typically takes several years use, at a minimum.
Most probably it is just as you noticed, unusually humid conditions allowed it to accumulate.

Re: Asthmatic air con after long journey

Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 10:46 am
by dmrodgers
Not had that issue with the aircon but having issues with the air con ventilated seats on my Niro 4. The aircon in the car is working fine but the aircon seats have packed up. Can no longer make the seats cool in this hot weather. May be a lose connection under the seat but this is affecting both front seats. May have a quick look underneath to see if I can see any lose connections, if not it will be back to the dealer. Not sure if anyone else is having the same issue.

Re: Asthmatic air con after long journey

Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 4:55 pm
by ron in new mexico
Just a idea out of the blue really. We have UVO here in the states. If you do as well, I think there is some venues for checking diagnostics on it. I have not researched it, as actually I have not had any problems. ,But if you do have UVO, I would check on the options available within it. Probably it would not go so in depth, but it may be worth a look see.
The first thing a diagnostician will probably do is to hook up a scan tool. This will rule out some of the more complex problems such as computer faults and such. I would guess that would be more probable than a connection coming loose. Some faults may just need a reset through a computer hook up and that is easily done by a dealer. Really it amounts to clicking a post on the scanner for a reset. Takes a minute or so. Could be a fault occurred due to wet seats a impact shock, or some other outside influence, just to venture a guess. Hard to tell on that. With todays connectors it is pretty rare to have one come loose.
I have had problems with some seat faults presenting ,when I was spending time actually living on the beach for a week or so(Texas), in very wet conditions, in my prior car, a Subaru.
Virtually everything goes through the car computer nowadays and a non operable item is almost guaranteed to show on a dealer level scan. Unless in the very rare situation when the computer itself is having a problem. But that will typically show with multiple other faults on the scan.