A/C hissing and blowing hot air.

ssbib

Last year my AC stopped working. It would hiss and blow hot air making the car hotter. Eventually it would cool down but it would always hiss and would be no cooler than just using the regular fan on the lowest setting. I was told it needed to be re-gassed so I had it done by a friend who works at Kwik Fit, he did it off the books and I slipped him a couple of quid.

With the weather being hot this weekend I finally had it on again and it’s still the same: hissing and blowing hot air before cooling down again.

What’s going on? Has my mate done me over or is there another problem? Car is still in warranty but finding the time to take it in is a pain as I use it all day for work.

Delvey

What is exactly hissing?

ssbib

It’s from the vents I think, not sure exactly. It only hisses when the AC itself is on.

un1eash

My GT86 made a hiss like noise when the air con was on, it had no gas due to a leaky condenser joint.
When they hook it up to the air con machine it should do a pressure test showing up any leaks and tell you how much gas is left in the system by extracting the remaining gas first before replacing it with the correct amount.

John7

Sounds like a leak in the system and the refrigerant is escaping (or has escaped), hence the hissing.

ssbib

Managed to speak to my friend today who said exactly what you two have: sounds like a leak. He will check it when I next go down there. Good job I blagged that extra insurance from Ford for free. Will be making use of that if it turns out to be leaking.

andrewt9763

It’s quite possible that the seals have dried out if you don’t run it on a regular basis.

noiseboy72

Worth running the aircon at least once a week. As already said, it keeps the seals intact and prevents the clutch from seizing up.

woody10381

Possible a fracture in your condenser to compressor pipe, you'll need to take it to a garage or have an air con specialist look at it. Hopefully it's not a failure of the compressor or condenser themselves, as these are expensive to replace (if your warranty doesn't cover it).

ssbib

How much are you talking for that to be replaced if it’s not covered by the warranty? I’ll get my mate to take a look hopefully this weekend and then get it booked in. I’ll remember to run it regularly, even if just for a minute, in future.