I used the air con on my Picanto today, first time since I bought it in January, managed to get it working properly as I drove back into the drive on my return.
I noticed something unusual. The Sun was burning my face and arms. Is that because the Sun is having a go at us or is it lack of tint on the windows?
Seriously, that's what the sun does, and always has done,,,
Pass on the above but anyone have an opinion on the value in getting the air con gas topped up on a 2009 Fiesta?>
Never had it inside a car before though.
Arguably worth doing, even if it is still working since the re-gas also includes replacing the lubricant injected with the gas, and that helps keep the compressor and seals in good condition.
Ok John. Looks to be about £70 plus any undisclosed add ons!>
Perhaps both. Driving a hire car east-west in June from Banff to Vancouver I noticed how hot my left arm felt. But it wasn't only me - my black-faced solar/radio watch stopped working for a while until it had cooled down! The outside temperature was around 38°C.
Running the a/c regularly, including through the winter, helps reduce leaks etc.
As a minimum, run it a couple of times a month, even in winter. If nothing else, it helps 'demist' the windscreen.
Look on Group On, they sometimes have vouchers for one of the companies (ATS?) for half the normal price or so. I used one when our CRV needed regassing.
If it's not blowing cold, well worth a go I'd have thought.
And one of the few things worth checking with a dealer. I had an old Audi and the AC was not working - dealer 'AC service' was around £40. Very competitive compared to kwik fit type 'regas' - which may well have been the same thing. But the dealer did chuck in a valet and some sort of all points checkup.
My local backstreet garage has a fixed price of £40 plus VAT for labour. and an additional cost for the gas or 12p to 17p per gram depending on the gas (the more expensive option are for older than around 2014.
A 2009 Fiesta air con capacity is around 450 grams. At my local the gas would be around £50 plus VAT if fully depleted. The machines recover the gas in your system prior to a recharge so you only pay for the shortfall.
Kwikfit price is FROM £75 for a 2009 Fiesta (FROM £140 for a newer car requiring R1234YF gas)
+1
On some cars the aircon automatically comes on when selecting the windscreen blower option to demist. The aircon dries the air before directing it to the windscreen.
When re-gassing they will purge down first (to recover all the refrigerant), and then check that it holds a vacuum before refilling. If it does not they can normally inject a sense gas and use a spectrometer style gadget to find the leak.
That is conflating two types of "burn" though - glass will pass IR (at some frequencies) so you will feel the thermal heat, and get the greenhouse effect. However, normal glass will block most UV in the frequency that will cause sun burn.
Possibly, but UV-induced "sunburn" is rarely felt at the time. It usually appears some time after exposure, and the OP felt the burning while driving. So it was probably the IR he felt.
My watch was really hot, and I had to take it off. As it happens, it has sapphire-glass, not mineral glass. I don't know if that transmits UV and IR any differently.
It's on all the time, this is the first time I needed "cold". I discovered when I got home it was in windscreen mode, one click of the switch and glorious cold air came out of all the vents so I sat and enjoyed it for a couple of minutes!
Absolutely no point if its working.
I've heard a pinch of salt when listening to the BBC dies wonders
I've always got a 'Boertan' when driving.
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