Thread: A/C issue

Hi NomadicD3

Give triumph rover spares a call in Lonsdale S/A 08 83846933. I would be surprized if they didnt have one
Good luck

if the fault was as he described then the pully should have come off the front...

you may find that its just low on gas or has an electrical fault....

try manually jumping power onto the compressor (after disconnecting the leads and plugging a test light into the vehicle side of the plug) and firing up the AC.

If that makes it blow cold then its an elecrical problem between the controls and the compressor and ID start with the high/low pressure switch.

Originally Posted by connock

Hi NomadicD3

Give triumph rover spares a call in Lonsdale S/A 08 83846933. I would be surprized if they didnt have one
Good luck

Hi, thanks for the assist however i know plenty of suppliers throughout the world it's just that at the moment i'm offshore and have limited phone coverage so i thought i may use the aulro family to source one. I won't be back to the car for a few more days so any more ideas will be appreciated.

Try "The Large One" (Nick ) on the disco3 UK site

Hi All, Just thought I'd post what I thought was some rather interesting informatiom about the landrover {and many other vehicle types} air conditioning condensor units. It seems that the latest AC condensors are susceptible to blockages. This is rather important as the nature of the D3 AC compressor runs constantly and this can create as excess build up of back pressure which in turn effectively stops the compressor from running and strips the clutch on the front of the compressor. There are 2 important things to note.
1- Once this happens it's a replacement compressor for about $700.00
2- There is no way {apparently} of checking the function of the condensor or clearing it!! as you would do with a radiator or intercooler...
A new condensor is about $300 in Perth, probably cheaper in the east .
Another interesting point is that the new style of parallel inline condensors are affected much more by any restriction of air flow ie.. spot lights, larger intercoolers etc..
Sadly this is the issue I am now dealing with so will be looking at about 2k for a new compressor and condensor inc fitting etc

Hi All ,
Another quick update on AC problems. It seems compressor failure in the D3 etc is such a rare event that no-one knows how to fix/replace them. So here's my advice, should you find that the compressor dies, usually by way of a stripped clutch at the front of the unit, buy 5-10 ltrs of cheap yet highly flamable fuel, park your car in a nice quiet area, open all doors and windows, apply entire fuel contents to the vehicle inside and out, and ignite!!!!!!! Don't forget to call the police first and tell them that you car was stolen. Then sit back, collect the insurance cheque, buy another discovery, maybe a 4 this time...
Regardless of the scrutiny the police and insurance assessors put you through it will be easier than trying to find someone who knows how to pull the compressor out and replace it {at least n Perth anyway}...
Hoping you all are having more fun than i aml
cyas

Hi All, Last post about this issue. It seems that the head pressure , set from factory, in the air conditioning system for the tdv6 is 400psi. The local AC expert says that this is unquestionably to high. The issue here is in the event that the air flow is restricted in any way ie spot lights, winch controller units or larger intercoolers,the condensor fails to cool properly this in turn creates an environment of higher than normal pressure combined with the gas and the aluminium in the condensor results in the creation of what the AC expert call black death. This is a black wet almost sooty like substance that then blocks the very small holes in the condensor. {BTW they are dam small, about the size of a sewing needle, as the AC guy showed me a cut away section of one that they had removed from a different vehicle}. So as you can see there is now a vicious circle, the more blocked it becomes the more black death created until eventually the back pressure is too great for the compressor clutch and it strips.
Apparently whilst it's not very common with the landrovers, Honda CRV's and a few mercedes who run the exact same system have had many failures requiring complete replacement of the AC system.
So in conclusion, If you plan on {as I have done} installing large spotties, large intercoolers or anything else that may inhibit airflow ie insect mesh etc, be aware that it may seem fine for quite sometime but eventually you may end up destroying the compressor and having to replace and clean the entire AC system at a cost of about $3000.00.
P.S. I'm am not an air conditioning expert but the guys that have just repaired my car have alot of experience and were confident this was the case.They also showed me my condensor with the black crap in it......

yep, this is part of the more for less with lower tolerances syndrome of down to a cost not up to a standard engineering.

older condensors were large and with big holes in them so they werent uber effecient but they operated well on relatively low pressures. IF you make it smaller with smaller galleries you can run higher pressures which allows you to take advantage of a bigger chunk of the enthalpy table for the refrigerent. this means the AC works better with smaller componentry BUT its more susceptible to failures so something that will make an older system just a bit more inefficient might totally kill a new unit.