anyone having problems with their a/c not being cold enough?
i know right now it's a bit chilly..(or freezing really..)
but i scheduled and appointment today to get my a/c checked. i got it back already and they said that it was fine. everything was A.OK!
but the thing is..a couple of weeks ago it was around 70 to 80 degrees.
and my a/c wouldnt work at ALL. it just blew outside air inside basically.
i told mini service about it. but i guess since today being cold (about high 40's) my a/c decided to blow out cold air.
so is anyone else having problems with their a/c not being cold? (when i mean cold..i mean ICE COLD)
cause i mean..i vented out the hot air in my car. but i just ended up driving with the windows down the whole time. sigh..i want an ice cold a/c..just wanted to fix it before it started gettin uber hot again.

can anyone put any helpful input(insight) on this subject?

 

I suggest that you get a thermometer or a thermocouple and get some real temp values. Measure outside temp, what gets sucked into the cowl, what is getting sucked into the condensor and what is coming out of the vents, using full recirc and also outside source and report back.

YD

 

There may be a freeze-kill relay which could preclude a cost weather test.

 

hm. well when i did get it checked at mini they ran all the tests. so they said.
they said they put the car in their garage bay. but hm...i dunno.
Yo'sDad - ill try measuring all that good stuff once i get a chance. ill hit this thread back.
LynnEl - wat do you mean? o.O i dont know anything about that stuff. my knowledge about cars is limited. haha

but thanks for the replies guys.

 

What LynnEl was talking about was a switch in the sytem that won't let the compressor run if the outside temp is too cold. If it ran, the freon wouldn't evaporate enough and flood liquid freon back to the compressor and possibly or surely ruin it.

There are other switches, high and low pressures that will also turn your compressor off for protection reasons.

When it gets warm, turn on the ac and see if the compressor comes on.. you can hear it. If it doesn't, then don't bother with the temp readings.

Good luck and send the numbers when you can.

YD

 

ok...it's been almost 2 months..but i finally was able to take it back to the dealer..
(never had time. schedule never worked out)
but i dropped it off yesterday. they didn't even get to start on it..so i had to leave it overnight.which sucked..had to bum rides off friends.
but at last..they finally fixed my a/c today.
guess wat the problem was..go on..guess.....
they refilled the a/c....put more freon? o.O (is that the right word?)
but they said the factory probably didnt put enough in..now how gay was that..
even i could have refilled it..but then again..at least i didnt pay a dime..(well besides gas...)

but when driving it's pretty cold..i like i like..(not as ICE cold as my gf's new accord..but still cold)
BUT...when i parked after driving on the highway for a while..it got noticeably warmer..is that normal? O.O im guessing the dealer didn't fill it up 100% maybe?
how would i go about making it even colder?

 

oh..and sorry yo'sdad for not crunching on those numbers..i was too lazy to do all that..heh. but thanks oh so much for the help.

 

My A/C performs about the same as yours. When moving, it works pretty good but when stopped, it's just adequate. Once it gets into the upper 90's it gets tough even when moving.

Last summer, I felt my A/C wasn't working as well as it should so I took it into the dealer. They found a leaky expansion valve that wasn't allowing the system to get as cold as it could. They replaced it and recharged the system. Honestly, I really didn't feel much of a difference (if any). I have read a couple posts about MINI's being underfilled from the factory but unless the dealers are also underfilling, it might just be a slightly undersized system.

 

The AC is the only gripe I have on my car. I've had it for nearly a year now. During Vegas winters I don't use heat or AC, which is nice. But in the summer time, that's a different story. The AC just isn't cold enough and the full-blast fan setting is a joke. With summer in full force her ein Vegas, I'm reminded of how bad the AC is.

It's so bad I may consider selling the car!

 

I think this is typical of the Minis AC system. it just doesn't seem to get as cold as just about any other car I've driven or riden in. The only time I get really cold air is when going down the freeway. after about 10 or 15 minutes it starts blowing really cold. Like someone else on here said, once you slow down it tends to become less cold. And I'm running a new compressor which was installed by the dealer and system supposedly re-filled. I also find that with in town or low speed driving it tends to blow colder on re-circ. Mine is a manuely controlled system by the way. Don't know about auto AC.

 

hm...so in general a/c in minis suck. wat a wonderful thing..haha
but on a serious note..i heard if you fill it up to 1.1 a little over the actual refill amount or something like that it should be a lot colder. i guess i can live with NOT the best a/c.
im just happy it actually blows out cold air..and my expectations were way too high before recieving it. i was expecting it to be as ICE cold as my gf's car. oh well..
there's stuff we gotta live with.

 

i've found if you put it on recirculate as well as a/c it gets very cold very quick . then simply take it off recirc. once cold enough. go back to recirc. as needed .

 

thanks for the tip. a/c is holding up pretty well. gotta love this hot weather we're having.

 

Yeah our condenser is just not adequate to deal with the needs of the car. Probably a result of so little space with which to work in designing the system. Here in AZ, if you are not moving at 25mph it blows lukewarm all the time. I have found though, that a front mount intercooler does not seem to compromise the function. It stays it's basic crappy all the time. Now the B5 Passat from VW, that was some cold A/C. I could chill a can of coke if I placed it in front of the vents on a hot summer day if I needed to!

 

Glad to hear it was taken care of. If refrigerant is low (they don't use freon anymore), it will freeze and a/c cooling stops. Most likely, the dealer the first time simply turned on the a/c, waved a hand in front of the vent and pronounced it cool. This is common. If you -- anyone -- has a/c cooling problems make sure they actually check the refrigerant levels.