AC works on/of

[2cv]

Hi

Have just driven from Denmark in my Espace (year 2000 2.0 16 V) to the south of France we spend two days on the road.  On the second day we experience some problem with the A/C we had the following symptoms:
With the A/C on: works fine for approx an hour after that the cooling disappears and it seems as the airflow get some how restricted.  The problem can be fixed by turning of the A/C this brings back the air flow after awhile which is better than nothing on hot day. By then turning on the A/C again the A/C work fine for a period. 
Any out there how have seen the same my best shut would be to find somebody down here in France that could recharge the A/C and hope the it would fix everything or is that to simple?
Regards
Lars   

[Martin Tyas]

Before doing anything else I would first check if you have not got the same problem that I experienced last week.
I was in city traffic and the engine started to overheat but I also lost air-con cooling.
It was the electric cooling fan motor that had failed.

When the air-con is switched on the cooling fan runs constantly irrespective of engine temperature. So whilst travelling the airflow through the radiator will keep the engine cool enough but the air-con will not operate properly if the cooling fan is not working.

To check if the fan is working start the engine with the air-con switched off. Then turn on the air-con and you should hear the fan start to operate immediately. If it does not then you have found the problem.
Of course it may not be the motor itself that has failed but a bad connection to it, the fuse blown (that is in the fuse box & relay compartment on the inner wing on the right as you are stood looking into the engine bay) or the relay (that is in the black plastic box that is part of the radiator shroud ~ you will see the wiring going into the underneath of the box behind the radiator)

Martin

[Anders Dinsen]

I agree with Martin, that it could be the fan. But it could also be that there's a leak in the system and cooling fluid is vaporising from there. I'd find a Renault garage and ask them to fix it. Where in France are you, Lars?

/Anders

[2cv]

Thanks for your replies I will go and check if the fan is working as Martin described. I dough there is a leak because I was able to repeat the procedure I previously have described (turning the A/C on/off) a leak would eventual drain the system completely and then the A/C would not work at all.
Anders I’m in Menton next to the Italian border.
Lars

[Anders Dinsen]

I know a Renault garage in Frejus, but that's too far for you, I suppose.
There's a Renault dealer in Menton:
http://www.renault.fr/concession/menton

If they can't fix it, at least they can tell you where the nearest garage is.

/Anders

[2cv]

Thanks Anders if it comes down to a recharge I used Midas last time (for my Citroen Xm) the manager their speaks English which makes it easier.
Martin I check whether the fan kicks in with the A/C on everything seems to be ok.

regards

Lars

[jack daniels]

I have allways had good luck with air conditioning specialists and not the dealer who is bound to charge a lot more, especially for any parts.

If the compressor cuts in very often, then that could be a sign of low gas press.
if the job is not allready done , then take a photo of the fan belt before it is removed so that you know that it is reinstalled correctly and avoid a cam belt break as well. There should be an empty v belt groove on the inside of the power steering pump,  the AC compresssor and the alternator. There is a diagram somewhere on this website.

[2cv]

HI

A long time ago I posted some observations I made with respect to my A/C system. I have come to the conclusion that the cause must be that the compressor is constantly engaged, this causes ice to build up on the condenser (during our trip home we observed that small flakes of ice were blown into the cabin) and will eventually block the flow of air through the condenser.
My question is - Where can I obtain a diagram of the A/C system in order to do some fault finding. On the condenser itself it looks like a temperature gauge is mounted - could it be that this temperature gauge is defect, causing the compressor to be constantly engaged?

Lars

[jack daniels]

to turn off the comp. temporarily you could disconnect the 1 and only wire going to the clutch. there's a connection just behind the pully.
  If the comp. is constantly engaged you'll see the comp. pully rotating permanently. Is that the case?

[2cv]

 
Hi
Finally got my AC working, the problem was a faulty thermistor. The thermistor cuts the compressor out when the temperature on the evaporator reach 2 C. If this is not working the compressor keeps working and the evaporator will eventual freeze up and blocking the air flow into the cabin.  Thanks for all in-put.
Lars