Can anyone help with a climate control problem?

Hello All,

Meriva 1.6 Enjoy EasyTronic on 53 plate with climate control..

With AirCon off ('ECO' showing on control panel) and 'Auto' with temp
selected below ambient (outside) temp or 'Lo', the vents blow very warm
(above ambient) air.

Selecting a temp above ambient or 'Hi' gives hotter air.

'Cycling' temp control 'Hi' - 'Lo' - 'Hi' - 'Lo' several times over
about 2 - 3 minutes sometimes gets ambient air with 'Lo' selected, but
the next time the vehicle is used the control problem re-occurs.

Even with AirCon 'on', and 'Lo' selected, the air from the vents does
not get 'cold', merely cooler.

I have no idea how the temp control works, but it is as if there is a
valve that is not fully closing and is allowing the heater to warm the
air when it should not. Could this be a 'sticking' valve (hot water or
air control) or the control circuitry not sending the correct signals?

Any help with diagnosis and rectification of the fault would be
appreciated.
--

Regards,

Roger.

 

When was the air con last serviced?

Cheers

D

 

Hi Roger,

Probably not much help but I once had a very similar problem with a Fiesta's
air-con. Required fluid top-up/change. Check that when air-con compressor is
running that the coolant pipes are getting very cold i.e. condensation
freezing on them.

Lenny

 

Hi,

Car has been Main Dealer serviced as required by Handbook & servicing
indicator, i.e. at 2 years old in 2006 - mileage is low, so servicing is
by time interval - & next service is due Feb 2008. Air-con has not been
serviced otherwise.

I'm not sure that it's an Air-con problem though, because the problem is
evident when the Air-con is switched off. The problem is that the
heater does not seem to "switch off" and blows hot air with "Lo"
selected.

Any further help would be appreciated.
--

Regards,

Roger.

 

I am pretty sure Air con servicing is a customer request add on, not part of
the standard scedule.

Lack of use is the main problem with Air Con.

Being Climate control, rather than straight Air Con, it needs the air con
working properly to function.

I'd get the air con checked first.

Cheers

D

 

Is the aircon compressor actually kicking in? If you set the
temperature to LO then switch the CC off ( I'm assuming it has an off
button like my Vectra's CC ) and then switch back to AUTO do the
engine revs increase a bit? They should do, to acount for the extra
load of the aircon compressor. If they don't then it sounds like the
aircon is low on gas and so isn't kicking in when it should.

 

Hi,

Thanks, it looks like a Dealer job then - but, funnily enough, it has
behaved perfectly today !
--

Regards,

Roger.

 

I wonder if there is a problem with the mixed air servo motor? Put your
head under the dash and see if you can hear the motor moving as you change
the temp.
It could also be a temp sensor fault giving the ecu incorrect info so it
doesn't drop the temp down.
Your local dealer will be able to put it on tech 2 and read any fault codes
and check the live data.

 

Hi,

Yes, the Air-con seems to be working. The engine 'labours' a little
when it is switched on, and revs rise a little when switched off; and
water is delivered to the ground after a short while with the Air-con
switched on. As I said, with the Air-con 'off' ('ECO' displayed) the
car seems to heat the incoming ambient air with the temp selector set at
'Lo' in both 'Auto' and 'Manual'.

But, funnily enough, it has behaved perfectly today !
--

Regards,

Roger.

 

Maybe one final thing to try, the CC should have a way of resetting
the servos, usually involves holding a couple of the control buttons
in then turning the ignition on. Might be worth a go, I would think
the Meriva has a similar feature.

 

Thanks,

I've checked the mixed air servo motor by doing as you say (listening)
and it seems to be running OK.

The system seems to be working fine and well at the moment.

Thanks again,
--

Regards,

Roger.

 

Hi,

I can't see any info in the handbook about re-setting; and I've had a
search of forums for such information, but not found any - but that
doesn't mean anything really. If anyone is able to add anything
then it would be appreciated.

The system seems to be working fine and well at the moment.
--

Regards,

Roger.