Aircon randomly not working.

[Draebor]

the AC in my 2011 CJ vrx has started randomly not turning on properly.

Getting nothing on any fan speed setting, with AC on or off. then if i leave it a few hours it magically works again for a day or two.

Any ideas on what it could be? hoping to fix it myself rather than take it to a car air con guy.

thanks!

[lancerdarryl]

They have a low pressure cut out so the compressor won't operate if the gas pressure is too low.There will be a leak somewhere so it's a trip to the air con guy unfortunately
Also check the cabin filter isn't full of crap this doesn't help either.

[cooyarpjm]

When you say "isn't working", do you mean:

A: not getting cold?

B: not blowing any air?

[Draebor]

not blowing air. AC is still cold as heck when its running, but yeah think a trip to the AC guys is in order.

cabin filter is near new, replaced less than 6 months ago.

[lancerdarryl]

So you have a fan problem,possibly it's the resistor in the fan.You should be able to pick up a second hand fan reasonably cheap.New ones are around $160 on eBay

[Lancer1993]

How good at Ultra Tune for AC work and services in general?

There is one near where I now work.

[bumblebee]

That depends on their mechanic's who work on your car
Any place like this including "my car " formally known as KTAS or Kmart tyre and auto etc can produce some very good quality work at decent $
However
I suggest you have a look at their local reviews be it on Google maps or waste book or similar to see how your locals stack up.
Having said that , their work can't be too bad consideration that Ford Australia some years ago tried to take them to Court and they lost cos they wanted to have exclusive rights to service their cars.
Having said that I have used them once some years ago when I was in a bind and I have no complaints.

[wallaw819]

based on your description most likely the fan motor is faulty. replacement should not be too ex.

[Draebor]

Thinking of taking it to supercool on the gold coast here, got a contact who works there and hes done good work on my previous rides.

Have had the car 4 years and never had the AC serviced, might get them to give it the once over and also change the dryer while they are at it.

[Lancer1993]

based on your description most likely the fan motor is faulty. replacement should not be too ex.

Years ago I had similar with my Lancer coupe, got a place to 'rebuild' the motor, lasted about 6 months before it crapped out again, evened up finding one at a wreckers for half the rebuild cost, installed it myself and worked until the day I sold the car a few years later.

[wallaw819]

based on your description most likely the fan motor is faulty. replacement should not be too ex.

Years ago I had similar with my Lancer coupe, got a place to 'rebuild' the motor, lasted about 6 months before it crapped out again, evened up finding one at a wreckers for half the rebuild cost, installed it myself and worked until the day I sold the car a few years later.

For such item I will just buy new unit since not that ex. Cannot live without air-con in sunny Singapore.

[Lancer1993]

Well it depends on the availability of parts, at the time my old car was about 15yo, a popular Lancer model so lots of parts at wreckers at the time.

[Draebor]

Got a mobile AC guy thats done good work on our company vehicles coming around next week to diagnose it and sort it out.

Hopefully doesnt end up too expensive!

[Draebor]

AC guy came out today, checked the whole system out.

Blower dead or dying as suspected, quoted $380 for a genuine Mitsubishi part to replace it, plus a small installation fee.

going to go ahead with the genuine one, as i spoke to both him and a couple of other car AC techs and they reckon the cheaper eBay blowers are no good in the long term.

Also going to order in a dryer unit and get it fitted up plus a regas in the coming weeks as its never been done from the looks of things.

[bumblebee]

I wish I had $1 for every time I heard the same old story of use genuine parts for blowers , it's true though, makes almost zero difference what brand of car it is as well

If the AC has never been serviced keep an eye on the fuel range and you will see it improves over time after it's done.
If you want the AC to cool the car quicker , put some decent window tint on
The garbage they shove on at car yards etc is just dark colour plastic that does absolutely zero to reduce heat infact it promotes the opposite inside the vehicle and turns it into an oven