Air Conditioning Stoppped Working

[ttboy]

I have been doing a fair bit of reading here, especially about the a/c system on my 99 C2. It completely stopped blowing cold air a few days ago, so I took it to a local Porsche specialist here in Dubai. (Driving with no ac here is NOT nice!!)

I received a quote from them, they say that I need to replace:

1. A/C Low pressure pipe

2. Flap Motor and Evaporator

3. Dryer Bottle and Evaporator

The cost they have quoted (with labor) including recharging the gas is about equal to 2000 US. That seems a bit high to me, am I wrong? The quote for item 2 ¨Flap Motor and Evaporator¨ is about 1000 us. Sound right?

Thanks everyone in advance for your opinions....

Sweaty Phil...

[fastboydave]

I have been doing a fair bit of reading here, especially about the a/c system on my 99 C2. It completely stopped blowing cold air a few days ago, so I took it to a local Porsche specialist here in Dubai. (Driving with no ac here is NOT nice!!)

I received a quote from them, they say that I need to replace:

1. A/C Low pressure pipe

2. Flap Motor and Evaporator

3. Dryer Bottle and Evaporator

The cost they have quoted (with labor) including recharging the gas is about equal to 2000 US. That seems a bit high to me, am I wrong? The quote for item 2 ¨Flap Motor and Evaporator¨ is about 1000 us. Sound right?

Thanks everyone in advance for your opinions....

Sweaty Phil...

Surely ALL the above could NOT have gone??? Just replace what has...... Are they sure you havent got a hole in the radiator(s) and you have leaked out the coolant? This is very common.......... but still expensive.......

[jmj996]

I have been doing a fair bit of reading here, especially about the a/c system on my 99 C2. It completely stopped blowing cold air a few days ago, so I took it to a local Porsche specialist here in Dubai. (Driving with no ac here is NOT nice!!)

I received a quote from them, they say that I need to replace:

1. A/C Low pressure pipe

2. Flap Motor and Evaporator

3. Dryer Bottle and Evaporator

The cost they have quoted (with labor) including recharging the gas is about equal to 2000 US. That seems a bit high to me, am I wrong? The quote for item 2 ¨Flap Motor and Evaporator¨ is about 1000 us. Sound right?

Thanks everyone in advance for your opinions....

Sweaty Phil...

Surely ALL the above could NOT have gone??? Just replace what has...... Are they sure you havent got a hole in the radiator(s) and you have leaked out the coolant? This is very common.......... but still expensive.......

It does seem improbable that it has all failed. I don't think they have a handle on the source of the problem. I was quoted about $3000US by my dealer to replace the evaporator and fan in my 99 C2 cabriolet (fan was fine, but it all comes assembled in a single box, they wouldn't separately replace the evaporator), so the price you're being quoted is pretty nice. I didn't have it replaced, I just had them recharge the system to see how much longer it would hold out, and it has been blowing cold ever since - that was March 2006. I think the dealer just points to the evaporator when they can't identify the actual source of the leak. To truly test the evaporator, they would have to spend numerous hours of labor to remove it and with that much time invested, you might as well replace it at that point anyway. Ask them to recharge it and determine exactly why it won't hold pressure.

Also, did it seem to stop gradually? I.e. was the fan always blowing hard (trying to keep up) for the last several days/weeks before it stopped blowing cold air? Unless the car has been sitting outside, the A/C should be very cold all the time, but I found that mine was minimally cool the last several weeks before it completely went out and needed to be recharged.

By the way - on the previous quote, I think he meant condenser, not radiator.

[ttboy]

Thanks John, I think i'll do that, just get them to recharge the system, and then take it to an ac specialist and see if he can determine where the leak actually is.

Thanks!

Phil...

[TRIATHLETE]

Thanks John, I think i'll do that, just get them to recharge the system, and then take it to an ac specialist and see if he can determine where the leak actually is.

Thanks!

Phil...

Good luck with the recharge - have them inspect for leaks under black light with dye. I had the same problem - recharge lasted a year. The second time it lasted a month. The dealer and an independant shop never found the leak so the dealer replaced the Evaporator/fan assembly two years ago. Cold air ever since. Cost was $2300 US.

[John Ware]

The problem is most likely to be one (or both) of the condensors. They are the smaller radiators bolted onto the front of the main radiators and are extremely prone to stone damage. I've just had both mine replaced and the aircon recharged for that very reason. The cost came to about £450 (sterling) at my specialist in the UK including labour. Not sure how prices compare in the sandpit though.

[claudiu]

I have had a similar problem relatively recently. Mine is a C4 2000, so I suspect the same cause might be behind the a/c failure in your car, i.e. one of the two small radiators/condensors behind the front bumper must be leaking. I have replaced both although only one was leaking and it cost me around £500 but the work was done by an a/c expert, not by the Porsche garage. Prior to diagnosing the leak, the expert introduced a green fluorescent dye. Good luck!

[yizzung]

Local independent just fixed mine with a recharge. $120. He also injected fluorescent dye so that next time they can determine from where it might be leaking.