Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

The air conditioning that is. Had the car 3 weeks, worked on Tuesday, pressed the button today and no cold air...in fact warmer air than with it off.
Is it worth bothering with? I mean is it worth getting it looked at or will it be money wasted?

Hi, mine dosen't work..but then I think not many 928s have working A/C... I remember when I had my XJS everyone said check the aircon as its expensive.. it didnt work..but was a bloomin great car anyway.. and the guy that bought it of me didnt even bother..he had had an XJS before..just one of those things! I think its down to how perfect you want the car to be! Cheers Rob

Hi

Hmm....well I did say.....lol...

Ok to be serious, it sounds like someone had the Aircon recharged to sell the car and the gas has now leaked out....

You need it testing by an Aircon specialist (and I don`t mean Quikfit lol)...it MAY just need a set of seals in which case a couple of hundred or less......or it MAY be major......in which case it would be between 1k and 2k....

All the best Brett

When you press the button the compressor still engages. I don't know what that means. Good or bad. Probably gas leaked out as you suggest.

It was always going to be a bit of a lottery. The car had not been used for 4 years which won't have done it any good (the aircon that is)....I wondered how long it would last.
I'll get it looked at, the car is going in on Tuesday to get the cambelt looked at, plus engine mounts and sump gasket.
If it's just seals it can be done now, if not it can be next year's project! In the meantime I'll see if I miss it.

What part of the country are you in?

If he has gassed it up to sell it, then that's a sh1t trick.

Hi Sean

Common on 928`s unfortunately

All the best Brett

Well....I think it's probably lack of use. I'm based near Stockport, Cheshire.
It is a bit soul destroying. I've only just bought the car and I can't drive it as the cam belt warning comes on after 15 minutes. Now the aircon has thrown in the towel....and I haven't even been anywhere in it yet!

I've investigated the cam belt problem and the belt seems OK. Well, not about to fall off. The warning system shows an earth (from the connection on the cam belt cover) but as soon as you start the engine the earth disappears....hence the warning on the dash.

Anybody know a good aircon place near to Stockport? I'm not sure if the Porsche specialist who is going to do the other jobs (Tony Greatorex) does aircon.

Sorry you're having a disappointing start to 928 ownership.

If you have a look at the Nichols tips page, or do a search on Rennlist (free to browse), then you'll find loads of info to help you do preliminary diagnosis of the aircon.

However if the compressor is engaging and running then it's very unlikely to be a simple leak. Reason being there is a low pressure switch which would prevent compressor from running if gas has escaped. There are other switches for other conditions so there are simple procedures for opening/shorting these switches to narrow down problem.

But you can ignore all my inadequate tips, and instead get the car seen by the only 928 aircon guy in the UK - Richard Armstrong in Devizes Wilts. Yes it's a long way but he is the man

http://www.ritech-systems.com/928/Maint ... oning.html

He's sorted out many cars for 928 owners. He is a regular on the 928.org.uk list so also if you join the list (free) you can search its archivews and follow current aircon threads. Richard is a very keen 928 owner and only does whatever work is necessary after expert diagnosis.

You are local to Loe Bank motors so I assume you are taking car there to have cambelt checked? Failing that Paul Anderson in Stroud (yes 928 owners are used to travelling long distances for service and maintenance - only 1500 cars remain on the road in UK so there's not exactly a thriving market for looking after them) will find the problem in double quick time for very fair cost. Again he is a 928 owner/racer and he only does 928s (unless you count his son's go-kart)

Thanks for the advice. I can't find the troubleshooting list you mentioned though. I did look on both sites but could not find it.

One thing. I did do some work on the car yesterday, replaced the air filter, fitted new stereo (it didn't have one at all) and removed the timing belt cover LHS looking at front of engine. As the aircon was OK last time I used the car I wonder if I may have disturbed something?
I've emailed Richard Armstrong as advised, he's replied already. I might just get him to sort it.

Good start is to go to 928 Specialists site:

https://www.928gt.com/skin2.htm

At top left click on tips/links, then Wally's World from menu and select HVAC (heating, ventilation, aircon) from menu.

This will take you to Wally Plumley's write-up. Latter is guru on 928 climate control.

I will find you some good Rennlist threads and post links to those also, but Wally's suggestions will keep you busy for now! At the very least you'll get a very thorough understanding of how whole system works.

OK Lightning, here's one (of many) threads on Rennlist discussing troubleshooting of the aircon compressor.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/9 ... umper.html

Problem is it's to troubleshoot why compressor is not running. If yours really is running then you need to look elsewhere for problem (places to start external temp sensor, mixer flaps, hvac conrol unit).

Thought I'd update this thread with my experience getting the aircon to work. I actually spent a total of £650 in the end. That included £130 for a local guy to regas and convert the system. This did not work for long but it was worth a try.
Before that I had purchased a new dryer for £30 and fitted it myself. The OE dryer costs £130, the alternative is £30 so I bought that but it's slightly slimmer and needs a rubber packing strip to hold it in the bracket. In future I'd buy the OE one.
The car then went to Loe Bank Motors (Porsche specialist fairly local to me) and they tested it and said it needed a new condenser.
They replaced the condenser with an OE BEHR one, fitted some new seals, and the bill was just under £500.

The aircon now worked but the HVAC system was not right, I'd previously looked at this and thought I'd sorted it. (the vacuum check valve was faulty). After more investigation I found that the sensor motor in the dash was jammed due to me not putting it back quite right when I took the console out.

So now I have working aircon and HVAC for £650....I think that's not too bad.

Oh, and £60 for a new interior sensor, but the old one turned out to be OK.

Good work Lightning! Glad all working now. It's a complicated system but quite 'logical' in how you can troubleshoot it.

I found a perfect but used aircon condenser on eBay for about £65 I think. Wish I'd kept it given price of your new one but I sold it with my old S4 as the original condenser was damaged (headlamp motor went awry and hit it!). I know the used one was good because the buyer of my old 928 reported back that installing it restored the aircon.

I nearly bought your old 928 last year when I was looking for one. I remember they had just fitted a new condenser to it. It was a great car and in hindsight I should have bought it, but it just looked a bit neglected and it put me off. it was dirty, the wheels needed refurbishing, and it had white paint spots all over the roof. When I drove it the transmission shuddered on the 2-3 change, also it needed new tyres and a service. At the time I did not know so much about 928's but the one I bought is getting there now. Also it's the "digi dash" version which I did not even existed at the time, until I went to pick it up after winning it on ebay!