Air Conditioning Repair – Reading, Berkshire.

Vehicle air conditioning is has become a very specialist field. Various rules and regulations have now been imposed for correct handling of R134a & R1234yf refrigerant (the gas inside your aircon system).

All of our aircon technicians are F-Gas trained (F-Gas training is a course that teaches people how to work with AC gases) and running the latest automatic AC equipment.

Some vehicle owners attempt to cut corners with air con maintenance by using fast-fit centres or trying a DIY approach with a cheap aircon gas refill kit. Unfortunately, both options often fall short and end up wasting both time and money. While they may seem like cost effective solutions at around £50.00, they’re typically ineffective in the long run.

Where has the gas gone in the first place?

If the gas has gone, there will be a leak somewhere in the system. At this stage we will pressure test the system and advise a route of repair rather than letting your expensive gas off into the atmosphere. As time passes air con gas can disperse leading to an inefficient air con system.

Milly – Helping you get booked in
Greg – Diagnosing your aircon issue.
George – Repairing the fault

If the system is low on gas, how will you know how much to put it?

Later vehicle’s will not even attempt to turn the compressor over if the vehicle detects the wrong amount of gas in the system. If your air con system has stopped working then it is beneficial to deal with the issue ASAP. As an example, if a seal has gone or a stone has gone through your condenser which has allowed the gas to expel, the internals of the AC system are open to the atmosphere. An open system can take on moisture which is detrimental to all of the AC components and will lead to further costly repairs.

What we do when we service an air con system:

  • Full drain down of old air con gas.
  • Full vacuum test of air con system to identify any possible leaks, this also aids removing any moisture in the system.
  • If the vacuum test fails due to a leak in the system we then test the system for leaks with nitrogen free oxygen.
  • If no leaks are identified, the air con system is then refilled with the correct amount of R134a or R1234yf refrigerant gas.
  • New PAG oil is injected into the system. This step is often missed, however vital for long term maintenance.
  • Air con UV dye is injected into system (this aids detection of future leaks).

Costs

  • The cost of a aircon recharge for vehicles with R134a gas is £95.94 inc VAT.
  • The cost of a aircon recharge for vehicles with R1234yf gas is £130 inc VAT.

As a rough guide, all electric vehicle and most vehicles registered 2016 onwards use the later R1234yf gas. Earlier cars use R134a.

A full air con service report is printed for your service history stating gas recovered from the system, status of vacuum test, quantity of PAG oil refilled, quantity of UV dye refilled and finally quantity of gas refilled into the system.

Feel free to use our online booking tool or call us on 01189777160. Let us make your experience positive and effortless.

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