Air Conditioning problems!

jarradgoodwin91 · 26-01-2010, 05:09 PM

hey guys!
happy australia day!

ummm, just been up the central coast all weekend, driving everywhere with my a/c running.
got in the car on sunday morning, air conditioner worked fine, went for a 10 minute drive, got back to holidayhouse,

this is when my problem begins,
when i got back in the car, some hours later, i turned it on, everything seemed fine but the a/c just wouldnt kick in.
the fan is working fine,
the a/c light lights up.but still no cool air?
any ideas what the problem could be?
i tried changing the fuse,
still no change?

p.s im driving an 06 ford focus cl ls.

any help would be appreciated.

thanks

melbzetec · 26-01-2010, 06:31 PM

Same happenned to me last year....turned out to be the compressor. Not a cheap item!!!!

I managed to get a 2nd hand one.....not sure how you'll go with an 06.

Get it checked at a air con specialist...they'll soon tell you.

Tj-zetec · 26-01-2010, 10:33 PM

It's a shame the whole AC system can't be swapped out for something better. The focus setup just ain't enough for sydney weather. Let alone anywhere worse.

casabonka · 27-01-2010, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tj-zetec

It's a shame the whole AC system can't be swapped out for something better. The focus setup just ain't enough for sydney weather. Let alone anywhere worse.

Really? I think my A/C is great. Nothing compares to the AC in my old 01 Lancer, that was the best, but my A/C hasn't even been turned up to 3 (And Im a sweaty bast*rd who loves A/C).

Fredo · 28-01-2010, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by casabonka

Really? I think my A/C is great. Nothing compares to the AC in my old 01 Lancer, that was the best, but my A/C hasn't even been turned up to 3 (And Im a sweaty bast*rd who loves A/C).

Yeah!!! Viva la sweaty Bast*rds!!!!

:

Conquest_Tsi · 29-01-2010, 10:31 AM

Yeah i dunno my LS focus dosnt seem very good with a/c, dosnt cool down the car quick enough

'97 ford laser though, alot better!

Fusspot · 01-02-2010, 11:10 AM

On the way home after picking up my new LS-CL w/smooth pack in 2006 I noticed the A/C was not working. Fan was OK but no cold air . Took it back across town (Brisbane) and after leaving it for a half day the problem was diagnosed as a an electrical connector that had not been pushed in all the way.

A few months later I noticed a harsh grinding noise on cold start-ups from the compressor. Left the car o/night with Ford who replaced the compressor under warranty due to a faulty compressor clutch.
I have to agree while not the worst A/C,it does seem to take a long time to drop the temp.I find I need to run it at fan speed 2 in recirculate mode for most of the time to keep any sort of a comfortable temp. All that glass (esp. the windscreen) does not help. I had my glass tinted which IMO is required on any Focus in Oz.

I was always happy with the Nippon Denso AC in my prev Camry.
Still I like the Focus..pretty roomy,good head room,great handling and gearbox. Value for money.

XR5-Boy · 01-02-2010, 11:32 AM

Must admit i was pretty pleased with my A/C in my turbo yesterday in 37 degress weather here in Melbourne. Definitely better than the Cougar's A/C before it.

I agree that tinted windows is a must on these cars! Plus it makes them look heaps better

mrbaxr6t · 01-02-2010, 12:20 PM

ok on the topic of tint seeing as others have gone there I know off topic sorry the XR5 has factory tint iirc, are you guys going darker tint than XR5 standard?

now ontopic the aircon in wifes new XR5 seems pretty good, the falcon would beat it easily but it does the job here in victoria, I do think on hot days as mentioned it works pretty hard to cool it down, recirc with fanspeed 3 seems to be the go on her focus - only cause fanspeed 4 makes the vents make noise for some silly reason and that is annoying, on the plus side the gear shift knob doesn't get as hot as a branding iron like the falcon one does man it gets hot!

jarradgoodwin91 · 01-02-2010, 08:51 PM

i took my car in today for service and to get the a/c checked out
turns out the compressor clutch needs replacing
under warranty thank god!

maybe this is an issue that ford needs to look into fixing, so many people on various forums seem to be having this issue!

Tj-zetec · 02-02-2010, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrbaxr6t

ok on the topic of tint seeing as others have gone there I know off topic sorry the XR5 has factory tint iirc, are you guys going darker tint than XR5 standard?

now ontopic the aircon in wifes new XR5 seems pretty good, the falcon would beat it easily but it does the job here in victoria, I do think on hot days as mentioned it works pretty hard to cool it down, recirc with fanspeed 3 seems to be the go on her focus - only cause fanspeed 4 makes the vents make noise for some silly reason and that is annoying, on the plus side the gear shift knob doesn't get as hot as a branding iron like the falcon one does man it gets hot!

I found, although primarily in my LR focus, that if the ac dial is on the face setting (technical huh?) and the fan on four, it used to actually blow the vents half shut (in that the little dial you use to close them) and they'd make a fair bit of racket.

I have also noticed that in the LV, with the ac set to face and feet (again with the techno babble) not a lot comes out of the face vents (seriously, there's gotta be a proper name for em...) so i have to wind the dial back towards the face setting.

Aaaaand on the topic of window tint, I had mine done about a week or two after I bought the car. Got it done by Tint-a-car. I went for midnight express (they had a special on, and I took two cars for them to do at the same time and got a bit more off :king: )

It looks the ducks nuts! and it really does keep the heat out. Quite often on my drive to work, the sun will belt in the side window, burning the bejebus out of my right temple, but when I wind the window up it's fine.

Strongly recommended

DZFord · 03-02-2010, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tj-zetec

Aaaaand on the topic of window tint...Got it done by Tint-a-car. I went for midnight express...It looks the ducks nuts! and it really does keep the heat out. Strongly recommended

I'll second that. Highly recommended.

jarradgoodwin91 · 12-02-2010, 05:29 PM

finally got the air con fixed!
windsor toyota done the repair under my dealership warranty!
turns out the compressor clutch shat itself
so i put it in today and it was done in no time!

DeKa · 20-12-2012, 09:10 PM

What air vent temperatures do you guys get? I am not sure my LV Focus air con is cold enough .. these are the numbers I get (parked in the shade)

Recirc / fan speed 4 / face and feet / 12.0 degrees C at face level vents
Recirc / fan speed 4 / face only / 12.6 degrees C
Recirc / fan speed 1 / face only / 8.2 degrees C

My Peugeot 207 used to get vent temps down to 4 degrees C.

Yellow_Festiva · 20-12-2012, 10:47 PM

I find the Focus AC is perhaps not as strong as it can be in terms of an instant burst of cold air at the start, but once you have cleared the cabin of the hot air and set it on recirculate I just leave it on the coldest setting and number 1 fan speed. That will be with myself and perhaps a passenger on a day in the 30's.

If it gets to the low 40's or I have 3-4 people in the car I just put it on number 2 fan speed.

Franco Cozzo · 21-12-2012, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I find the Focus AC is perhaps not as strong as it can be in terms of an instant burst of cold air at the start, but once you have cleared the cabin of the hot air and set it on recirculate I just leave it on the coldest setting and number 1 fan speed. That will be with myself and perhaps a passenger on a day in the 30's.

If it gets to the low 40's or I have 3-4 people in the car I just put it on number 2 fan speed.

I open all the windows for 5 minutes, then let it idle at fan speed 4 with A/C happening on recirculate on feet/face for 30 minutes before I get in on 30 degree days, and even after the 50 minute drive home on fan speed 2 its only just mildly cool.

The Aircon in my WS Fiesta and LV Focus down right suck, not good enough for our conditions.

I like the cold, so I've usually got it going on 15 degree days too on fan speed 1.

I have no rear parcel shelf in my car though because of my tools in the back, so I have a bigger area to cool, and its not tinted.

Fast Eddie · 08-11-2018, 02:00 PM

Reviving an ancient Thread but may be relevant to any Focus owners (MkI or MkII) that are still around on A.F.F. After 15 years of running faultlessly, so much so I always had to ad a little heat on the A/C Dial, my Aircon finally didn't cool the Focus to what I was used to.

Auto Electrician/Aircon Service shop hooked their re-gasser up and discovered it was down to 30% capacity and so $190 later, it's back to Factory Original. Can't complain about Germany Build quality.

Happy Days!

marg99 · 08-11-2018, 02:24 PM

They do leak the gas especially through seals and the rubber hoses over time. you did well.

pajoda · 08-11-2018, 08:39 PM

I am a firm believer in running the AC at least once a weak to keep the shaft seal lubricated and supple

Fast Eddie · 10-11-2018, 04:08 PM

Marg & Pajoda, Thank you. Even though it's not "Climate Control" I've always been in the habit of running it even in Winter.

Fast Eddie · 06-09-2021, 07:18 PM

Me again. Well it's 2021 and my 18 year old Air Conditioning Compressor in my Mk I Focus has finally given up and had only needed to be re-gassed once. Rough quotes from my mechanic of course saw Genuine Ford item come in at $1.028.00 just for the item and what I decided to go for is from Cool Drive at $583.00. Here's hoping all the other major parts hang in there for awhile.

I can't complain.