When AC is not cooling at idle normally that means you are either not operating the radiator fan to cool off the condenser or the condenser is clogged with sand dirt and debris or are you have a slight leak so your pressures are too low. So first thing to check is make sure the fan comes on when the AC is on. then try to get a look at the center of the air conditioning compressor pulley to make sure the clutch has pulled in and is spinning the compressor. If your pressures low from a leak you can have poor cooling but you have to check the hi and lo pressures for an accurate diagnosis

 

Or the internals of the compressor have failed. Generally a problem with the valve. If you hook to ac gauges you will see the needle on the high pressure running all over the place. That is the sign of valve problems.

TBB

 

Thanks for this!

I followed your instructions and quickly found out it was the AC clutch relay that was the problem. Changed it for a new one, and it runs like new again...

 

Groovy! Thanks for the feedback to let us know what fixed the problem.

This thread was the impetus to write the troubleshooting guide. Read through from the beginning, and you'll see lot of good troubleshooting advice, but where should one begin? Most of the guide was sorting the existing info based on symptoms. Glad it worked out for you.

 

Hello Jaguar fans. My apologies for not reporting back to the forum on my cooling issues. I simply became became disgusted with my efforts, parked the Jag, started driving my truck, which has an ice-cold AC. I felt that my efforts to solve the at-idle-poor cooling issue had been diagnosed to death with no umprovement. The only thing left to do in my mind was to buy a new compressor with fingers crossed that it would solve the problem.

The 2006 S-Type is currently under a car cover and parked for the summer months; it’ll be back on the streets around Thanksgiving or maybe as late as Christmas, when hot temperatures in the Deep South in the States start to offer a little relief.

The Jaguar still looks great with its timeless lines and styling. Just don’t ask for a ride when it’s 95 degrees outside I’ll have to use my truck.

Thanks again for the forum’s help during my “sweaty” journey. Maybe I’ll try again at some point for cool air at the stop lights.

Earnest