Today as I was driving home, my AC wasn't blowing cold. I looked at the engine temp gauge and noticed it at 3/4 towards hot.

I immediately turned on the heat and the temp went to normal. After a few miles I turned the heater off and everything seemed fine. Trying to diagnose the problem, I switched the AC back on and the temp went up again.

Turned the heater on, and it didn't seem to be blowing hot air (on HI). Revved the engine, and it engaged bring the temp back down to normal.

Got home and noticed the fans ran for another 10 minutes after shutoff (even though the engine was at normal temps according to the gauge). Popped the hood and noticed all of the coolant was missing from the reservoir.

Played with a couple of hoses and noticed the top left interior nipple was cracked inside of the hose. Crazy thing is, I haven't seen any evidence of coolant leak except for about a teaspoon amount near that nipple.

So, I know I need to replace the reservoir. Could this also have been causing my AC to blow warm? I understand the heater needs coolant for the heater core, but want to know if coolant affects the AC.

Thanks!

 

The AC system is cooled through the condenser (outside air flows through as the fan operates) The radiator is right behind the condenser. if your engine was running hot due to lack of coolant this would technically affect AC efficiency.

The freon (AC) and coolant are not related, integrated or tied together whatsoever. Running the AC does put added strain and heat upon the cooling system. Air blowing through the heater core (when heater is turned on ) acts like an additional radiator - thats why the temp gauge came down.

Fix your reservoir and ensure your coolant is topped off (air purged out of system) before driving again. Just my $0.02

 

Thanks! That's what I figured. Didn't know if they did anything different than what I'm used to seeing.

 

Replaced the reservoir, all is good! AC blows ice cold. Amazing how this car ran with nearly no coolant. Only a couple of ounces was in the old reservoir and nothing in the hoses.

If you haven't checked your reservoir on your X-Type, I highly recommend you do this weekend! I bet that from not noticing any coolant leaks under the car that it's been bad since I bought it.

 

TBird, just read your post. Great suggestion in checking the reservoir. Just noticed that the upper left side nipple had broken off. What sucks is that I have to replace the whole reservoir. Mind sharing where you got the parts? Appreciate the post.

 

got mine on ebay for $90 2 weeks ago

 

ebay member: impart1731

 

I was SOL needing my car running the next day and went to the Jag dealership, where the part was marked as Top 10 damaged in shipping. Paid $200.

Others have posted where to find it at half off, so if you have some time to wait for shipping, that's not a bad idea. Or, if you have the nipple, use some epoxy to repair it using a straw to hold it in place.

Also, you have about 3 hours of filling, drive, let cool, fill, repeat ahead of you. Don't forget to let the air out. Should take a gallon to fill it if your gauge was reading warm.