Hello jaguar forum members,

I am having some problems with my 1994 xj40's air conditioner, however let me start by saying it still makes really cold air but when i switch the ac on it starts making a "Hissing" sound. Then couple minutes later i here the sound of water running then i saw water dripping on the gas peddle (maybe about 4 or 6 drops then it stopped, sometimes a small amount of water can shoot out of the ac vents on the drivers side.) After this happened i turned the ac off with just the blower going for about 3 minutes....no sound of hissing or running water.
Did this ever happen to anybody? Do you think its just water some how getting in the outside vents when i wash the car or a ac problem?

Thanks Jaguar fourms!

 

anyone?

 

Rolex:
The two things may be unrelated. The water trapped in the bulkhead may be just that. Sometimes those little hoses draining water from the vent area get plugged up with leaves and gunk, causing the running and sloshing water effect. This accumulated water is known to find its way inside the car to the pedal area. You can buy a little pipe-cleaner device to stick up the tubes to clean them out. I think there is a "duckbill" type valve toward the top around which you need to take care.

Second, my car hissed like Darth Vader until I had the AC recharged last summer. Now it is silent as a lamb. At the time, I posted something to the forum and consensus seemed to be that the hissing noise indicated a failing compressor; but nothing has come from it. The AC still works perfect. It may be possible that although you still get cold air, the unit may no longer have a full charge of refrigerant. I think an AC shop can check that out for you. I realize this is more anecdotal than technical, but I had the same symptoms as you and now they are gone.
Cheers,
Scott

 

Thanks for the quick reply Scott!

I am glad your xj6's AC is working... and yes it sounds just like Darth Vader I will have that checked out asap however, where can i find the condensation hoses? I just tried searching the vehicle care booklet and can't seem to find any information on unclogging condensation hoses. I will keep looking.

 

Look just above where the puddle of water shows up after you park the car.

 

I am having trouble with my A/C yet again and that's enough . Last year I ad evaporator , condenser replaced and refilled the A/C . I had to refill the system every 3 weeks prior to maming these inverstments lol
Now, I get insufficient cooling when I swtich on A/C for test . I will refill it later this month and see how long will it take

 

Rolex:
I believe the duckbills are at the top of the vent area - the most likely place they may be clogged; but you should probably run a pipe cleaner through the whole thing. I think at least one of mine comes out behind the RH front wheel. You should see a little hose. But just to be clear, these are the bulkhead drains, not condensation hoses for the AC. I couldn't tell if we were speaking about the same things above. The AC I think is a separate issue (but who knows!)
Scott

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Scott: About how much does a A/C shop charge for fixing the A/C?

 

rolex:
I paid $211 for a recharge, pressure check, and dye added to the system to track future leaks. Remember that you have to find a place that can service the old refrigerant type: R12.
Cheers!
Scott

 

You're in Florida, sounds to me like the A/C condensate drains are plugged, and filled the climate case and blower motor[s] with water. If that has happened, you'll need to clean the drains out so the water escapes, then I have drilled a small hole in the bottom of each blower and let them drain. Then I seal up the hole with black RTV. You can access the two case drains after the fascia underscuttles are removed. They are at the base of the case [on each side] and have a rubber boot that angles down to the white straw-like tube that goes through the trans tunnel. Remove the boot from the case and quickly poke something into the case and stick the boot back on so it drains through to the outside. Otherwise it will fill up the floorboard.

Good luck!

 

O that's not bad at all! . I gave my mechanic a call today and told him about what was happening and he said that it's most likely the coolant. I am also going to do what xjrguy said and have the condensation hoses check (and unclogged). However, when I told my mechanic the refrigerant type was R 12 he told me the R12 is Very hard it find and VERY expensive and that it would be a good idea to change some fittings and put in a different (more common) type of refrigerant. Do all of you guys use the R 12 or something else. Thanks! again Scott and everyone for your input.

 

Above I meant refrigerant not coolant. Sorry!

 

I guess that you got the R-12 from the label under the hood. Your car is from around the time that R-134a showed up.

I used a subsitute called "Freeze 12" when we had to recharge the AC units on CAT equipment. It replaces R-12 and works great. You may find other sub's out there. I have read about R-414 which is tricky to use, but is supposed to replace R-12.

There have been arguements about switching from R-12 to R-134a. The oil in the R-12 system is supposed to not move through the system with the change. Others have said that they found no problems.

 

Alright guys,

I just picked my Jaguar up up from my mechanic and it turns out i need a new evaporator and a drier, i held off do to the price which is around $1,970.00. Did anyone else need to put a new evaporator in there car before?

Thanks!

 

Yes, unfortunately if you have a '93-'94 especially, I am not surprised. The price reflects the fact you have to gut the fascia, blowers and the climate case from the car to change it.
For some reason there was a bad run of evaporators during those years. We saw a few here and there in the years before '93, but not near as many as later XJ40's.

Good luck!

 

O wow,
Just my luck I will get it replaced soon hopefully, but for for now the A/C will be my sunroof Thanks for the quick reply Steve!

 

Rolex:
Sorry to hear about the extent of your repair, but glad that you are planning on doing it. I have another consideration for you that won't necessarily make myself popular... But, if xjrguy is right, and you have to start ripping apart the dash - if it were me - I would strongly be considering the replacement or refurbishment of the blowers as well. This is a notorious weak spot in our cars' engineering, subject to all kinds of blower flaps and vacuum lines breaking down. Chances are, you've already got some flaps that don't work the way they should. Since you are already in there, why not spend the extra money and do it all so you don't have to do it later?

What does anybody else think? Am I just being excessive?

Scott

 

Good point, I am starting to wonder how long the car had the leak for, plus the car has only been in Florida for about a year, the car is from New York and only has 43,900 miles so the A/C could not have been used that much.

 

Ok, for everyone that knows about my failed A/C Evaporator the my repair guy told me the part cost $700 however, i found this aftermarket evaporator on jagbits for only $295 a will post the link and tell me what you guys think should i order it? thanks!

Jaguar A/C EVAPORATOR - JLM20608-X

 

Rolex:
I've had brilliant success in buying used parts, esp. from Jagbits. And, if it is new aftermarket, I'd say that's your evaporator! But, I say that from a financial viewpoint with no experience in having done this work on my A/C. What I do know is this: we must shop around for our own discounts. My mechanic is very well connected, but I regularly come with my own parts in hand because of having picked them up second hand or reconditioned.
Were it me, I'd buy the less expensive one. Others may have different opinions.
Scott