Picked up the Hichill gas and oil with die in it, o-rings and the gassing adapter yesterday. A can of gas (enough for one car) is less than $25.
I am hoping the aircon is working this time next week when I am driving home.

It is a bit of a worry when the guy at the parts shop that only opened a couple of months back already knows you on first name basis. I must spend too much time or money there. Her indoors reckons it is both.

 

Upon carefully reading one of the cans, Clarke, I see someone in Oz has come up with a better marketing strategy than the makers of RV refrigerants in Merca.

When the label plainly says, Hydrocarbon Refrigerant, that means PROPANE!! LOLOL
You'll Like how it works!
(';')

 

I have done a lot reading up on hydrocarbon refrigerants the last couple of weeks. They are mostly a 60/40 blend of propane/isobutane. From what I have read they are better suited to the R12 systems(which I have) than the R134a gas.

They are up to 50% more efficient and and put 20% less pressure/strain on your components, and use 30% less energy to cool the car. And it cools the cabin much faster.

For propane to ignite in an accident the conditions would have to be perfect to start a fire. The car carries 100 litres of petrol, I think that would be more of a problem than 200-250 grams of diluted propane venting the system.

 

Just on the basis of the lack of burning taxis and white vans to see everyday, I reckon your probably OK.

 

Assembled the system and re gassed today at 34by151's place. It took 300-350 grams of refrigerant.
Air con works a treat , I had to keep turning it down lower until I eventually turned it off on the 2 1/4 hour drive home through some awesome driving roads.

Huge thanks to Paul and James for the help.

It was also a great drive,seeing the sun rise over the Glass House Mountains and the Sunshine Coast on the way up from Brisbane.

 

Glad to help mate

Cheers
34by151

 

Mate it was a good day! So glad it worked.

Jaguars rule!!

 

Good news, you will enjoy that come summer. I would be great to sticky/FAQ this thread, or whatever the mods call it . Theres a lot of good fundamental stuff here for anyone trying to work on a/c, but not having much experience.

 

1. My brother is a talented photographer. He would approve of that work. gorgeous.


2. Victory sure feels good, huh!!! Not o mention a cool car on a blazing hot day.


3. I made mental note of the Propane. I just might charge the Jaguar's unit this summer. it's been feeling more like winter around here than spring. heck, January was warmer!!! But, yesterday was nice. Hoping for more of the same.


4. Good to have a friendly parts house counter man. especaily if he is more than a computer operator.


5. I've a Rock Auto store credit. what do I need???


Carl

 

That's Great News, Clarke! Yes, Great News indeed!

Summers in the Great Central Valley of California are Miserable without AC. I'm given to understand CA and Oz have climate in common, only mirror images of each other. You'll enjoy your Cool Ride; of course, you're coming up on winter now, aren't you.
(';')

 

Lovely place you live in, Clarke.

Andrew.

 

Drove a 200km round trip today for my sons soccer game,air con worked sweet but alternator couldn't handle it.
Dealing with that in a new thread.

Thanks Carl & Andrew,

Carl, we only had about a 5 minute window of opportunity to get sunrise shots at the lookout at the top of the range,missed by a couple of minutes. But did manage a couple of roadside shots as the sun peaked over the horizon before making the lookout 6 minutes after sunrise.

Andrew, it is indeed. Here is a couple of shots from the drive today to the "All in,Fly in/Dive in" at a country airfield. This is Qld winter, perfect for any type of outing,especially motorcycles. Unfortunately I missed today's run.

 

As recommended add on to the "how to" section for this model, simply superb work guys, thanks for sharing

 

Here is the link

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ctures-143721/

 

My air con switch has a low/med/high then variable setting. Today the low and medium fan speed setting stopped working but the high position and variable speed are working.
I am assuming it has a blower motor resistor that has failed,will have to look into it after the Christmas break. Still get plenty of cold air so not an issue that is urgent.

 

Why not just replace the speed switch with a speed control

Like the is 2000W SCR PWM High Current Protection AC Motor Speed Controller Thermostat | eBay

or even better a thermostat with speed control

Like this 12V 24V DC 4A PWM PC CPU FAN Temperature Control Thermostat Speed Controller | eBay

The thermostat will upgrade you to "climate control", just set the temp and fan speed will be controlled by the thermostat. IE the fan gets slower the closer to the set temp.

Cheers
34by151

 

Last week my car was out on loan for a wedding when the aircon compessor failed while the Bride was being transported to the church on 36 degree day and humid as hell.

We decided to try and repair it, new o rings, had the mechanical seal reconditioned and replaced bearings and the oil. As soon as the system was pressurised with nitrogen to check for leaks it failed big time.
It was worth a try for under $100.



Ended up buying this one off ebay for $175, so still under $300 total is not bad for a compressor replacement. I will post some pics of it fitted when Dr Phill gets time in a couple of weeks.



http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/252070235039

 

I see Murphy has stopped by your house, Clarke.
And here I thought he had moved in here to stay!
(';')

 

Great price if its a decent compressor, less than half what I paid recently for a Sanden. Finally got something from this century installed :-) difference is fantastic, enjoy!

 

Delivered in 1 1/2 working days, ordered 2 pm Friday, arrived 8 am Tuesday. But has to sit on the bench for a couple of weeks while I get more pressing things sorted.

It was $179, not $175 as posted earlier = $204 delivered to the door.