Hey tech savvy people,

I took my 2007 xkr for a trip last weekend and as it was an extended trip I had to put the top up as I actually managed to get slightly burned (amazing in Sweden I know...) This is when I discover that the AC is actually not working. Kind of annoying since it was actually a pretty hot day. I have had 0 error messages on it however it is clearly not working. Could there be a coolant issue?

Some help troubleshooting would be appreciated.

BR

Staffan

 

On a USA 2007.........go to the touch screen. Touch CLIMATE...........screen changes......once it changes, over on the right hand side of the display is a list, one of which is ECON. Make sure your not in ECON. ECON turns off the a/c compressor on a USA 2007 XK.

When I"m driving in cool climates, like in the spring, I deliberetly turn the Climate to ECON on my 2007. No need for the compressor to be running if the OAT is in the 70's or below imho.

Newer versions of the car show a different display once you go to Climate. One is A/C and the other is OFF. Your car is most likely what I mentioned in the first paragraph seeing as how it's a 2007l. Then again, you have a non USA car so it might be different than ours.

That was the easiest thing to check. Another thing is to turn the a/c on and see if the magnetic clutch on the compressor is engaged. NOT easy to see on a XK imho.

Another thing you could do if you had a scanner hooked up to the OBDII port, is to go down the list of items and see if A/C is shown engaged or not.

I"m sure someone will give you a easier/better answer in a few minutes.

 

If you hit Auto, it should turn off Econ mode. But I doubt this is your problem. Was it working fine before? Did you have the A/C on with the top down?

 

Mine wasn't working when I bought it - didn't realise because it was April and cool, so only found out on the first warm day. There was no error message, but the condenser was leaky and there was no gas in the system. It appears the car's diagnostics don't check that the system is pressurised; I guess Jaguar assumes we don't need an error message to determine that there's no cold air!

 

Indeed, that is not my problem. I have tried every mode of engaging the A/C through the interface and all of them have failed. I will try hooking it up to an OBD and see if it is indeed engaged at all. I have already checked fuses etc.

 

Mine was actually working however I would not be too surprised if what you described is the case with my car as well. Would you mind telling me how much it cost to have it fixed?

 

When there's a leak, the gas goes pretty quickly, so the transition from working to not working can be fast. Of course, there are possibilities other than the condenser - there could be a leaky O-ring somewhere, the compressor might have failed, etc. But condenser failures are fairly common. If the system is empty, they should refill it but add fluorescein (luminous green) dye so that any leaks are very easy to spot. Having found the leak, you know what needs fixing.

I had my XKR fixed under warranty. However, my XK8 needed a new condenser a couple of years ago, and I think it cost £650 fitted - that was at an independent Jag specialist, and I don't the the replacement condenser was a new Jaguar part (may have been reconditioned or aftermarket).