Hello,

Recently weather has been very hot in Hawaii in the mid 90's with high humidity.
My A/C decided to stop blowing cold air even at highway speeds however it does
blow cold at initial startup for a few seconds.

I checked the R134 gas level and it appears acceptable as far as I can tell however,
the low side does show excessively high pressure (90PSI) which led to my diagnosis.
The direct pressure sensing valve for the clutchless compressors found in our 2010+ cars.

There is a service bulletin on this issue which addresses the control valve and instructs for
removing the compressor replacing the control valve and then reinstalling the compressor.
The OEM Compressor is made by SANDEN A/C Compressor part # C2D38105
and the control valve for SANDEN compressor (oem) can be found on EBAY for $85

Has anyone attempted replacing the control valve themselves, if so how difficult is this job?

If I was to have it done at an indy shop, how many hours should I be charged?

Thank you, and I will update this thread as I progress.

 

On second thought.

Am I better off changing the whole compressor at this point since I have to remove it anyway? $300~
I have 55,000 miles on the car.

 

Something important to note, on my drive home today
the car feels significantly quicker and more powerful.

Is this indication that my compressor was dying and
has finally quit on me, or could a failing control valve
cause the same symptoms by shutting down the compressor?

 

I had to have the valve changed in my compressor. It totally fixed the problem and the AC works perfectly again. High pressure on the low pressure side is a classic sign the valve is sticking. This was done about two years ago and is still perfect. I would seriously reconsider using any parts from Ebay unless they are being sold from a Jaguar dealer which is very unlikely. Both Ebay and Amazon has so many counterfeit parts and for a relatively expensive job to do, in my opinion, it is not worth trying to save $50 and then have a problem down the road with a defective part. Its your call of course

 

Mufc, what did it cost you to have the job done?

How many miles is on your vehicle and what year is your car when you had this done?

Im contemplating having the compressor changed to avoid future headaches..
as the compressor is 10 years old already.

 

My car is a 2012, Cost was around $600.00 including the part, recharge/leak test and it was done two years ago. Mileage at the time was around 33k. My AC would not get cold until it was driven several miles then all of a sudden it would go cold. Now as soon as I start the car, the AC is cold after 20 seconds or less. I had it done at an Indie that specialized in European cars. Jaguar wanted to replace the compressor for around $2400.00. I don't think the compressors on these cars are troublesome.

 

My 2010 XK-R is in for this today. Fingers crossed the A/C works while sitting at stoplights.

Feff

 

Does anyone know if it is possible to change the direct pressure sensing valve without removing the compressor?

Removing the compressor is a HUGE chore, requiring the subframe to be dropped,
i'm wondering if I can access the small DPS valve through the front or the like.

I already have the new valve ready to install.

 

Worst part of the job is getting the compressor out. Even on a lift, access is terrible. Getting to the small bolts holding the pipes to the compressor is very challenging.
One out, changing the valve or repositioning the spring is a snap.

 

Did you have to remove the sub frame or did it just unbolt and take it out?

 

Did not remove subframe, may have lifted engine slightly, it's been a while.

 

About $800 to repair the A/C valve at the dealer. Compressor out, new pressure valve, reinstall compressor and re-charge. A/C works just fine now.

Feff

 

UPDATE:
Just took the car to an indie jag shop, the compressor
is VERY hard to get out, need special tools and a lift.
Once out inspected for internal damage, all looks good
installed new valve recharge, now ice cold.

The oem compressor is very good so unless you are
high mileage its advised to just change the valve.

 

And the cost?

Yes not running AC will have an affect in power/economy 2-5% and the operationally the loss is not really noticeable in anything larger than a a 2l car.

I'd imagine in hotter/humid climes people are more likely to run it continually. Here in the UK with average temps of less than 55f I run my aircon on every drive but invariably turn it off after 10 mins...so it gets a work-out but doesn't wear out...in fact with over 26yrs of driving cars fitted with AC (it wasn't even an option on most marques here before 1994) it's something I'd never do without but rarely use.

That said whenever I buy a used car ovrr 3yrs old one of the first things I do is change the AC gas/oil...I've never paid more than £40GBP for this as discount sites such as Groupon are always running a special Have never yet had any tyle of AC failure in that 26yrs.

 

Hi i've change my compressor on xkr 2007 here the tuto (french) HERE
It's not difficult work it's same as technical jaguar manual.

 

In the 30 plus years that I have been driving Jags I have just left the air-con on, even during the summer when I drive around with the windows open

The only time I ever turn it off is if I am using SDD without a battery backup so that the air-con fans don't put a drain the battery.

 

Sorry but on x150 the compressor run all time it's impossible stop it.

 

Yes, but running with very low pressure while set at low or OFF takes a lot less engine power than having it at full-cool with all the pressure possible.

 

$350 labor
$85 for the valve at an indie.

The updated valve has a hole on the tip of the valve
the original valve does not.

 

Yes it's correct.