Renault Megane Scenic air con problems

[edmond]

i have a Renault megane scenic which i bought about 4 months ago
the air con has never worked i have looked around on the web and have seen this could be a common problem with the Scenics.

'Air-con fan only works in position 4, 1 to 3 are inoperative (all models) This is a fairly common fault and is down to a faulty rheostat next to the fan motor. The rheostat is relatively cheap, at £50 or so. '

can anyone cofirm this or know of any other reasons why it might not be working?

 

[mikems]

Edmond.

I have a renault scenic and can confirm the air con compressor will only work when the blower fan is running, regardless of speed (on my renault).

I am confused by your post, are you saying the air compressor only cuts in when you use position 4? Or are you saying the blower fan only works on position 4 and you have no idea if the compressor cuts in?

Is the first sentance in para 3 a quote from somewhere?

I owned a granada before this car and it was forever blowing the rheostat. I use to get them for £6 from the breaker and fit them in a few minutes. Regardless of your air con fault, I think it would be best to get the blower working at all speeds first.

All the best.

Mike MS

 

[edmond]

Thanks for your response,
paragraph 2 was taken from a scenic fan website.
The blower fan works on all four settings,
However once I turn the AC on there is no difference in the temperature been blown out? on the scenic fan website it stated this was a common fault and that normally the AC would kick in on setting 4, however the AC still does not kick in on setting four.

 

[chaosss]

Are you asying the air-con is not working at all regardless of fan speed?

If that is the case it could be a number of problems.

Simplest is that you need a re-gas. do you know when this was last done? Should be about £50.

you can test the system for leaks by adding a dye to the gas.

Then the problems start with condensers and things.

Turn the fan onto number 4 without the air-con on. Now press the air-con button. Do the revs rise/fall briefly (indicates a lot is being put on the engine) which means something is at least drawing current.

 

[mikems]

Edmond.

Whilst it is not helping your problem, as your compressor appears to not cut in regardless of the fan blower position, I am surprised to read the quote from the scenic site. I would have thought that renault designed it so the fan needs to blow when the compressor is one, and the circuit is made that way. I can't believe the circuit has different inputs (ie the fan speed) to activate the compressor.

Can you post a link for the site?

When you do get it working, check your pollen filter, mine was filthy and reduced the amount of air coming out of the blower. Gave it a clean and you can really feel the difference. It makes the ac work better as more air is pushed through.

If you have a dirty filter, it puts a strain on the blower motor and could be why the rheostat went.

Filters £10 from ebay. The later scenic is different from the megane scenic (of course). In my one (2000 x reg), it is under the passenger dashboard, one bolt and slide out the cover (about six inches by 2", pulls towards you and even has an arrow on) and the filter pulls down. Your car mat will then be covered in leaves.

I have had the car for two years and the blower has always been the same, so the filter probably has never been changed.

All the best.

Mike MS

 

[edmond]

the air con does not work no matter what the fan speed it.
the little light by the ac button turns red once i switch it on.

I dont know when it was last re-gased.

I have turned the fan onto number 4 without the air-con on. i pressed the air-con button. The revs rose briefly

this is the website i got the information from
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/scenic/trouble.html

my scenic is on a 99 plate, i am not really a petrol head

 

[mikems]

Edmond.

From what you are saying, the aircompressor is not engaging.

The revs should drop when you switch on the compressor. This is because the enging is now turning over the compressor as well as all the other bits. With the enging running, get someone to sit in the car, with the blower on and ask them to press the ac switch. You will hear a click and hear the engine drop in revs. The compressor is under the alternator, near the front left side as you look at it. There are some thick silver pipes running from it to a black cilcula tank near the front right hand side of the engine bay and then to the rear bulk head on the right. Two silver pipes enter near the top of the bulkhead.

Give it a minute or so and these pipes will get cold. Watching for lose clothing you can put your hand near them and they will be cold and damp.

Your car will have to be very low on 'gas' for the compressor not to make some effort to chill the pipes.

Given your description, you need to make sure the compressor is working, more than having a regas. Either way, prehaps you are going to have to get an ac expert in to resolve.

There is a thread on the general cars with the same issue at the moment, for another renault scenic.

All the best.

Mike MS

 

[edmond]

turned the engine on turned on the blowers and ac
engine revs dropped slightly
the thick silver bars were cold.
does yhis mean the gas needs re-filling?

 

[empip]

The air - con does not work without the blower fan I think this is true of all cars??? Certainly the case with our stuff which includes an 05 Scenic.

Scenic after 10 mile run, blower full on, cold, within face level vent air temperature 8°C external shade temp. 24°C

My 7.5 yr old Nissan 70k miles, a/c never regassed, always 'on', from new - has same temperature at the face vents in similar situation.
Both are comfortable in use.

 

[mikems]

Edmund.

The compressor is working then.

The scenic is a big car inside and will take a little time to get down to temperature. If you leave your hand in front of the blower, does it feel cold?

Make sure the pollen filter is clean, if not replace. This will allow more air to blow inside the cabin and help.

Try to use recirculate air with the a/c (turn button anti clockwise).

All the best

Mike MS

 

[edmond]

i have left my hand in of the blower, and it starts of cold.
if it is a hot day like today it soon warms up.
this is with and without the AC been on.
were abouts is the pollen filter?
would that not have been changed on the last service?

 

[mrmardy]

Hi, with the aid of an assistant, look at the auxillary drive belt pulley on the compressor. With the ac off and the engine running the centre of the pulley (veiw from side) will be stationary even though the pulley is spinning. When the assistant presses the ac switch after a secound or so you will hear a click as the as clutch engages. The centre will be seen to spin. (hopefuly!) Keep your hands out unless you want to loose your fingers!

If not why not? With the engine off look for the plug that feeds the clutch on the ac compressor. Unplug it and check the contacts etc. If you can bell out the ac compressor and check you have a resistance reading. ( I dont know what it will be 30- 100ohms I would guess?) Connect a 12v test lamp into the plug with short pieces of wire. Keep it out way of moving parts. Start engine and again press ac and see if lamp lights. If it does thats good. (then its likely to be faulty compressor)If not as a fuse gone? Is wiring to ac control module damaged? Is ac control module faulty? Unless you are handy with electrics or have a mate who is its time to call in an auto electrician!

The only other thing that springs to mind is I think the ac compressor cuts out if the cars speed is below 5mph and the engine is above tickover? This is something to do with emssions I think? I guess what ever controls this little circuit could cause the ac to stay cut out all of the time?

 

[Stivino]

As the last post on this topic is over three years old, he should have it fixed by now.

 

[Stivino]

What the wise man actually said was; "if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything".

 

[libby lou lou]

Confusious say have have joint n chill a bit