Haynes' World is a regular feature that takes a look at what the staff at Haynes are doing with their vehicles. This time, Euan and his Seat Ibiza are dealing with a heatwave.
Car: Seat Ibiza 1.4 Sport
Owner: Euan Doig
In May, my Skoda Yeti was in great nick. However, ânickâ is the key word here, because someone tried to pinch my roof tent off the top of it (read the full story here). The tent was saved, but I was faced with an issue â I could no longer park the Yeti at my girlfriendâs house (where the crime took place) with the roof tent on it because the snivelling oiks would just have another go at it, so I needed another car.
After scouring Auto Trader, and viewing a few cars that left me with the distinct impression that it was me or the scrapyard, I came across a Seat Ibiza that was in reasonable fettle. A price was negotiated and funds transferred.
It was in pretty good condition, albeit with a few issues, one of which was an air-con system that wasnât air-conning. I figured Iâd just drive around with the window down â after all, I donât have a hairstyle to mess up.
But then the first heatwave hit, and even with the window down it felt like I was sitting in front of a hairdryer. Iâm a Scot who tends to get flustered whenever the temperature goes above 20C, so I had to do something.
Air con recharge
Fortunately, it looked like the system needed to be recharged with refrigerant, rather than requiring a new component. I considered visiting a garage or Halfords, and paying them in the region of £70 to do it for me, but found a bargain-priced product on the worldâs largest online shopping site. It was just £26 plus delivery, so I figured Iâd give it a go.
The parcel arrived a few days later, containing a bottle of R134a refrigerant, plus a hose with integral gauge. There was also a handy video tutorial on the Amazon listing, so I watched that a few times then stepped out into the oven.
As instructed, I shook the can vigorously as I walked up to the car, then started the engine and switched the air-conditioning system on to its maximum setting.
After that, it was a case of opening the bonnet, then finding the air-con low-pressure port (shown here) and unscrewing the cap.
Next, I shook up the refrigerant bottle again, then screwed it into the hose coupling, before attaching the other end of the hose to the port. After that it was just a case of opening the valve and ensuring the system was refilled to the right level. It took a few goes because the system was pretty empty, but in the end I stopped with the needle halfway through the green zone.
Next, I took everything apart again, then with a certain degree of trepidation, opened the car door. Was it still going to be like the inside of the sun? Had I wasted my cash?
Well blow me â it had only gone and worked. The air-con was pumping out perfectly chilly air, so I was able to see out the heatwave with a certain degree of smugness.
The system has held on to the refrigerant since, and continues to blow cold every time I want it to, so that feels like £26 very well spent to me.
