[hserus]

Took my Amaze to Suresh 2 years old and hardly 16k but cooling had dropped to near zero, as the cooling coil was choked with dirt. Didn't look like it would clean out too well so I got it replaced, That + gas refilling seems to have worked as the car's AC is again nice and cold.

Also had him install a rather cheap looking cabin air filter (Rs.400) - couldn't get a Bosch version for sale as per the thread at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...e-mobilio.html - that should be good for a few months anyway.

Unfortunately both the nearby shops (opposite to each other at the corner of north usman road - one at the left turn to the Kodambakkam Bridge, and another larger shop Ramdev Car AC opposite it) only had an aftermarket version made in Thailand (in a plain box marked Boon Engineering Parts).

Looks like that company is at http://www.booneng.com/ and has ISO TS 16949:2009, IATF certifications. The cooling coil cost me Rs.3500 instead of the ~ 9k a new cooling coil would have cost, fingers crossed. Looks rather plain, without the foam rubber cladding on the side that the OEM Amaze coil had - but otherwise looks reasonable.

[greenhorn]

don't run the car on fresh air mode. Helps to keep your ac clean !

[hserus]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

don't run the car on fresh air mode. Helps to keep your ac clean !

I normally don't do that except on highway drives when leaving your window open for a while, or driving in fresh air mode becomes essential at periodic intervals.

Even without that, an aircon cooling coil will pick up a lot of filth in two and a half years, without a cabin air filter installed. Which makes me wonder why Honda wants to install it in the City and Jazz but not the Amaze / Mobilio etc.

It isn't a particularly expensive accessory, and it is a regularly replaceable consumable so a money spinner. Especially as the enclosure to place an air filter exists but is dummied with a thin plastic strip.

Unless, of course, the cost of replacing an AC cooling coil, filling gas, etc etc two or three years down the line is such an expensive job that it outweighs the slow and steady regular profits from regular replacement of the cabin air filter. I haven't done the economics

[dennie]

Most of us (including me) have visited Suresh. And in my experience, I feel that he suggests cooling coil replacement to almost everyone who visits his shop. I had the same suggested but I asked for cleaning only. My Hyundai Santro is 13 years old, has run 1 lakh km and is currently on its 3rd owner and had the original factory fitted cooling coil... And cleaning was sufficient!

Why did I refuse the replacement? As a thermal engineer, I deal with heat exchangers on a fairly regular basis. The cooling coil, condenser (both AC components) and radiator are heat exchangers. Heat exchangers help to exchange heat energy between two fluids that dont physically mix. Heat exchangers increase heat transfer by increasing surface area of contact between the two fluids. (everyone has that uncle who pours tea from the cup into the saucer to cool it down - increased surface area) Cooling coils are usually replaced only for two reasons.

1. Leaks - which causes the two fluids to mix. In the case of AC, if you are loosing refrigerant gas due to a leak, you have to replace it.

2. Fouling - There are deposits or dirt that reduce the rate of heat transfer. All cooling coils are made of aluminum or copper that have excellent heat transfer rates. A layer of any other material has poorer conductivity. For most automobile applications, aluminum is used as it is lighter.

In the case of the cooling coil, the fluid inside is refrigerant gas mixed with oil that are designed to protect the heat exchanger. The fluid outside is the air that is being cooled. Both these fluids cannot really corrode a cooling coil under normal use. Both the radiator and AC condensor work in a much harsher environment than the cooling coil.

So i suggest that everyone gets it cleaned first (assuming the condensor and compressor are okay). The maximum you lose is the labour and gas cost for the same (roughly 2k). Suresh does a good job of this. Just dont let him take you for a ride as I am sure he gets a cut from the shops nearby (doesnt every mechanic??)

[hserus]

Good point - the guy probably also makes a good living selling cleaned and reconditioned cooling coils and other AC parts. Well, that joke won't be played on me more than once.

He does a good and professional job but I guess there's things to watch for here like with every other mechanic.

Thanks for pointing that out, lesson learnt

[Drmani]

Hello friends, I have a four year old Renault fluence E2 diesel which has run trouble free for over 85000kms. The car was serviced only at ASS. Recently I have been experiencing Air conditioning issues with it. I had taken it to Mr. Suresh today, he said that the compressor, cooling coil has to be changed and quoted around 48000 including labour. The cooling coil had once been changed under warranty at around 50000 kms. My query is the market rate. The breakup is 13000 for cooling coil, 10000-12000 for compressor and 7000 for labour. Kindly advice.

[vigsom]

"Cooling Coil" Suresh would be an apt name.

If there is a cabin air filter , the evaporator coil(cooling coil) would most likely face no issue.

I would suggest S.Jagannathan car AC which is on Usman Road , a few shops after Croma towards the Mahalingapuram side.Ask for Prakash.

For both the cars that I sent there , he pinpointed the issue to the coolant system , while he could have easily made a killing by giving some false diagnosis on the a.c. circuit.

I will be happy to do an initial check of your system if you are interested.

Originally Posted by hserus

Took my Amaze to Suresh 2 years old and hardly 16k but cooling had dropped to near zero, as the cooling coil was choked with dirt. Didn't look like it would clean out too well so I got it replaced

Unfortunately both the nearby shops (opposite to each other at the corner of north usman road - one at the left turn to the Kodambakkam Bridge, and another larger shop Ramdev Car AC opposite it)

Looks rather plain, without the foam rubber cladding on the side .

Air Cool India ( the store at the corner of Usman Road) is well stocked but I had a rotten experience with them - unethical , arrogant owner.He once sold me a reconditioned a.c. blower saying it was new and after 2 days of installing it , the blower lobe came off the shaft and created a racket inside the a.c. cabinet.I had to get it removed , and when I went to him , he had the audacity to tell me to stick the lobe bush to the shaft using Araldite.I gave him hard in Hindi right in front of his many unsuspecting customers and he had no.option but to refund my money.

Aftermarket evaporators come without the foam cladding .Foam is used to prevent movement , abrasion and thus rattling.The Amaze cooling coil was a classic case of premature replacement.

[Cruiser_D]

I also faced ac cooling issues recently in my 2012 model Brio (47000KM). Did a search for related threads and got this one straight away. So there were couple of options, where I could take the car for diagnosis.Decided to visit Rajan Auto AC mechanic in OMR (very close to my place) and took the vehicle there today morning.

The initial analysis showed the high pressure range ~130psi & low pressure range ~30psi which gave an indication of refrigerent gas leak. The compressor was running and no visible leaks observed around which helped to rule out possible compressor clutch/bearing/coil issues. Also no clogging observed on the running lines as well.

Based on these observations, he gave me an indication of leak in evaporator cooling coil which is placed under the glove box. Finally pulled out the cooling coil and it was found to be in extremely dirty condition with milld leaks at few places. Hence he suggested me to replace the cooling coil.

The overall price quoted Rs 4000 (cooling coil) + 1400 (134a gas fill) + 1000 (labour). I was just curious to know how other guys are quoting and enquired immediately. Called up Suresh (Tnagar/Kodambakam)- 5 to 5.5K for cooling coil spare alone. Also called up Captial Honda service and found the pricing very interesting.They are charging only Rs 2600 for the spare. However the trick lies at the overall charges which would come around 7.5 to 8K including gas refill and labour. Also the spare wouldnt be readily available and have to get it imported from Noida/Mumbai.

Few fellow BHPians here pointed out few stores here in Chennai where I could directly buy the spare, however didnt try it as it is difficult for me to skip office and go around. also not sure whether I could get the correct/genuine spares by myself.

Hence I informed Rajan to get the spares and finish the job today itself. The work was done by evening and I took the delivery after office hours. The cooling seems to be really nice and chilling now. However I would inspect it further tomorrow during day time and confirm.

As already mentioned by fellow BHPians, a cabin air filter would have saved the cooling coil from accumulating dirt and would have increased the life span. As per Rajan experience, Maruti is found to have larger life span (8-10 years) for cooling coils and Mahindra the lowest (2 years). However the compressor life spans for Maruti is not that great. End of the day you would end up spending some way or other.

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by Cruiser_D

As already mentioned by fellow BHPians, a cabin air filter would have saved the cooling coil from accumulating dirt and would have increased the life span.

Check if the international brio versions have the cabin filter option or if you can retrofit one.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Check if the international brio versions have the cabin filter option or if you can retrofit one.

Brio (and Amaze) both have a plastic box behind the glovebox where the cabin air filter normally goes. The problem is that the box is dummied by a small plastic strip at the front.

This plastic strip can safely be removed, fit the cabin air filter in and then use cellotape or whatever to sit the plastic strip back on.

The filter you need is the same one that fits the honda jazz / city 3rd generation - take the cabin air filter to an auto parts store and show it to them so they can get you a replacement, ideally buy a good brand like Purolator rather than cheap local brands.

[Cruiser_D]

Originally Posted by hserus

Brio (and Amaze) both have a plastic box behind the glovebox where the cabin air filter normally goes. The problem is that the box is dummied by a small plastic strip at the front.

This plastic strip can safely be removed, fit the cabin air filter in and then use cellotape or whatever to sit the plastic strip back on.

The filter you need is the same one that fits the honda jazz / city 3rd generation - take the cabin air filter to an auto parts store and show it to them so they can get you a replacement, ideally buy a good brand like Purolator rather than cheap local brands.

Definitely an option to consider.

In my case, I had done some detailing job a week before the issue started. They have also done a complimentary AC vent cleaning as well in hurry towards the end. I was just wondering if this have to do something about it.

Could there be any chance for the cleaner foam to get leaked to the cooling coil and settled down which resulted in the coil leak?

[hserus]

That AC vent cleaning will at the most clear out dirt stuck in your AC vents. That is a soap solution and won't do anything to your cooling coil.

[rohitoasis]

Went to drop my friend to pick up his i10 Grand from the Alandur Hyundai service station. I had originally thought it was from a regular service, but came to know it was because of a faulty Air Conditioner.

The coil had conked off apparently and they have replaced it and charged 6K for it. This component was earlier replaced when he had recovered it from the December 2015 floods. Whats paid is done for sure but i wanted to know if it was worth spending so much money for this.

From the visual inspection, i could not find what is wrong and sharing photos here to find out if indeed it had to be replaced or would a FNG be able to salvage the earlier coil. Photos below.

[Cruiser_D]

Originally Posted by rohitoasis

The coil had conked off apparently and they have replaced it and charged 6K for it. This component was earlier replaced when he had recovered it from the December 2015 floods.

If this was replaced an year ago, then definitely it seems to be a premature wear. What was the low and high end pressure range observed before replacing the unit? How is the cooling experience post replacement?

[rohitoasis]

Originally Posted by Cruiser_D

If this was replaced an year ago, then definitely it seems to be a premature wear. What was the low and high end pressure range observed before replacing the unit? How is the cooling experience post replacement?

This is the same thought i had. My friend only took the recommendation from the Hyundai ASS that it was damaged and replaced it. He did not probe much. The cooling is back to normal now.
I could not understand the 2nd sentence. Could you elaborate for me to check in the next opportunity i accompany him to the service station.