Turn eco mode off, press the auto button on the the climate control dial, and turn the temperature all the way to the highest setting. Leave it for a good few minutes and see what happens.

The heater doesn't work well until its cold outside, basically never works properly in eco mode, and takes a little while to work. I wouldn't be too concerned about it not appearing to work properly just yet. Give the above a try and see how it goes.

 

Turn eco mode off, press the auto button on the the climate control dial, and turn the temperature all the way to the highest setting. Leave it for a good few minutes and see what happens.

The heater doesn't work well until its cold outside, basically never works properly in eco mode, and takes a little while to work. I wouldn't be too concerned about it not appearing to work properly just yet. Give the above a try and see how it goes.

Thank you wil give that a try later on today and see if it works

 

The fact that the dealer said it has been re-gassed might be a sign. It should only ever get to need to be re-gassed if there is a leak, although I guess a 2013 model might have had a slow leak. (I also have a 2010 Golf that has never needed to be re-gassed and the air con still works strongly.)

If you still get no heat, I'd ask them to check the pressure again. If it's low again, ask if they added a dye when they re-gassed it to show where there is a leak, and make sure they do if they re-gas it again.

And you've only said that you are getting no heat out of it. If you turn the temperature right down, do you get really cold air? If so, that should rule out loss of gas.

You can read out the air con pressure using CanZE.

Edited to correct typos.

 

Yes was surprised because I think the sales guy said it was going in for a regas and service and only went in for regas at the end of 2019 as a device schedule I think I read somewhere on that Vin / numberplate. Typical I cannot find that info now.
Yes it did seem to blow out really cold air when the left climate control knob was on cold . Of course I had the aircon switch on (made that classic mistake of when red led light on the ac button thinking that ac is on) but the red light was off , so the air con was on ... but yeah tried with the ac red light on and off on the button yesterday , still only blew out cold air on all settings

 

My old 22 had loads of work done on heating system thankfully under warranty. There is a common leak point where the AC loop goes into battery.

if you have a leak the AC/heat will not work and it could kill the compressor.

I’d be very concerned at them saying they regassed it. It needs to have very expensive gas in it and I would only trust Renault to fix it

 

Almost certainly you're looking at a leaking A/C system and you have no gas in there.

I just had the same problem fixed at the Renault dealer under extended warranty, they wanted £400 for the regas (some special non-conductive gas) plus parts (leaking hose at the Schrader valve) and labour. I thankfully paid £0. It will be an expensive fix.

 

mine had compressor, some pipes and a sensor, over £1500 in parts alone..

 

What was the outside temperature when you put the heating on ?

If the cooling works then there will be gas in the system. Charging may also be problematic if there are problems with the air con as the air con is used to cool the battery during charging when the battery gets to the upper temperature limit.

Re-gassing is more difficult on the Zoé than a ICE, where it is used for cooling the cab only.
If the re-gas was done by a non Renault garage I would research this a bit more, there is lots of info on this forum, I remembered one particularly good piece by @Badger in Black

Does your external temperature reading seem reasonable ?

As previous post you need CanZe, the Konnwei is affordable .

 

.....

.....As previous post you need CanZe, the Konnwei is affordable .

Do you reckon this elm327 OBDII would work OK with CanZe ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konnwei-OB...DII-Scanner-Diagnostic-Wireless/dp/B07WZFYYHN/ref=psdc_2486228031_t3_B07X3LL684

 

You should of course take this back to the dealer to sort.

 

indeed I know - Just got the car like and want to drive it. Last time our Clio had to go into renault main dealer we were without it for the best part of a month. was loaned a car but not the same. Ah well I suppose if there is nothing i can do here thats what will have to appen

 

OK , so today i went out and done the hair dryer trick on the sensor on the door mirror, heated it up to 30'c and then put on heater to low for minutes whilst it was going down to temperature - still no heat and cold (but not at all chilly like a fridge) air when knob turned to min and AC on.

Next port of call was to put ELM327 on and fire up pyREN and have alook what was going on with CaMan

results - I wonder if someone on here can decipher:

DTC error:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ECU : 11119 X10-X98-X87-X52ClimBoxGen1_0000_04_A
Screen : DE (STD_B) -> DF130 (91A702) TABLEAU DE COMMANDE 1.DEF MEMORISED

1.DEF : Open circuit, short circuit to earth or short circuit to +12V


PR044 KILOMETRAGE DERNIERE APPARITION DU DEFAUT 48475 km

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

looks to me that something could have been shorted to earth - anyone know the fuse location of it ? - I didnt clear the DTC

next here is AC on and Engine running , thermostat to 'min' and blower to position '3'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ECU : 11119 X10-X98-X87-X52ClimBoxGen1_0000_04_A
Screen : SP : System parameters -> AIR CONDITIONING -> BOUCLE FROIDE

PR003 EVAPORATOR TEMPERATURE -40 21.60 °C 60
PR051 TEMP. COOLING SYSTEM TRACTION BATTERY 18.70 °C
PR016 REFRIGERANT PRESSURE 0.00 bar
ET005 COOLANT: UNDER PRESSURE OFF
ET159 CABIN COOLING ELECTROVALVE OFF
ET050 AIR CONDITIONING MODE IDLE
PR060 CLIMATE CONTROL POWER CONSUMED 0 W
ET160 TRACTION BATTERY COOLING ELECTROVALVE ON
PR008 FAN SPEED 0.50 %
PR078 REFRIGERANT INLET TEMPERATURE 18.00 °C
PR079 REFRIGERANT OUTLET TEMPERATURE 18.50 °C
PR080 COMPRESSOR SPEED REFERENCE 0 rpm
ET181 REFRIGERANT CIRCUIT 2-WAY SOLENOID VALVE INACTIVE
ET182 REFRIGERANT CIRCUIT 3-WAY SOLENOID VALVE INACTIVE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

note refrigerant pressure 0.00 bar

and Air conditioning mode 'Idle'

and compressor speed reference 0 rpm

and solenoid valves inactive


does this ring any alarm bells with anyone?
Thanks.

 

It might well take them a month to sort the AC.

 

my old one spent 3 months with Renault due to the heating....

 

you know that energy flow meter thing on the r-link radio - I put that on and then put the AC on .. am I supposed to see some animation of power going out of the battery or something? because nothing happens whether i put the knob to min or max and blower fan on 3

 

you know that energy flow meter thing on the r-link radio

It's a toy. Just turn it off. That is, choose one of the layouts that doesn't have it.

 

Can't remember the terminology but if you cycle through the dash display, one of them shows the real time consumption. That changes depending on heating. Or not.

 

PR016 REFRIGERANT PRESSURE 0.00 bar

You have no gas. There's a leak. It will be expensive to fix and probably only a Renault dealer is going to do it properly.

 

Thanks yes I am deciding that too now and this not look right.
PR045 TEMPERATURE EVAPORATEUR 0.00 °C well that surely should be minus I am thinking

and PR021 PRESSION FLUIDE REFRIGERANT 0.00 bar well that means no pressure too.

when we took it out for test drive saw water on the floor , thought it was just condensation from the condensing unit, most probably was a leak now I am thinking. - so they leak around the battery cooling area do they normally?

should have raised alarm bells that when i got home that I learnt the last regas the car had was in december 2019 and that the Salesman said he was going to do a regas and a service on the car and I only waited a week and not a month and said we can do the regassing in our workshop but was a Peugot dealer not a Renault dealer especially if it look like Renault use a special refrigerent as well for the Zoe , not just standard refrigerent.

So disappointing that it couldnt be something simple wrong with the car - absolutely love the car apart from the heating and no air conditioning and only bought it last Friday and dont want to already be without it for what could be weeks /months.

so does the refrigerant & pressure controlthe heat as well as the cold AC? - is that what the heat pump relies on? or is the heat generated by a element or something because i thought I saw somewhere saying heat resistor 1,800w

here is the readout i done on the EVC just now outside:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ECU : 11786 EVC_GEN3_X10_35
Screen : DE (STD_B) -> DF079 (053016) CIRCUIT CAPTEUR PRESSION FLUIDE REFRIGERANT 2.DEF MEMO
RISED

1.DEF : Tension trop haute.
2.DEF : Tension trop faible.


PR008 TENSION ALIMENTATION CALCULATEUR 0 13.41 V 15
PR016 VITESSE VEHICULE 0.00 km/h
PR037 TEMPERATURE BAC BATTERIE DE TRACTION 17 °C
PR038 TENSION BATTERIE DE TRACTION 391.00 V
PR041 CHARGE BATTERIE DE TRACTION 95.34 %
PR117 INFORMATION COMPLEMENTAIRE 33B1 10 °C
PR115 INFORMATION COMPLEMENTAIRE 33AE 0 tr/min
PR045 TEMPERATURE EVAPORATEUR 0.00 °C
PR021 PRESSION FLUIDE REFRIGERANT 0.00 bar
PR113 INFORMATION COMPLEMENTAIRE 33A8 0
PR029 KILOMETRAGE DERNIERE APPARITION DU DEFAUT 48250 km
PR031 NOMBRE D'OCCURRENCES DU DEFAUT 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

There is an auxiliary heating resistor that kicks in at very low temps. But the heat pump is the source of both heat and cold from the ventilation system.

 

Thank you guys for the explanations I shall get onto the dealers today . It has 1 years dealers warranty. The manufacturers warranty has run out on it but at least I have got that dealers . It a shame , just bought it and I don't know how long it will be in garage now. If I give it back then get a refund then I dunno whether I will be shooting myself in foot. It was the only onefor sale in my area, the colour was what I wanted, in black, it was in really good condition bodywise and interior cloth etc and has a reversing camera which I wanted ticked all the boxes. But I cannot go without heat or cold . I suppose I am going to have to resign to that fact if I do leave it back to them that it will be away in their garage a long time then.

 

Surely you have similar consumer rights in Ireland as the car isn't fit for purpose?

Whether they can fix it depends on the experience this dealership has with Zoe HVAC systems. What do you think?

 

Make sure the dealer knows that the HVAC has to work or it may impact on charging and battery health.

 

Thanks yep i wrote a letter to the customer service department half hour ago and told them what was happening and said i was concerned because the ac also cools down the battery when charging

 

thanks all - so Gone into the Garage today (friday) as suspected no gas ..;.. must be a leak somewhere they reckon , could be o seal . They are putting Gas into it today and then because Zoe is being left over the weekend in their garage on Monday they are going to check the pressure again and take it from there - I suppose either give me the option of getting it fixed or giving money back so i can get a Zoe from another garage. Cant be no fairer than that, One thing I like buying from garage/dealer - you imagine if you buy off private sale and finding out straight afterwards the compressor or gas had gone like that when you first got it.

 

is there any kind of 'oil' does anyone know that goes into the AC compressor does anyone know? - the customer services guy said we had to get in some oil for that Zoe .. and then I said "special refrigerant gas you mean?" and then he said no, the guys in the service dept said it was special oil from one supplier it was going to take 3 weeks but they got in touch with another supplier and they got it in 3 days. but you know I could have got it all completely wrong or mis-heard or something but is there any kind of oil that goes into the AC system of a zoe?

 

Refrigerant in cars is a mixture of a gas which does the "work" of the refrigeration cycle, and an oil which lubricates the pump.

While the gas may be the same in an ICE car and an EV the oil is not. All EV's require a special high voltage rated non-conductive oil as the electrical wiring of the pump (operating at up to 400 volts) is submersed in the gas/oil mix, a bit like the compressor in a household refrigerator which is likewise sealed and submersed. The oils used in ICE A/C systems are not guaranteed to be non-conductive (as it isn't part of their spec) and would therefore cause nasty problems when exposed to 400 volts... (don't submerse your 400 volt electric motor in slightly conductive fluid - not a good idea... )

The risk of regular oil getting into the A/C system of an EV is high enough that the re-gassing machine is supposed to be thoroughly flushed between uses if the oil type is being changed, or ideally a different machine dedicated to regassing EV's would be used to prevent cross contamination.

At this early stage while EV's are not very common most 3rd party aircon re-gassing establishments are not willing to re-gas EV's due to the hassle of having to use a different oil and flush the machine, (and/or lack of knowledge) but that will eventually change as they become more common.

As for the car itself I'd be inclined to agree with @donald and reject the car if you can. Searching for and properly repairing A/C leaks can be time consuming and costly even on ICE vehicles let alone EV's where there is less experience and less willingness to work on them, and the Zoe is known for A/C leaks. Proving that a leak is 100% fixed takes a long time as a small leak may take months or more to run the pressure down to the point where it stops working again. By then it's too late to reject the car.

I would not want to be buying one with a known leak on the promise it will be fixed. Once the sale is confirmed and the rejection time run down with promises to fix it willingness to fix the problem to your satisfaction will wane... Not worth the hassle when there are other cars to choose from.

 

So, my Zoe is still in with Renault - its on week number 3 now I have been without it. They have replaced the A/C Pump because it was'nt "kicking in" apparently so it needed to be replaced ... but there is still a leak somewhere so they are putting in the special dye and then look with a UV light apparently to see where its leaking from - i think that's what they said.

 

A bit predictable.

Sounds like they don’t know what they’re doing I’m afraid.

 

Hello all only just picked up a 2013 friday from a car dealers (not renault) - felt a bit chilly today so set climate control to 20c .. no heat whatsover came out of the vents , just blowing out cold air ...put it onto max heat , still blew out cold air . turned off eco switch ... still the same.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I shall try this hairdryer trick I have been reading about , warming up the sensor on the drivers side window. But if that works there anything else i can try? - I have only just bought the car and it does have warranty and when i picked it up on Friday he said the aircon has been re-gassed and the car had a service - i just think if I take it back and them not being a renault main dealer that they will send it away to the Dealers workshop about 50 miles away and I wont get the car back for 3 weeks or something!
They do offer a replacement car (not a Zoe) so it wont be the same, I have only just bought it and dont want it back and away for ages now I want to drive it!

Any Ideas / other tricks?

Thank you.

Andy.

My advice...

Reject the car immediately.

Tell them you'll reconsider reforming the contract once the heater is working. But remember your contract is voided once you make a declaration to reject.

If you go fiddling with it and try to repair yourself you will simply be seen to have accepted the car 'with' its fault and the dealer has escaped any responsibility to repair.

 

Reject the car and say you will re-buy it when it is fixed. Then your 6 months starts again.

Well, it would in the UK, not sure how Eire does it, if that is your jurisdiction.

 

UPDATE:
I got my car back last Thursday and i have heat and i have air conditioning, well pleased - nothing brilliant to write home about have known air con to be more freezing cold in ice cars ... but i did know that the Zoe is a bit meh on AC .. mind you also i might not have left it on long enough either to let it come through properly.

hows these figures look now? - OK? ... its nice to see 3.90 bar on the refrigerant pressure where before it went in it was 0.00 bar !

 

Looks good to me (as in, comparable with mine).

ZOE does NOT have "special" refrigerant. It's a bit tiring this "ZOE fairy tale™" pops up again and again. The only thing "special" about it, is it is the same as is used in every modern car, and the system is not allowed to be filled with the old stuff (that is not allowed in any modern car either). Reason is the old stuff has a horrible record re. ozone depletion. The new stuff, with an ozone depletion potential about 1000 times less, is unfortunately more expensive. It's called R1234YF. The horrible old stuff is R134a.

Nice sidenote: R1234YF is flammable Nuff said.

 

ZOE does NOT have "special" refrigerant. It's a bit tiring this "ZOE fairy tale™" pops up again and again. The only thing "special" about it, is it is the same as is used in every modern car, and the system is not allowed to be filled with the old stuff (that is not allowed in any modern car either). Reason is the old stuff has a horrible record re. ozone depletion. The new stuff, with an ozone depletion potential about 1000 times less, is unfortunately more expensive. It's called R1234YF. The horrible old stuff is R134a.

Sorry but you're wrong. Please do some research.

Refrigerant is not just a gas like R134a. It is a gas and oil mixture. You're only considering the different types of gas.

The gas portion of the refrigerant in EV's is the same as used in modern ICE vehicles but the oil is not. The oils in an ICE vehicle refrigerant mix cannot be used in an EV because the motor built into the compressor which runs from 400v DC is submerged in the oil/gas mixture and these oils are not rated as high voltage insulators.

The compressor in an ICE vehicle of course does not have an electric motor inside it and instead has a shaft and pulley going to the auxillary belt, so it doesn't matter whether the oil is slightly conductive or not.

As an aside, the additives in most oils make them slightly conductive - the slight conductivity of engine oil is how engine oil level sensors work as they just measure the resistance between two probe wires part way up the sump.

Modern engine oils are less conductive than those 20+ years ago so some older cars with oil level sensors occasionally report low oil level with clean brand new oil however as the oil decomposes and carbon builds up it becomes more conductive and the sensor starts working properly again.

 

Shouldn't evaporator temperature be around 5C?

 

I had AC button off and engine off - maybe I should test it again but with them on do you reckon?

 

If the AC button is illuminated the AC is OFF, confusing I know, it’s caught a few out.

 

yep, when I done that test the AC was off (red light on) - Maybe i should try it again with the ac on and engine on and blowing out cold air

 

I think the oil is not the refrigerant. It's just a necessary additive, certainly not the working fluid. Just a thought, how much oil does a scroll compressor need?

 

The oil is part of the refrigerant mix, so when a system is vacuumed the oil is also removed and when the system is refilled the correct mixture of refrigerant gas and oil is measured by the machine and pumped in.

Consider it analogous to two stroke petrol and oil mix. The petrol is what does the work but without the oil it won't work for long...

I don't know what the proportions are between gas and oil but they are probably specific to a given compressor and system.