[kentish zoe]

Anyone know why they are unable to carry out air-con recharge on hybrid/electric vehicles ? http://www.kwik-fit.com/mot-testing-and-servicing.asp

 

[Alexander Sims]

For my Tesla Roadster I mentioned that my air con was low recently (hardly any cabin cooling) and they said that because of the air con being used for battery cooling as well, it couldn't be accessed by 'normal' mechanics and that Tesla needed to do it themselves. I believe it is a split system and things need to be done in a certain order...

I am not sure which cars use the air con to cool the battery as well but i guess that some others do... So without knowing each and every car inside out, KwikFit just say, nothing with the potential to have a battery cooling system in place.

I may be completely wrong on this, but its just the experience I've had... Might be Tesla specific though

 

[andyfras]

Surely your Zoe doesn't need an air-con recharge yet?

I think that technicians are frightened to do anything to an electric car. Someone on the My Zoe forum had an accident which damaged the bumper and light; the technicians wouldn't touch it until the 'electricity was turned off', which it appears was no simple matter.

http://myrenaultzoe.com/index.php/topic/accident-update

 

[kentish zoe]

No problem with my air con, was just looking for our ICE car and noticed the exclusion but I think you are right they are just scared of what they don't know and maybe worried about being sued if they killed the traction battery.

Surely your Zoe doesn't need an air-con recharge yet?

I think that technicians are frightened to do anything to an electric car. Someone on the My Zoe forum had an accident which damaged the bumper and light; the technicians wouldn't touch it until the 'electricity was turned off', which it appears was no simple matter.

http://myrenaultzoe.com/index.php/topic/accident-update

 

[andyfras]

they are just scared of what they don't know and maybe worried about being sued if they killed the traction battery.

...or themselves.

 

[jontracey]

they better get with it, or go out of business

 

[Gazjen]

The best bit is it's no different on an electric car its just the compressor is driven by a separate motor and not a belt ran off the engine!

 

[John Ganderton]

Ev air conditioning systems have a special type of non conductive oil in them. it is very important to use the right stuff or you could get a shock !!

 

[Gazjen]

why's that then? I find that very hard to believe as oil by nature is pretty non-conductive hence why they fill transformers with it to aid cooling. besides the pipe work is metal and there is very little oil in the system anyway. It's a pump so why should the pump be in contact with the motor driving it?

Edit: ok slight retraction as EV oil (polyolester) has a insulation value of 10 meg/ohm where as pag oil (used in ICE A/C) has an insulation value of 1 meg/ohm although I'd still be confident dipping my hand in something that had a insulation of 1 meg/ohm

 

[John Ganderton]

The oil type is nd-oil11 or an equivalent. the motor act directly on the pistons inside the compressor how else would it turn. There is no clutch just a squash plate that is controlled by the refrigerant pressure. If the motor had a short circuit fault it could make the pipe work live. chances are the system would shut down before that happens. But you never know.

 

[Gazjen]

I would expect it would drive via a shaft from the motor to a scroll compressor, it would be very badly designed to allow current/voltage to come into contact with the gas/oil/metalwork especially at 300+ volts

 

[andrew*debbie]

I wouldn't recommend Kwik-fit.

AirCon and heat pumps are closed systems. They do not need recharging unless there is a leak. I'd take the car to a specialist. If it is in warranty, I'd take it to a dealer.

What should happen is leak detection, leak repair, pump out all the air with a vacuum pump and then recharge.


I doubt they Kwik-Fit would be familiar with heat pumps. It is possible that Zoe needs a service computer to set the valves to the correct position for a re-fil. I know with some of the Renaults, many repairs require a HV disconnect.

 

[Olivier]

I wouldn't recommend Kwik-fit.

AirCon and heat pumps are closed systems. They do not need recharging unless there is a leak. I'd take the car to a specialist. If it is in warranty, I'd take it to a dealer.

What should happen is leak detection, leak repair, pump out all the air with a vacuum pump and then recharge.


I doubt they Kwik-Fit would be familiar with heat pumps. It is possible that Zoe needs a service computer to set the valves to the correct position for a re-fil. I know with some of the Renaults, many repairs require a HV disconnect.

They couldn't evn properly change a bulb on my old Audi, i.e. they changed it alright but didn't level the headlight ....