AC NOT WORKING

[KVJ 786]

Hi all

 

Its been a while since I have been on the forum issues on my Lotus S4S 95 model.

 

As of 2 days ago my ac stopped working, and with the hot weather in Florida not good for driving.

 

I had the system filled with some gas to check out if there was a leak, so left it standing for 2 days and by then the ac was not cooling anymore. The compressor does not even cut in, so very low pressure.

 

Took it down to a AC guy and did various checks for leaks as I had previously installed with dye to detect any leak. No obvious signs anywhere and yet will not hold the vacuum test.

 

Finally looked around the water outlet pipe with the UV light and the guy saw glow of colour and said to me bad news, it is your evaporator which is leaking.

 

So what is involved in removing this unit as this is a LHD so I figure some instructions may be different from what the manual says to remove. 

 

A guide to the correct way would be appreciated as have done many tricky jobs on this car and here is a major challenge once again.

 

Look forward to hearing form you experts out there who may have done this before.

 

Thanks 

 

Ameer

[sailorbob]

I believe the procedure is the same regardless of whether the car is RHD or LHD and you need to remove the instrument binnacle, main fascia and centre console to gain access to the heater/air conditioning assembly.

[KVJ 786]

Hi Derek

 

Thanks for the info. I will make a start on that and will report back how I get on.

 

Ameer

[KVJ 786]

Hi

Can anyone tell me how to remove the inside pillar trim close to the windscreen on a 1995 S4S Esprit.

 

I am removing all the facia to replace the ac evaporator.

 

Thanks

Ameer

[sailorbob]

Be brave and pull hard. Moving the instrument binnacle cover (2 screws and 1 bolt) to one side slightly improves the clearance on the drivers side.

[mr.oogieboogie]

Some of the trim will be glued. Drop the front roof panel x4 screws to give you a bit of clearance. Also the side rails x2 screws behind the rubber door seal. This will give you good sight. Wirh the a pillar off the binicle will be a bit easier to get off. Once undone manouver it from the rh to the lh and its tricky. Derek helped me a couple of weeks ago.

All the best

[KVJ 786]

Hi Again

 

Got that out and both the bolsters, How do I get the black panel at the bottom of the windscreen out? ( the one with the front speakers on each end.)

 

Thanks again for your help

 

Ameer

[mr.oogieboogie]

I dont think that panel comes out. As i recovered mine a couple of weeks ago

[sailorbob]

The instruments need removing along with the vent ducting, drivers side knee bolster, the steering column shrouds and stalks. There are fixings to the A pillar (1 screw), tunnel (2 bolts) and scuttle panel (4 nuts).

 

As said above, I don't think the screen landing comes out but it shouldn't need to once the rest is removed. The heater / evaporator should be accessible.

Edited December 19, 2014 by sailorbob

[KVJ 786]

Hi

 

Got the instrument out, then got the scuttle beam out, all the bolsters were out prior to that. As car has air bags system it has been a nightmare to also remove all that also before I could get the scuttle beam out. So toady later will have to remove the bar controlling the latch for the bonnet. ( instruction says remove it in the manual.) 

 

Then I will see what else is in the way to even get to see the evaporator to dismantle it. What fun it is so far and still nowhere near seeing the evaporator unit to start to remove it.

 

Will report back when that is actually out and the replacement fitted. 

 

Thanks again 

 

Ameer

 

PS it is 5am in Florida and need to get some sleep before starting again later today.

[KVJ 786]

Hi Again

 

Got the heater/ac box out finally. Dismantled and replaced the ac evaporator and put covers back togerther and silicon where required as previously had that around the cover joint areas.

 

There is a elbow metal pipe with nuts on each end which fits on to the ac evaporator part number A079P6017F known as the 

Elbow Adapter expansion valve to evaporator.

 

This part is not available from my UK lotus parts department. One side of the nut is cracked as it was a pig to to undo and seems very corroded. The other side is not too bad fitted to the expansion valve. 

 

This is shown on parts manual page 18.03A.

 

My problem is can I buy one in the USA or is there a supplier who could have something like that used on other cars perhaps.

 

Can anyone help me find this part as I need it to start installing all the bits back to the car.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Ameer

[lotus4s]

Ameer,

 

Take it to your nearest NAPA store and see if they can find it for you.

[KVJ 786]

Hi Jim

 

Napa did not have no such item. But they had the exchange valve so I bought that and replaced it as well.

Spoke to one of my customer and he suggested I try Southern Hydraulics who happened to be in my town in Kissimmee. 

 

very nice guy Shaun who managed to put 2 pieces together which gave the same end result for both ends to fit perfectly to the evaporator and the exchange valve. Gooped all that and ready to install back in car.

 

Now I am refitting everything in reverse order and what fun it has been so far. Will let you know when it is up and running again.

 

Merry Christmas to everyone and a happy New Year. and thanks for all the technical support the members have given over the years. Keep up the good work, and hope we can keep our Lotus cars on the road for more years to come.

 

Thanks

 

Ameer

[KVJ 786]

Hi Everyone

 

Update on re-install of ac box is complete. without too many parts fitted only basic stuff I was able to drive the car to my ac guy so we could check and fill the freon. All went well as the vacuum was done and then charged with gas.

 

Drove home with ac running and as soon as I got to my garage the ac clutch started coming on/off every few seconds. The air did not feel cold no more. Checked around under the dash and no obvious leaks.

 

I then opened the hood to check the receiver/drier glass window for bubbles and wow all the freon was splashed around that area and for no reason the pressure switch leaked. ( guess found a weak point ). Got one fitted and went back to ac guy and this time ran the vac test longer and left standing longer before filling gas again.

 

All good now and ac works well. (Other components can show weakness when new parts are fitted.)

 

Now fitting back interior and coming along nicely with patience to not break anything else.

 

This job can be done if anyone needs to fix the heater/evaporator, just takes time and patience to get everything out. 

 

How do I load pictures to my post? as were taken at different stages of the dismantle.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

Ameer 

[910Esprit]

Looking forward to seeing pictures of this.  Upload your pictures to a picture hosting  site - such as photobucket.   Then you can just paste the .img links provided.   NB there are issues with IE so I would use Chrome or your  browser of choice.  

[KVJ 786]

Hi

 

First time setting up photobucket, not sure if I have done this correctly. Here is the link I selected from the options.

 

 

http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah243/naseebdar786/DSC01543_zps9904c38f.jpg

 

Let me know if this does not work.

 

PS just a few pictures loaded to try out. more pictures if anyone wants to see in more detail.

 

Ameer

[910Esprit]

Works fine - looks epic.   You can also use the img tags to embed the photos directly into the post

[ramjet]

Damn that's bright!

[lotus4s]

Nice job Ameer! Post more pics. 

[ragingfool35]

better yet, come replace mine!