Whiney whine!

**bbdp** · 24th July 2012, 16:11

I have noticed a very faint whine coming from the engine bay and have tracked it down to something to do with the A/C since the noise stops immediately when i switch the blower off.

I had the A/C regassed about 2 months ago and Vx advised i had a battered compressor but that they have injected some dye to ensure they confirm where the leak is if it doesn't hold pressure. It has started to struggle to cool the car in the last few days so suspect the compressor is leaking (and the hotter weather may have something to do with this) however i want to make sure that its the compressor that needs replacing to get a nice chilly and silent car back! any ideas?

Ive read a bunch of posts about various whines caused by belts and compressors but nothing that quite fits my problem and i want to be able to purchase the compressor myself and have Vx fit it since they want £300 for the part and i can get it for half that!

**Rebellion** · 24th July 2012, 16:40

Even if you do have the compressor changed, there's nothing sufficiently complex about the job that means a main dealer has to do it; independent garages or A/C specialists can also do it.

**bbdp** · 25th July 2012, 07:35

yes of course but the bigger issue is that i'm not certain its the compressor that's at fault for both the whining and the loss of cooling. was hoping that someone had maybe experienced the same problem and managed to resolve?

**Chris SRi** · 25th July 2012, 08:19

Unfortunately I have and it was the aircon pump / compressor. The garage put a stethascope thing on mine to trace the whine.

£700 odd quid later and it was sorted - under warranty though.

The whine on mine made my car sound electric, and I didn't use to use the A/C cos the noise was awful.

**bbdp** · 25th July 2012, 08:24

Originally Posted by Chris SRi

Unfortunately I have and it was the aircon pump / compressor. The garage put a stethascope thing on mine to trace the whine.

£700 odd quid later and it was sorted - under warranty though.

The whine on mine made my car sound electric, and I didn't use to use the A/C cos the noise was awful.

Bingo! Thats exactly what mine sounds like. Just the compressor that was swapped out then? did you have a loss of cooling or just the awful noise?

£700 sounds ****** steep though, Vx quoted me £462 all in but i found the part elsewhere for just over £120 so think i'll be purchasing myself and seeking out a friendly garage to swap it out for me!

**Chris SRi** · 25th July 2012, 13:03

Yep, loss of cooling as well. I think the pump was about £500 and then labour, then the regass, then the VAT. That was from an independant garage as well.

**bbdp** · 25th July 2012, 14:30

Originally Posted by Chris SRi

Yep, loss of cooling as well. I think the pump was about £500 and then labour, then the regass, then the VAT. That was from an independant garage as well.

Ouch! Well thanks for the advice, I'll get on the case with some quotes now