What are the reasons for the Peugeot 307's air conditioning not cooling?
3 Answers
Reasons for the Peugeot 307's air conditioning not cooling: 1. Condenser: The condenser is a component that is often overlooked. After prolonged driving, a lot of dust accumulates on the condenser. If the car is frequently driven on dusty roads, even more dust will gather on the condenser. Excessive dust on the condenser significantly reduces its cooling efficiency, leading to poor air conditioning performance. 2. Damage to the air conditioning compressor, throttle valve, or expansion valve: The probability of the air conditioning compressor failing is relatively low, but faults in the expansion valve or throttle valve can directly cause poor cooling. 3. Lack of refrigerant: The sealing of the air conditioning system is not absolute, so the refrigerant tends to dissipate over time. Therefore, most vehicles require refrigerant replenishment every 2-3 years. If the car's air conditioning and cooling equipment are not functioning well, the cooling performance may start to deteriorate shortly after refilling the refrigerant. In such cases, the condenser might be leaking.
I've been driving my Peugeot 307 for almost ten years and have encountered air conditioning failures twice. The most common issue is refrigerant leakage. In my case, it was due to aging AC pipe joints leaking refrigerant, and the high-pressure pipe didn't feel cold at all. The compressor failure is the most troublesome - you should be alert if you don't hear the 'click' engagement sound from the engine compartment when pressing the AC switch. Clogged radiator fins by willow catkins can also prevent cold air output, so I wash the condenser with a water gun every spring. Electrical problems shouldn't be ignored either, like that thumb-sized AC relay with poor contact - replacing it only costs about twenty yuan. By the way, a blocked expansion valve will make the vents blow natural air, and this requires dashboard removal to fix.
With 15 years of experience repairing French cars, Peugeot 307 air conditioning faults mainly fall into three categories: refrigeration cycle issues account for 70%, including insufficient refrigerant, compressor seizure, or condenser blockage; 20% are electrical problems, such as pressure switch failure causing the compressor not to start; the remaining 10% are mechanical failures. Focus on checking the low-pressure pipe pressure, which should normally be around 3 kg; too low indicates a refrigerant leak. Remember to use a diagnostic tool to read the air conditioning module fault codes—Peugeot cars often report 'pressure inconsistency' errors. The most troublesome issue is evaporator leaks, requiring the entire dashboard to be removed. It's recommended to first replace the air conditioning filter, which can solve 30% of airflow problems for just thirty bucks.
