Car Air Conditioning in Bantham

Bantham sits at the mouth of the River Avon, with its beach and surfers, and summer weekends bring plenty of cars down the narrow lanes. A car that lives near the sea, parked up with the windows shut in the sun, asks a lot of its air conditioning.

Automaster is at Longcombe Cross near Totnes. We carry out air-con servicing, re-gassing and repairs, and heater work, on petrol and diesel cars and vans, including those from Bantham and the surrounding villages.

Can coastal living shorten the life of the air con?

The condenser sits right at the front of the car, behind the grille, where it takes spray, grit and road salt. Over time its thin fins can corrode and a pinhole leak appears, which lets refrigerant escape.

It is worth washing the front of the car now and then, and having the system checked if the air feels less cold each season.

Sand is a quieter enemy. Fine grit gets into door shuts, footwells and ducting, and it can clog the pollen filter faster than you would expect after a summer of beach trips. If airflow from the vents feels weak even on full fan, the filter and the blower are the first places to look.

Why is the air only cool after a day at the beach?

A car left baking in a car park gets very hot inside, so even a healthy system takes a while to catch up. If it never gets properly cold, though, the charge may be low, the compressor weak, or the condenser fan not working.

Tell us how long it takes and whether it is any better on the move.

• Weak cooling after heat soak
• Cold on the move but warm at idle
• Warm air with a noisy compressor
• Air con cutting out intermittently

Does a re-gas sort out a leak?

Not if the system is leaking. New refrigerant will leak out again, so a re-gas on a leaking system will not last. A leak check, using pressure testing or a trace method, finds where the loss is before more gas goes in.

Typical leak spots are the condenser, pipe joints, the compressor shaft seal and the hoses.

The compressor is the heart of the system, and replacing one is a bigger job than most air con repairs, so catching early signs matters. Noise, a clutch that will not engage, or oil traces around the unit all point to trouble. Where a compressor fails badly, the pipes and condenser may need cleaning through as well, which affects the quote.

Where do Bantham drivers bring the car?

Automaster is at Longcombe Cross, Longcombe, near Totnes. We see cars from Bantham, Thurlestone, Bigbury, Kingsbridge and Loddiswell, and from the rural lanes in between.

If you are unsure whether to travel, ask for a quote by describing the problem first.

What causes a heater to fail in cold, damp weather?

A heater that blows lukewarm usually has low coolant, a faulty thermostat or a partly blocked heater matrix. A blower that is dead on every setting could be a motor, a fuse or a resistor.

Damp windows and a sweet smell inside the car should not be ignored, because they can mean a leaking matrix.