Car Air Conditioning in Buckfast

Buckfast is a small village built around its abbey, and the traffic here is dominated by visitors, with coaches and cars coming and going close to the A38. If you live here you know the car park crawl in summer. If you are visiting from further afield and your air con has started blowing warm, this page is for you too.

We are Automaster, a garage at Longcombe Cross near Totnes, and we service and repair car air conditioning and heating on petrol and diesel vehicles. Below is a plain-English guide to the problems we are asked about most.

My air con has stopped cooling: what has gone wrong?

A system that no longer cools has usually lost refrigerant, though a compressor that is not engaging, a faulty pressure valve or a blocked condenser can give the same result. Slow loss through seals and hose joints is normal over the years and is the reason air con needs occasional attention.

Tell us whether the loss was gradual or sudden. A slow fade suggests leakage, while a sudden stop suggests something mechanical or electrical.

Air-con servicing and re-gassing for Buckfast drivers

An air-con service checks how the system performs, recovers the old refrigerant, tests for leaks and refills with the correct refrigerant and oil for your car. The type of refrigerant depends on the age and make of the vehicle, so there is no one-size answer.

Time and cost depend on whether the system holds gas, what has to be repaired and how easy the components are to reach. A quote only makes sense once we know your car and the symptoms.

• Make, model and year
• Whether the air is warm, weak or smelly
• Any noise when it is switched on
• When it last worked properly

Why do air-con leaks matter more than the gas level?

The gas level is just the symptom. If a pipe, seal or condenser is leaking, a fresh charge will leak out again, so you may find yourself back with warm air within a short time. Finding the leak first is the sensible route.

Running the air con regularly, even for a few minutes in winter, helps keep the compressor oil moving and the seals soft. Cars that sit unused tend to leak sooner.

Heater problems: cold air, steamy windows or a sweet smell

No heat can be a thermostat stuck open, low coolant, an air lock after work on the cooling system, or a clogged heater matrix. If the fan does not blow at all, look at the blower motor, its resistor or a fuse.

A sweet smell and misting inside the glass may be coolant leaking from the heater matrix. That needs prompt attention, and an overheating engine should never be driven on.

Can I get air con work done near Buckfast Abbey?

Our garage is Automaster at Longcombe Cross near Totnes, so it is not in the village itself, but customers from Buckfastleigh, Holne, South Brent and Totnes bring their cars to us for this kind of work.

It helps if you can describe the problem when you ask for a quote and tell us the vehicle details. If the car is overheating or the heater has failed in cold weather, let us know so we can take that into account.