Have been experiencing a noise for a couple of weeks which at first I thought was engine related but I am now sure that it is the air con compressor as the noise is not there if I turn the climate control off. Noise sounds like a bearing but occasionally under hard acceleration it is more of a rattle. Difficult to describe really but it is quite intrusive. The car an 08 HSE auto has now done 65k. Just wonder if anyone else has experience of this problem and if there is a simple fix that doesn't involve compressor replacement.

Thanks

Stewart

Sounds like the noise I had last month. The noise has now stopped - and so has the A/C !!

Went to dealers last week and they said they had no experience of any problems with the F2 A/C to date so will need to have the car in and investigate. When asked what the likely costs could be if it was the compressor/condenser they said it "could be in the region of £1400".

Car is 46 months old and has covered 30K. Have always left A/C running to ensure the seals do not dry-out. Gas was replaced as recommended at 24 month service.

Taking car in later today and then will wait for the phone-call to see how much lighter my bank account will be. Didn't take out extended warranty as for the first 36 months had no issues!!

Will let you know the outcome once I have recovered mole

Thanks for replying. I would appreciate an update on the diagnosis so do keep me posted.

Seems that i am experiencing the same problem. Also, the moment i press the econ button a sound like a fluid running through a pipe occures. From time to time, all the noises stop, first the bearing sound and then the fluid sound. But the silence lasts only 2 or 3 seconds.
The car has done 35k. This winter i started the air con by mistake and i remember that there was no bearing noise, only the fluid one. I don't know what's wrong.

I had this problem just over a year ago, I would describe it as whining noise that would get louder as the engine slowed as it as under load, thought I was going mad as I was the only one who could hear it at first, after a couple of visits to the garage the mechanic sat in for a test drive and said it was the Ac compressor and that they would need to order a new one. Five months later had one replaced under warranty as they were on back order from Land Rover. Good job I reported before the warranty ran out otherwise I would have been looking at a hefty bill

@johnny_22_83
The bearing sound is normal if it is very discrete.
Also the hissing sound is the sound of the refrigerant passing through the lamination valve. Also normal, more pronounced when you stop the AC.
But the fact that from time to time the sounds stop, makes me think.
I've had a problem like that some time ago. See here: http://www.freel2.com/forum/post68364.html#68364
Check to see if the electrical fans are working when the AC is ON.
The stop/start (more the stop) could be because of the fans not working and the pressure inside the system became to great because of the temperature of the refrigerant.

Latest News (or lack of!)

Local dealer told me today that "they were so busy due to all of the Bank Holidays that they could not look at it for a while". I am not able to spare the car for the next few weeks so I will have to wait until the annual service due in the middle of June.

If my local independent Land Rover garage can show a little more sympathy then they could end up with servicing both my F2's mole

johnny_22_83 wrote:

This winter i started the air con by mistake and i remember that there was no bearing noise, only the fluid one. I don't know what's wrong.

A little off-topic...
Just to add my 2 cents about these seals that people are talking about...

Inside the air conditioner system there is a special PAG oil. (PAG = Polyalkylene glycol)
During functioning of the system this oil is recirculated together with the refrigerant over and over in the whole system.
In fact the oil is a special synthetic oil, designed specially for that kind of refrigerant, generally R134a.
You can say that the refrigerant is a homogeneous mix of R134a and oil.
And that oil, even if the system is not functioning (supposing that at one point it has functioned in order to disperse the oil) is distributed like: 50% inside compressor, 20% inside condenser + drier, 20% inside evaporator and 10% inside hoses.
And in a system like FL2's, the quantity of oil is about 200 ml. Quite a lot...
So, you see, in my opinion, as long as the circuit is closed and in good condition, those seals can't dry out...
But I can be wrong...

strange thing.
today i thought i should check the fans, how Alex suggested me. So, i started the air con and i went to check them out. It seemed to be working fine. So, i went back in the car, disappointed i couldn't find the problem (you can't blame me for hopping for a quick solution ). But guess what: before i stopped the air i noticed there was no annoying sound. I swear i didn't touch anything. I don't know what happened but i pray to stay so.
Nevertheless, if God won't listen to my prayers, i know you guys will listen to my problems.

Hi, just thought I'd post on here ( already replied to another thread) My air con was noisy (07 plate) - turned out it was caused by low refrigerant pressure. If the pump is off its duty point (pressure vs flow) then a lot of the pumping energy will go into making noise as there is not enough refrigerant to impart energy too.
A trip to kwikfit and £49 later cured it all.

Easy for dealer to suggest new pump and if one is fitted, then the regas they do on installation fixes the problem, but everyone things it's the new pump that cured it. The kwikfit fit engineer said a regas to fix the noise was not guaranteed ( which is fair enough as the pump may need fixing). However, dealers should check the refrigerant first before suggesting paying out £££s on new air con parts.

P.s. my air con only made noise sporadically - obviously just when it was warm outside - it was this realisation that made me investigate the unknown noise and suspect the air con. The noise disappearing when switch to economy confirm the culprit.

If its any help, there's another newer thread relating to this up the listings a bit. Some have said that a regas sorted it out though I think it's something else in my car. Whereabouts unknown stop going to follow stream until reach civilisation stop message ends

To clarify......my veh is 6 months old, 7k miles. Whilst in for a software update the dealers thought to top up my air con. This gave a very nasty noise and the vehicle went back for a new compressor but resulted in the same noise, just quieter.

There is a bit of a knack to re gassings....from what the workshop controller told me, the compressor is emptied by vacuum and filled by the same method.

If.....the blow off valve is sticky, it leaves high pressure on one side which means new gas is forced in, not vacuumed, thus fooling any equipment into thinking the compressor is full when in fact it is running low and will cause all sorts of noises.

To solve this, they overfilled the compressor, thus activating the release/blow off, which resulted in zero pressure in the compressor. They were then able to fill with the correct amount of gas. Resulting in silent operation.

Top and bottom with mine appears to be a sticky release valve on a new compressor and the original. Hope this helps, took my dealer 2 days to find and identify. 2013 FL2 - Black Edition Auto
2013 FL2 - Black Edition Manual GONE!
Founder of the 'Microscopic LR Spoiler Badge Club'
Destroyer of chrome rears.....

09MY auto with occasional A/C whine 36K miles. Again slightly off topic, an A/C system is designed against highest average ambient temperature for the country of operation ( design was 27oC some years ago ( CIBS)) and the comfortable cabin temperature required plus the insulation properties of the car materials, body, glass etc. This gives the load against which the system has to operate. If it is 29oC outside and you set the inside temperature at 18oC then the system is trying to cater for 11oC cooling which will possibly be above its design ability. I have noticed that by reducing the temperature differential to not more than 5 or max 6 degrees ( if its 29oC outside then set the aircon at 23 or 24oC) then this reduces the load and the whine stops or does not start. This indicates to me that the whine is a function of heavy load ( in my case and if there is no mechanical problem ) If you think it unreasonable to be sitting in 23 /24oC when 29oC outside then I have also seen it is recommended that for a human to move between 2 zones with a temperature differential of more then 6oC can give thermal shock. I have had many cars with A/C and not had a whine but I know that we are seeing higher ambient temperatures than has been the average over the last 10 year. To that end the design basis is now 28 or 29oC and my company has just designed a system based on 32oC for a company in the Thames area projecting anticipated higher yearly averages. All A/C that I have been involved with is reliant on regular servicing. Systems do not loose gas over time unless there is a leak and regular topping up should not be required, but servicing and checking of working pressures is needed. I confess I know little about car A/C as the fridge engineers I know don't touch this subject so it may be different to commercial work. However if 134A refrigerant is in use then there are many commercial units using this gas.

I have only recently had my LR2 and done 1K but I will be having it checked out soon. The highest outdoor ambient I have seen this year so far has been 31oC