WT Air-Con - Any Good ?

[robjh80]

I read somewhere that the WT Air Con performs a lot better than the Euro WS and WQ series .. is this right?

I have a WQ XR4 and the Air Con performance has always been rubbish!, it barely gets cold, even from new it was rubbish, a lot of XR4 owners have also complained about the performance of theirs ... it blows "mildly" chilled air at best, makes the cabin just about bearable up here in Brisbane

With a new Summer nearly upon us I was wondering if the rumours about the Thai built WT Air Con being a lot better are true?

[Caydus]

I can’t compare the WT to the WS as I haven’t extensively driven the WS in conditions where I need the air con badly enough, but I was driving for most of the day in my WT Fiesta in last year’s summer heat wave where it got up to 53 degrees C in traffic and it was very comfortable in the car, with the exception of the floor on the driver’s side got very hot.
The fan is crazy strong too, haven't been in a car with a stronger max setting when it comes to windspeed.

[GoesLikeAZetec]

Not sure about the WT but most WS owners have said the air con is pretty crap in general. There are a couple of older threads on it.

Hopefully they have a better compressor etc in the WT to make it work properly.

We ended up getting a really big sun shield that covers the entire windscreen and some of the side window. With the tinted windows and the sun shield it made a huge difference but the aircon is still crap for a new car.

[south21]

My air con in my ws was crap on hot sunny days and when it became cloudy it improved a lot, it didn't take long to figure out that by putting a dash mat on made all the differance.

[somers181]

The air con in the WT is very good, even better than previous LS Focus..... used it extensively earlier this year in peak hour heat waves......... only notice lack of power in the auto when travelling uphill with air con on otherwise strongly recommend......

[fiestaz]

Compared with my WP Fiesta, the WT Air con is wayy better. But i havent gone through a proper summer as yet so we'll see.

[robjh80]

Can you guys with the WS and WT Fiesta's do me a big favour please?

Take a look under your bonnet, find the Air-Con charge sticker like the one in the pic below and let me know what the charge amount is ... as you can see on my XR4 the charge is 0.470Kg (470 grams)

On the XR4 the sticker is located near the driver's side headlight .. it may be in a different location on the WS and WT ?

Thanks guys ..

[Caydus]

I'll have a look tonight when i get home

[Dgalle]

Just had a look at my WT. Could find it anywhere :(

[Moorie]

Originally Posted by Dgalle

Just had a look at my WT. Could find it anywhere :(

Likewise. Couldn't find anything in the owners manual either.

[Caydus]

I've never noticed anything under the hood with those specs, since everyone can't find it, i might give up to. But I went to the service manual and got these specs:

Originally Posted by Ford Warrenty and Service Guide page 28 &amp

Refridgerant - use only Refridgerant R134a which meets Ford specification WSH-M17B19-A
Compressor oil - Use only compressor oil meeting specification WSH-M1C231-B. Ford F7AZ-19589-DA meets this specification.

Refridgerant Refill Capacity 390 ± 10 grams
Compressor oil Refill Capacity 170 millilitres

[robjh80]

Originally Posted by Caydus

I've never noticed anything under the hood with those specs, since everyone can't find it, i might give up to. But I went to the service manual and got these specs:

Thanks for checking everyone, appreciated .. funny how there doesn't appear to be a spec sticker anywhere though? ..

Caydus ... is your Fiesta a WS or WT model?

[Caydus]

It's a WT

[robjh80]

Originally Posted by Caydus

It's a WT

How do you find the air-con performance in the WT mate?

With only 390 grams of refrigerant, I would have initially thought it wouldn't perform very good at all?

Just comparing it to the XR4, which as you can see states 470 grams on the sticker and the air con performance in the that car is absolute rubbish! .. with only 390 grams I would have concluded that the WT air con performance would be worse than the XR4? .. (if that's even possible!)

OK .. I'm officially confused? ..

[Caydus]

By all accounts it is much better than a WS, though I cannot compare as I haven't driven one extensively. Also, I'm usually alone in the car when it's most needed, so maybe that's contributed to it as well.

As said previously, I've driven for most of the day during one of the worst heat wave days in Sydney out in the west and i was very comfortable. It's got a very powerful fan behind it as well and it cools the car more quickly than the 06' Corolla I also drive around.

Perhaps it's because the Fiesta's a smaller car on the inside than the Focus? Not sure by how much though and if it'll make a difference.


All I can really attest to is that it's enough for 1 person even on the hottest days in Sydney.

[wakeboardandy]

Originally Posted by Caydus

Perhaps it's because the Fiesta's a smaller car on the inside than the Focus? Not sure by how much though and if it'll make a difference.


All I can really attest to is that it's enough for 1 person even on the hottest days in Sydney.

I'm pretty sure he is talking about his fiesta. I just picked up my WT this morning. Only driven it from Ringwood to the city so far but this morning it was raining and the aircon worked very well to demist the windows.. Not going to know how good it is until we get some warmer weather but here in Melb we get over 40 degree days in summer so it will get a good test over the next for months.. In saying that, it is fricken freezing outside at the moment in here so I'll be testing out the heater on the way home!

[asdf1234]

I have a WP fiesta, the air con is crap to say the least. As for refrigerant I think it may be in the specs in the technical help page in the forum.

[mik]

if it was mine and the aircon is serviced and supposedly working correctly but still crap, i would be checking to make sure the heater tap where ever it`s located, is shutting off fully, i had a vacuum hose come off the tap on my au, and the default for the au tap with no vacuum is on, or if it`s cable operated it might be out of adjustment?, i might be completely wrong, but worth investigation imo, nothing worse than a suky air con on a stinking hot day.

[robjh80]

The Warranty and Service Guide Book for the XR4 (Page 31, Specifications and Capacities) actually states that the Air-Con Refrigerant capacity is 650 grams

The Service Manual also states 650 grams (this is the same for all WQ Fiesta's) .. they all take 650 grams

And yet ... somewhere in the manufacturing process Ford have managed to place a sticker on these cars stating 470 grams? ..

Anyway, the car goes in tomorrow to get checked out, hopefully it's not a big fix, just a simple re-gas would be nice .. think I'll be asking for the 650 grams too!

[Fiesta_Man69]

The WS ac is rubbish - above 25 degrees it is useless. However, I had mine checked by Sinclair Ford and according to their "test" the cabin temp got down to 7 (that's seven, no typo) degrees.... Er if you're going to lie try and make it realistic lol. Best ac on WS - wind the window down

[robjh80]

My Fez spent last night at the Auto Electricians .. :(

Took it to a Mechanic down the road first up who seemed to really know his stuff, he checked out the air-con and found that the pressure was building in the system very quickly, (off the gauges apparanty!) ... he said the compressor was fine, the system had heaps of gas, no leaks etc but something electrical was not quite right and arranged for me to drop it off at the auto-electricians to get it checked out ... once they find the fault the Mechanic could then sort the air-con out

The auto electrician found that the radiator fan motor was faulty and wasn't starting up when the air-con was turned on ... he got the local Ford Dealer to send him out a new motor (surprise, surprise .. they sent the wrong one!)

By this time it was getting late in the day and he had to return the wrong fan motor, Ford promised him they would send out the right one this time .. we shall see?

Waiting to hear from auto-electrician today to see how he got on

Incidently the Mechanic reckons the amount of gas manufacturers recommend is only a very rough guide ... there are far too many factors to determine an absolute correct amount for all geographical regions (different climates etc) to state a preset and absolute amount .. this may be why the sticker under the bonnet says 470 grams and yet the service book (which is from Europe) says 650 grams .... different climates

Even Ford recommending 470 grams for all regions in Australia is a tad optimistic to say the least .. there's a big difference between Cairns and Hobart climates!

The Mechanic reckons overgassing a system is just as bad, if not worse, than not having enough gas ... the system will not work correctly at all, more gas does not equal colder air apparantly (quite the opposite in fact)

He said that the system pressure needs to be set according to what the gauges are saying on that particular given day (ie: what the weather is like on that day) ... they can then add or remove gas as required to get the correct pressure in the system and hence the temperature output at the vents

In essence, it appears that if you want nice cold air-con get the system serviced in the height of summer on the hottest day of the year!

[Caydus]

Hmmm, so when your car was built matters for your air con...

[robjh80]

Originally Posted by Caydus

Hmmm, so when your car was built matters for your air con...

I don't think Ford would have changed the charge rate depending on how the weather was looking on the day if that's what you're referring to?

All the cars would get charged exactly the same in the factory, in the case of the XR4 ... 470 grams for the Australian market (regardless of final delivery location .. Perth? .. Darwin? .. Launceston? etc)

Looks like 650 grams for European markets? (going by the Service Manual)

[tcrowdey]

I had a WS aircon was totally crap to the point of almost useless but now I own a WT and it is at least twice as strong. I think the german aircon would be suited to europes cold climate but thailands much hotter temp has obviously meant a far better unit was used in the WT

[Oriory]

Originally Posted by tcrowdey

I had a WS aircon was totally crap to the point of almost useless but now I own a WT and it is at least twice as strong. I think the german aircon would be suited to europes cold climate but thailands much hotter temp has obviously meant a far better unit was used in the WT

Interesting, I have a WS Zetec & in the 35 degree heat yesterday it worked just fine.....

[greenfoam]

The WS certainly wasn't ice cold in these conditions in Southern Victoria the other day but it was a lot more comfortable inside than outside, it's able to make me uncomfortably cold in any temps under 30c, Which is more than enough for just about anyone that lives near the coast anywhere around Australia most of the time

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by greenfoam

The WS certainly wasn't ice cold in these conditions in Southern Victoria the other day but it was a lot more comfortable inside than outside, it's able to make me uncomfortably cold in any temps under 30c, Which is more than enough for just about anyone that lives near the coast anywhere around Australia most of the time

image

I don't know about you guys but I turn the aircon on when it gets to around 20 degrees, lol, the WS Fiesta ain't too good at cooling at all once it hits 25+.

[greenfoam]

I don't like to switch it on under 30c, otherwise it has an uncomfortable cold breeze, but I guess because I'm fairly thin I don't get effected by heat much. I actually causes a few button wars with my wife while driving because she likes it switched on at 22c or so

[In Focus]

Did the temperature gauge go above half in the 47 degree heat?

[vhcbm]

Originally Posted by In Focus

Did the temperature gauge go above half in the 47 degree heat?

What temperature gauge?

no joke, they don't have one.