Biturbo A/C acting up

[henris42]

Hi,

I have a -90 2.24v, with touch button A/C. The A/C kind works, it blows hot and cold, but it goes crazy now and then.

Has anyone here had issues like this:

• Sometimes it stops actually blowing air to the cabin. I can hear the fan blow full speed though.
• It also wants to push either full cold or full hot. Temperature in "Lo" I get cold, anything above I get really hot air.
• I can hear relays clicking all the time when its acting up

As the cold and hot work, its clearly something electrical. I'll put some CRC to all connectors next time in garage, but I was wondering for any potential pointers..

Cheers,
//Henri

 

[dt95aac]

I think you need to work systematically and go through a single function at a time.

The temperature being either hot or cold sounds like a broken temperature gauge.
The Ghibli has three of these, I imagine the 2.24 is the same.
One is on the roof next to the rear view mirror, one is in front of the bulkhead in the fresh air intake, can't remember where the third one is.

The fan problem sounds more strange. If the fan works, there is bound to be air coming from somewhere.
It could be that some of the in dash ducts have come off and the air is being blown inside the dash. Try to go under the dash and feel if there is air blowing.

 

[henris42]

I CRC:d connector of the temperature sensor near the mirror, that helped with hot/cold issue so that sensor is most probably ok. However there is also a little fan pulling air to the sensor and its not getting power so more stuff to investigate.

I think the strange blowing and relay clicking are related, I think it puts sometimes the valves in the ducts in wrong position. I just have to hunt where those relays are physically... I also opened and cleaned the controller, that seems to be 100% ok.

 

[henris42]

Hi, related to this, I assume its still using Freon. It should be upgraded to R134, and I gather this is actually a simple job, only new part needed is an expansion valve.
I'd assume that later model Ghiblis have this upgrade done? Does anyone have better knowledge for the correct part number?

 

[Wally]

A friend gave me this info (was for his QP IV Ottocilindri) : Maserati-part is nr.:375500166. The part is used in several Kia's (possibly also Hyundai and Honda) On the part: (K-) 1K2A1-61-J11.
Alternatives: Kia K 0BJ1 61-1 (or J) 40 or: 0K2FE 61-J30. Keep us posted about your progress please....

 

[henris42]

Thanks, this is very promising, seems that this will be an affordable mod! It will need also a compressor rebuild with R134a-compatible o-rings and seals.
I'll tackle that when I get the engine out.

I'm going to publish a blog article about this later this year, I'll share a link here..

 

[spacecadet]

I've changed the system in mine to R134a. Used Denso DVE99009 expansion valve and replaced all the o-rings. You might also need to mount valve adapters so that recent machines used in random AC shops can be connected when filling up the system.

 

[henris42]

OK. Did you change the accumulator/dryer to a new one as well?

 

[spacecadet]

Yes, I've used an universal one with the same dimensions, and moved the switch from the old one to this. Only needed to ensure system cleanliness.

 

[henris42]

Here is a small writeup on previous A/C woes:

Fixing the A/C

During my trip from Milan to Helsinki, I experienced some issues with the A/C. It sometimes just pushed extremely hot or extremely cold. During the trip it helped if the cycled the power – bu…

henris42.wordpress.com

I'll update the LEDs in the controller at some point, its really dim at the moment. Also the lamps will be gone and replaced with LED:s. So plenty content for new articles tbd.

 

[henris42]

I had the car outside for a while, and had some condensation inside. The AC CPU went nuts! No display at all!

Anyone similar experiences? I was thinking that I'll spray something suitable on the PCBs, and also see if I can seal it better.