Is my air conditioner malfunctioning?

[Tony M]

Well, huge thanks to everyone for those really helpful replies.

At first I was a bit skeptical that the problem could be due to dust or dirt under the hood. I thought I kept it reasonably clear with fairly frequent blasts with a powerful leaf blower, especially in dusty conditions. Also, the temp gauge never gets above normal.

Anyway, when I lifted the hood, there was a bit of superficial dust, but nothing out of the ordinary.........until I peered between the condenser and the adjacent radiators etc. There was something like a solid mat of grass debris in front and behind it!

I think part of the problem is the layer upon layer of structures at the front of the underhood area, all very close together - battery, intercooler, oil cooler, condenser radiator etc.

Anyway, using various methods, including most of the ones suggested, I managed to get it all clear and clean and, hey presto, the a/c works as it's meant to.:thumbsup:

So, now I just have to figure out how to stop the problem recurring in the first half hour of mowing in a dry field.

But, the most important thing ATM is to acknowledge the invaluable help given so freely and quickly on this forum. Please accept my genuine gratitude to everyone who replied and assisted. This is a top forum because it's frequented by top people.

Cheers and thanks
Tony

 

[greg_g]

That's fine as far as you went, But now you need to go around behind the tractor and look up. Above the rear window are two wing nuts holding a plastic panel. Under that panel you'll find the cabin filter. Under the filter you'll find the AC evaporator. Behind the evap is the heater core. Clean/replace as required. I think the manual says replace filter @ 50 hours.

If you don't trust the dealer, get a mate to help remove the cab roof so you can inspect the seal that runs around the entire circumference. When one man attempts to lift off the roof - especially the first time - seal damage is almost guaranteed. A new employee at my dealer learned that the hard way. Insufficient training and/or supervision cost them the otherwise unnecessary expense of a new seal. Outside air is meant to be drawn through the cabin filter only. But any gap in the roof seal will allow outside air to enter the ventilation system. Ambient air drawn in through a leaking seal will necessarily combine with conditioned air being generated through the evap/heater core, which in turn affects the cabin temperature. This would also be a good time to verify that the heat/AC control knobs inside the cab fully open/close their respective valves in the roof. If not, the adjustments are at the evap/heater end.

//greg//

 

[Tony M]

Thanks Greg, but I do clean the cabin filter fairly often. In fact, I had it replaced under warranty when it was apparent it was letting some dust bypass it as part of the rubber surround had delaminated.

Now that the a/c is working properly, I'll expect it to cool the cab. If it does, I'll leave it at that. There's really no reason to suspect a roof seal problem.

I do remember when the tractor was sitting at the dealership waiting for the radio to turn up, I asked why I couldn't have the tractor and get the radio put in later when it arrived. It was explained to me then that they always get two people to lift the roof when the radio goes in.

Cheers
Tony