How does automatic climate control in 306 work?

Spoderman5555

Spoderman5555

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Tadpole
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Just trying to figure out how the climate control and auto fan speed work in my 306.

Is it a case of just setting it to 21 degrees and the fan speed to auto and it will automatically set the temperature and air based on the temperature inside/outside the car?

Thanks in advance!
 
Spoderman5555 said:
Just trying to figure out how the climate control and auto fan speed work in my 306.

Is it a case of just setting it to 21 degrees and the fan speed to auto and it will automatically set the temperature and air based on the temperature inside/outside the car?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Yes, except uses only the inside air temp sensor with it's tiny little fan located next to courtesy light and key fob receiver above rear view mirror. Assuming of course that the heater matrix and the blend motor is working.
Outside air temp only gets used by the digital clock.
 
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Thanks for that Alex.

How would I know if the heater matrix and blend motor are all a-okay? Any simple tests I can do to make sure?
 
Rotate temp to full hot and if you get bloody hot then matrix is working, rotate temp to full cold and you get cooler then blend motor is doing its job, if you only get ambient then A/C needs investigation.
 
Okay so I get both hot and cold which is good. Only thing is the cold isn't as freezing as it should be.

When I spoke to the mechanic last about it, he said there was enough gas in the A/C tank. He thought it would most likely be the condenser breaking into little bits and stopping the full flow of cold air.

Not sure if that's something that actually happens, but I guess I'll have to get it sorted before summer either way...
 
The evaporator is inside the car and fully enclosed. The condenser is mounted next to the radiator and with a small effort is visible. They are well protected.
 
Sorry seasink, are you saying that it couldn’t be the condenser breaking apart into little bits?

Sorry, I don’t know a lot about stuff like this.
 
Spoderman5555 said:
Sorry seasink, are you saying that it couldn’t be the condenser breaking apart into little bits?

Sorry, I don’t know a lot about stuff like this.
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On the surface it seems the air conditioning system is working, just poorly.
It's unlikely the condenser is "breaking apart". Just by virtue of the way they are constructed. They are constructed nearly the same as a radiator...but not exactly the same.
You could get a pin hole in it from corrosion or a stone from a vehicle in front. They can develop splits and cracks from the chassis flexing. All of these lead to a loss of gas. And it's the loss of gas that leads to poor performance.

The system develops a pressure differential across the "TX" valve and the compressor (I wont go into how or why...just trust me). This gives you a high pressure side and a low pressure side to the system. When the aircon system is tested, service (pressure) gauges are connected to the "high" and "low" sides of the system. This information is used for performance and diagnostics tests of the system.
Without that pressure information anything said here is just speculation.
HOWEVER, 99% of aircon failures are due to bad seals. There are a lot of seals in an aircon system that can fail over time. And as I said, it's the loss of refrigerant that causes poor system performance.
With all due respect, your mechanic just seems to be guessing, so I would recommend taking your car to a dedicated air conditioning facility and get some hard facts.
 
Spoderman5555 said:
Okay so I get both hot and cold which is good. Only thing is the cold isn't as freezing as it should be.

When I spoke to the mechanic last about it, he said there was enough gas in the A/C tank. He thought it would most likely be the condenser breaking into little bits and stopping the full flow of cold air.

Not sure if that's something that actually happens, but I guess I'll have to get it sorted before summer either way...
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Don't go back to him for advice
The aircon in a 306 isn't great but it's ok
The longer it's running for and not sitting in traffic the better it is
 
Air con in a 306 can be made very good if you know what your doing, I agree stay away and visit specialist if required.
 
Thanks for the help guys. Any chance of recommendations in SA?

Not sure of any A/C specialists, but I do know of a specialist Peugeot mechanic, Lion Automobiles. Surely a Peugeot-centric mechanic would know his way around a 306 and its A/C...
 
So you are near Adelaide? This thread may help find a mechanic who is familiar with the car.

Trusted Renault workshop in Adelaide?

I have a Clio Sport 172 with just under 100,000 kms on it. It hasn't had a replacement timing belt in many years. I understand its a tight fit under the bonnet, so they're hard to fit unless you know how. My Clio now has a noticeable but not alarming squealing noise at startup from high up at...
www.aussiefrogs.com

The poster went to
www.dodsonautomotive.com.au

Home - Dodson Automotive

Your local Adelaide mechanic specialising in Peugeot, Citroen and Renault, fully equipped to handle your vehicle's servicing and repair needs.
www.dodsonautomotive.com.au www.dodsonautomotive.com.au

There are several auto aircon specialists in the Adelaide yellow pages.
 
Thanks seasink. Looks like Lion Automobiles is worth a shot, as well as Dodson Automotive. I’ll give both a call tomorrow and see what they say.
 
Spoderman5555 said:
Surely a Peugeot-centric mechanic would know his way around a 306 and its A/C...
Click to expand...
There are basically 2 parts to the climate control system. The mechanical part and the electronic part.
The engineering principals behind the mechanical part would be virtually the same as any other, similarly aged, car out there. So any aircon specialist could handle that.
But, how Peugeot goes about executing the electronics of the system is something else. Ford, Toyota, GM, ETC all go about the electronics in potentially different ways. Then on top of that, it can be different from model to model! The technician would need access to circuit diagrams and have a basic understanding of the applied (electrical) engineering principals that Peugeot has used on that car. Some specialist aircon places don't have access to that specific data. Yes, I know, that doesn't really make them a specialist now does it?
Because you don't know if the problem is a mechanical or electrical issue, you would need to find a company with the best access to that data, if not an intimate knowledge of the entire system.
I can't vouch for the two companies listed but they seem your best bet.
Good luck.
 
I did my own my self, new seals and flexible hoses. A working system and new gas and oil, works a treat, nice and cold.

New seals are a must. and good hoses/connections.

Temperature control is a weak point as it can be affected by dust / dirt on the sensor in the condenser. Technically the fans and motors controlling things are PWM and the refrigeration is classic aircon, nothing special there apart from compressor which can alter its output within certain limits to control temperature. Switching off and on is another way it does this.

As stated the electronics are proprietary the refrigeration most specialists can work on.
 
Matthew said:
Temperature control is a weak point as it can be affected by dust / dirt on the sensor in the condenser evaporator. Technically the fans and motors controlling things are PWM and the refrigeration is classic aircon, nothing special there apart from compressor which can alter its output within certain limits to control temperature. Switching off and on is another way it does this.
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The 306 (and 407) Sanden SD7 wobble plate compressor is fixed displacement, it's the newer SDV and SDC models that have variable displacement control. The recirc and blend on a 306 is done with stepper motors.
 
Correct I should have said that comes of being tired (spreading misinformation), yes the motors are stepper and the driver IC's, I did not know the wobble plate was fixed, always thought variable, Blending answers the temp regulation are they constantly doing this?
 
I called Lion Automobiles and the mechanic sounded very knowledgeable on all things 306, so I've booked my car in with him next week.

Thanks again for all your help guys.
 
How does automatic climate control on a Peugeot work
NOT very well by this discussion
 
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