Round 'Thingy'! On the dashboard!

[M 80NGD]

Hi,after owning the Bongo for nearly 3 years,I've only just noticed,what I can only describe as a 15mm round 'thing'

in the right hand corner,on the top of the dashboard,about 30mm from the windscreen!! Have all Bongos got these

and does anybody know what it's for?! It looks like a tiny solar panel!! Thanks,Lee.

[sparkymik]

Temp sensor for the aircon

Sparky

[M 80NGD]

Temp sensor for the aircon

Sparky

Cheers! I've not used the aircon since I've owned it either!!

[sparkymik]

In the owners manual it says it's for outside detection so don't cover it up


Sparky

[ScubaBongo]

Cheers! I've not used the aircon since I've owned it either!!

The seals have probably dried out and cracked by now - you should run it weekly. It's also the best way to demist

[Ron Miel]

The (front compartment*) internal temperature sensor for the heater/aircon/Climate Control (if fitted) thermostat is actually behind the little grid, low on the fascia, passenger side. The disc up by the windscreen "reads" changes in the amount of sunlight arriving, perhaps putting the aircon into operation before the internal sensor might otherwise do so (?) - a sort of anticipatory thermostat. Anyone know?

*(The rear sensor is behind the forward section of the floor level grid, offside behind the driver's seat. The rear section of that grid is a heater/aircon air outlet.)

Yes, do keep the aircon occasionally running (10-15 minutes a month is enough) - I failed to do so on a Nissan Primera, and it was going to cost £1,000 to strip it all down to replace the seals and get some working pressure back into it!!! Sold it part ex, with the aircon not working - and still got the "book" part ex price, because I had valeted it well and the dealer neither tested nor asked about it. Phew!

[M 80NGD]

The (front compartment*) internal temperature sensor for the heater/aircon/Climate Control (if fitted) thermostat is actually behind the little grid, low on the fascia, passenger side. The disc up by the windscreen "reads" changes in the amount of sunlight arriving, perhaps putting the aircon into operation before the internal sensor might otherwise do so (?) - a sort of anticipatory thermostat. Anyone know?

*(The rear sensor is behind the forward section of the floor level grid, offside behind the driver's seat. The rear section of that grid is a heater/aircon air outlet.)

Yes, do keep the aircon occasionally running (10-15 minutes a month is enough) - I failed to do so on a Nissan Primera, and it was going to cost £1,000 to strip it all down to replace the seals and get some working pressure back into it!!! Sold it part ex, with the aircon not working - and still got the "book" part ex price, because I had valeted it well and the dealer neither tested nor asked about it. Phew!

Thanks for that Ron I'm selling mine soon,but I will deduct all the problems it has from its eventuall selling price.

I was cleaning it today ready for selling,and it was the 1st time I'd seen the little sensor through the windscreen!!

[Ron Miel]

Hope you're not leaving us altogether? Yes, it's amazing what you find in/on a Bongo when you have a good clear out and clean session.

[Diplomat]

Like M80NGO Iam not an aircon person.

Is there any technical reason not to uncouple the aircon pump thereby saving wear and tear?

I appreciate that it only really presents much load when in use.

I just feel that if I don't need it and there is a possbility of it seizing up some time it would be better of not connected.

I am an open window freak (except on motorways etc.) and yes I do realise that open windows can affect fuel consumption but there are some pleasures in life that are worth a little expense!

[Ron Miel]

Like M80NGO Iam not an aircon person.

Is there any technical reason not to uncouple the aircon pump thereby saving wear and tear?

I appreciate that it only really presents much load when in use.

I just feel that if I don't need it and there is a possbility of it seizing up some time it would be better of not connected.

I am an open window freak (except on motorways etc.) and yes I do realise that open windows can affect fuel consumption but there are some pleasures in life that are worth a little expense!

It's easier than that to stop the aircon running - just don't switch it on. If you don't ever switch it on however, you are accepting that you will fairly soon have a Bongo which does not have a working aircon system at all, due to seals dried out by disuse - and even if that's fine for you, it will affect resale value, unless you're lucky as I was above. Once the seals go, it will cost a bomb to strip the two systems down, replace the seals and recharge the systems. Surely, it's worth at least running (front and back) aircon for about 15 minutes a month, to keep the systems intact for the future?

[New Forest Terrier]

Following on fron Ron Miels post. A question from deep ignorance.

Do both air con systems front and back have to be run each week I run the front system most weeks, but I never run the back heater or air con, as the front seems totally adequate for the whole van. Both back systems still work as I tried them for the first time last week.

The back air con seemed just as cold as the front. Both on is just too much like a refrigrator truck. Anyway the rear passengers prefer the sun roof open.

I assumed all the seals to protect were at the front end and the back was just ducting.

What is the correct drill to follow with the two systems Apart from resale value, I don't care if the rear systems work or not since I just do not need them.

[Ron Miel]

Following on fron Ron Miels post. A question from deep ignorance.

Do both air con systems front and back have to be run each week I run the front system most weeks, but I never run the back heater or air con, as the front seems totally adequate for the whole van. Both back systems still work as I tried them for the first time last week.

The back air con seemed just as cold as the front. Both on is just too much like a refrigrator truck. Anyway the rear passengers prefer the sun roof open.

I assumed all the seals to protect were at the front end and the back was just ducting.

What is the correct drill to follow with the two systems Apart from resale value, I don't care if the rear systems work or not since I just do not need them.

Hi NFT

I was wondering if somebody would spot my deliberate mistake. Because, to run the rear aircon, the front aircon already has to be running, you're probably right - i.e., all the gas compression/air cooling/seals lubrication takes place in the one mighty compressor up front (which Haydn showed us at the Stourport bash*), and the rest may just be ducting. However, as there's a separate thermostatic aircon control function in the back, I'm not really sure. There might be a rear aircon sub-unit in the front compressor which adjusts its compressor output separately.

So, belt and braces, unless somebody knows for sure, I will keep running ours front and rear at least once a month (monthly, not weekly - see page 135 in the Bongo owners' handbook, and our Nissan says 15 minutes minimum each time).

*(Apologies BTW, for not getting around for a chat as promised, after Haydn's masterclass. Recently back from much post-bash touring, I owe PMs to a number of peeps - including you on that subject. Will get them done, including an explanation to you, in the next day or three.)

Cheers

David

[widdowson2008]

....in the back, I'm not really sure. There might be a rear aircon sub-unit in the front compressor which adjusts its compressor output separately. [/color

Not sure how it works but on fiddling with mine, I found that I can control both front and rear independantly (ie. cold in front/hot in back) suggesting separate units. Perhaps there is someone who could explain how that works!!!! cos I have no idea.
As I would like to know how this works, I probably should have started a new thread - sorry, didn't mean to hi-jack this thread.

[Ron Miel]

....in the back, I'm not really sure. There might be a rear aircon sub-unit in the front compressor which adjusts its compressor output separately. [/color

Not sure how it works but on fiddling with mine, I found that I can control both front and rear independantly (ie. cold in front/hot in back) suggesting separate units. Perhaps there is someone who could explain how that works!!!! cos I have no idea.
As I would like to know how this works, I probably should have started a new thread - sorry, didn't mean to hi-jack this thread.

As New Forest Terrier suggested, aircon cold air routing to the rear could just be a matter of switching the rear ducting between heater and aircon system outputs, so it could still just be fed from the same front aircon compressor* - except that the rear thermostat also seems to control aircon output, as well as heater output. The question then is whether that is by ducting control or by compressor (a separate rear section) control.

*(What you can't do is run aircon in the back, while not running it in the front.)

Thinking that through a bit more now, I think NFT was probably right - it's probably just done by ducting control, in which case no compressor system seals would be affected by not operating the rear aircon. If it were otherwise, there's not much logic in having to start the aircon in front before you can get rear aircon - is there???

There is a separate heater matrix somewhere in the back, BTW, which is one reason why the coolant/heating pipes and hoses are so long, complex and need careful monitoring.

Just tried to work it all out from the online parts diagrams - but failed

Don't think you hijacked the thread - which began with a question about an aircon component, with ref to resale. It's flowed from there.

[widdowson2008]

Thanks Ron