Took the R for a short (gentle) ride this evening. Once I'd parked up with the engine still idling there was a sudden deep groaning noise. I could feel vibration through the brake pedal and the engine revs dipped right down until the ECU gave it a bit of juice.
"Sacre bleu" I thought. Well. said it out loud in fact.
Opened the bonnet to see the alternator/aircon pump belt slipping round the aircon pump. Every now and then it would stop slipping and that's when the engine revs dipped, obviously under the load of a seriously fuct aircon pump.
Switched off the aircon, and all was well (clutch apparently still working).
So I brought it home with aircon off. When I got back I tried it again, and it seemed to be working, but after a couple of minutes started seizing up again.
Also I noticed that the rad/aircon fans weren't running so I checked the fuses. Whatever went wrong had taken out the 40A "second stage rad fan".
I dunno whether the fans failed first, and the effect of that broke the pump.
Anyhow, obviously I'm going to get the pump, belt and possibly fans replaced under warranty. Is there anything else anyone can think of that might have been damaged ? I don't think the charge has been lost as the air coming out of the vents was still cool when I ran it briefly on getting back home.
I have always been really careful to make sure the aircon gets regular use to keep the seals lubricated, so it's one to watch out for.
Great weather to have no aircon and no engine cooling. Good job I've got a trusty 12 year old 205 diesel as backup, so I'll be riding in style this weekend
Olly.
.
Edited as I'd forgotton how to spell "destructing"
"Sacre bleu" I thought. Well. said it out loud in fact.
Opened the bonnet to see the alternator/aircon pump belt slipping round the aircon pump. Every now and then it would stop slipping and that's when the engine revs dipped, obviously under the load of a seriously fuct aircon pump.
Switched off the aircon, and all was well (clutch apparently still working).
So I brought it home with aircon off. When I got back I tried it again, and it seemed to be working, but after a couple of minutes started seizing up again.
Also I noticed that the rad/aircon fans weren't running so I checked the fuses. Whatever went wrong had taken out the 40A "second stage rad fan".
I dunno whether the fans failed first, and the effect of that broke the pump.
Anyhow, obviously I'm going to get the pump, belt and possibly fans replaced under warranty. Is there anything else anyone can think of that might have been damaged ? I don't think the charge has been lost as the air coming out of the vents was still cool when I ran it briefly on getting back home.
I have always been really careful to make sure the aircon gets regular use to keep the seals lubricated, so it's one to watch out for.
Great weather to have no aircon and no engine cooling. Good job I've got a trusty 12 year old 205 diesel as backup, so I'll be riding in style this weekend
Olly.
.
Edited as I'd forgotton how to spell "destructing"
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