MG ZS EV - AC randomly stops, does anyone else have issues?

[basicsboy]

When we press the button to turn our AC on for the first time on a journey, it works for a couple of mins and then shuts off. The light stays on but the fan and the air stops flowing. The car even thinks it's still on because the estimated mileage has dropped.

If we turn it off and on again it sometimes starts again, but it'll stop again shortly after. This means that on a hot day like today we are turning it off and on loads, and clearly something must be wrong.

Is this just a common problem with cars that need the AC re-gassed or something or is it a known ZS EV problem? I tried using the forum Search but couldn't find anything.

We have been driving it since May 2020, this is a problem that has been getting worse over the past year or so.

Update: had it turned off for 5 mins, just turned it on and it shut itself off for mere seconds. Now it's not turning on at all.

Not ideal when you've got a little one asleep in the back on a hot day! Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[hmadsen]

Sounds like it is going off on high or low pressure.

High pressure is usually because of a bad fan or radiator

Low pressure is usually because it needs regassing.

Only way to know for sure is to go to an aircon service or garage that does aircon, and have them look at it. Their machine will be able to analyse how much gas is in there.


Unless offcourse the aircon is also covered by the 7 year warranty, in that case, take it to MG and have them fix it under warranty (Regassing is probably not covered, as it is expected that a bit of gas escapes the system)

 

[djenson]

 

[Alb]

If it has lost enough gas to shut down this quickly there is probably a leak and that points to a defective component which should be covered by warranty. I believe the refrigerant used in these cars is very expensive BTW.

 

[Mr H]

Are you in eco or normal mode?

 

[Alan5]

When we press the button to turn our AC on for the first time on a journey, it works for a couple of mins and then shuts off. The light stays on but the fan and the air stops flowing. The car even thinks it's still on because the estimated mileage has dropped.

If we turn it off and on again it sometimes starts again, but it'll stop again shortly after. This means that on a hot day like today we are turning it off and on loads, and clearly something must be wrong.

Is this just a common problem with cars that need the AC re-gassed or something or is it a known ZS EV problem? I tried using the forum Search but couldn't find anything.

We have been driving it since May 2020, this is a problem that has been getting worse over the past year or so.

Update: had it turned off for 5 mins, just turned it on and it shut itself off for mere seconds. Now it's not turning on at all.

Not ideal when you've got a little one asleep in the back on a hot day! Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.

Hi , if it's just the HVAC fan cutting out , then it's probably the resistor pack for the fan , which a few forum members have had problems with , this is normally a quick dealer fix under warranty by replacing the resistor pack. ? The resistor pack is bypassed at full fan speed so you can try that to test it.

 

[lukemo]

@basicsboy I have the exact same issue! I've just got the car 2 months ago and they said it was fully serviced and checked.

Heating is fine but AC or just fan (AC off) is not. The fan stops randomly.

 

[Pauly]

Just a little side note, i had an aircon guy around the other day to gas a car i had been working on, as he pulled in the drive he looked and saw the ZS EV (car he was fixing was inside garage with door shut) and said straight out thats an electric car im not allowed to touch that at all, full stop !

 

[Lovemyev]

Hi , if it's just the HVAC fan cutting out , then it's probably the resistor pack for the fan , which a few forum members have had problems with , this is normally a quick dealer fix under warranty by replacing the resistor pack. ? The resistor pack is bypassed at full fan speed so you can try that to test it.

This is the offending item !.

 

[Lewis49]

I got my ZSEV new in November 2019. The air con failed last September, 22 months old. It wasn't the fan resistor though, I got a very loud buzzing from the compressor and a vibration you could feel through the seat.
I booked it in to Crayford and Abbs to check out. They gave me a free courtesy car while they investigated the problem. After a couple of hours I got a call to collect it and was told it had lost the gas. They couldn't find a leak so regassed it. It hasn't been a problem since. All the work was free of charge.
Crayford and Abbs are not my nearest dealer, but I did a little research before I ordered mine. I can't fault their after sales service.

 

[mattdav]

This is the offending item !.

View attachment 7970

I know this thread is a few years old but I have the fan cutting out problem.

Is this easy to change yourself? I know the car's under warranty but for £30 I'd do it myself rather than try the dealer which can be painful.

 

[fred12345]

I know this thread is a few years old but I have the fan cutting out problem.

Is this easy to change yourself? I know the car's under warranty but for £30 I'd do it myself rather than try the dealer which can be painful.

if you have the right part and know how to access it, it should be fairly easy. is it not working at all or starts and stops randomly? happens with AC as well as when you turn it on without AC?

 

[mattdav]

The fan stops randomly but only ever runs for a few minutes. The AC works ok and the fan stops intermittently with the AC on or off. As suggested here, if we put the fan on full, then it doesn't cut out. That's not ideal though!

I have found the part online and it's £30. I can't find any instructions as to how to replace the part though to see if I can do it myself.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Just a thought. Have you got the HVAC on auto setting? Could it be that the system is deciding when the fan should be on or off depending on what you've set?

 

[mattdav]

Just a thought. Have you got the HVAC on auto setting? Could it be that the system is deciding when the fan should be on or off depending on what you've set?

Good question but we have a gen1 ZS EV so no auto setting

With HVAC on, the fan will cut out after a few mins unless it's on full power. The AC doesn't affect this and, as far as I can tell, keeps running. Even with no fan, if you're moving along some air comes out of the vents and it's cold. Last few days have been high 20's so we've needed the AC.

 

[fred12345]

Good question but we have a gen1 ZS EV so no auto setting

With HVAC on, the fan will cut out after a few mins unless it's on full power. The AC doesn't affect this and, as far as I can tell, keeps running. Even with no fan, if you're moving along some air comes out of the vents and it's cold. Last few days have been high 20's so we've needed the AC.

just thinking, the fan obviously works but whatever controls it might not be part of the replacement you found? it could also be loose connection somewhere?

see if you get any ideas from here: AC Premature Shut-off

or here

 

[Coulomb]

I have found the part online and it's £30.

Is it definitely intended for an MG ZS EV? £30 sounds like it's a resistor for a car that has something like 4 speed settings, mechanically selected with a rotary knob. The ZS EV has many settings that are set on a menu.

Can you show a link to the part that you found?

 

[mattdav]

Is it definitely intended for an MG ZS EV? £30 sounds like it's a resistor for a car that has something like 4 speed settings, mechanically selected with a rotary knob. The ZS EV has many settings that are set on a menu.

Can you show a link to the part that you found?

It's the one posted earlier in this thread - here's the link - Resistor for heater control ZS. New ZS. EV - Brown and Gammons

just thinking, the fan obviously works but whatever controls it might not be part of the replacement you found? it could also be loose connection somewhere?

see if you get any ideas from here: AC Premature Shut-off

or here

Thanks for the links. I have no smells or other issues, the fan just cuts out unless it's on full. I'm going to do some proper testing to see if I can pin it down to a certain fan speed.

 

[Coulomb]

It's the one posted earlier in this thread

I would first check that you can find a part in your car that looks like that one. I'm not convinced that this is actually for a ZS EV.

 

[Lovemyev]

It certainly looks like the correct part according to the listing ?.
See below photo.

The resistor for the petrol model looks a little different and not the same part number, as far as I can tell ?.

Quick call to a MG dealer should confirm.