www.jec.org.uk

Hi
It would seem that the condenser of my air con system needs replacing. A quick search shows there are lots of aftermarket ones available at a fraction of the Jaguar original equipment. Does anyone have any experience or advice on any particular aftermarket one or advice to stick to original equipment?
All opinions/comments appreciated.
Kind regards
Trevor

I have just fitted one I got from eBay. It was Nissens branded. The quality appears to be OK and it fitted with only a small amount of adjustment. I only finished putting the car back together last weekend and I have yet to get the system regassed so I will report back when I have.

I had my aircon stop working on my 2011 XKR I only got this car last December so it was not until after lockdown started to ease that I found out it did not work
A visit to jaguar and was found to be the condenser , this they changed but after a day it stopped working again, again back to jaguar and this time they found leak in the evaporator which required the dash coming out to fix , total cost for condenser and evaporator was 2100 pound , lucky it was covered on the warranty.
The car only covered 30.000 miles with full jaguar service history i was surprised something this drastic could happen , anyway I hope the rest of the car will be trouble free.

Thank goodness for the warranty, eh! I have to confess that 3 (2 x Jaguar & 1x non-Jaguar) of my current 4 cars have all had aircon issues in the past 12 months. In my experience, it's probably the least reliable feature on cars. Mike.

Hi davidr How did it go with the condenser? I assume it was fitted to your XKR and not your XJS.
My garage has just tried to fit one supplied by SNG Barrett and it wouldn’t attach to the radiator. When he contacted them they said it was a superceded item and needed all new pipes as well. It’s going back to them. Maybe best they said that when it was ordered!

Regards
Trevor

I agree about air con systems being unreliable as I’ve had/got issues with both my Jaguars, one new and the XK which is 1997 Reg. Strangely my wife’s Mini (9years old) and my father in law’s Golf (12 years old) have had No problems though.

Hi Trevor - I had no issues fitting mine and yes it was the XKR

Hopefully this will be the end of the story as I also purchased a Nissens brand condenser from eBay. After checking with the supplier it was the correct one it fitted without too much hassle. Time will tell if the system holds the gas.

Anyone got any recommendations for a company who can replace an air con condenser to my 2011 xk ? I lve in Bristol
Thanks

Hi Paul, speak with the good folks at Swallow Racing - Club Partner and independent Jaguar Specialist. See the contact details in the magazine.

Jim Mann

I've got a local garage looking to replace my 2001 XK8 condenser, but I'm looking for guidance on what is a reliable aftermarket condenser and what other parts are worth changing at the same time without going overboard. Any specific links? All I hear is Chinese made condensers are junk and best avoided.

I'd take a look at what SNG Barratt have - they usually have the Jaguar part and the OEM part - the condenser was made by Denso and SNG Barratt do list Denso parts. The Denso parts often at a significant saving over the Jaguar part. Also renew the seals around the area as well. Unfortunately as systems get older the air con fluid/gas will find the weakest point so worth checking all the components and seals.

It looks like there are differences in condenser based on model year but the SNG website can help you and they are always very helpful on the phone.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck

Mark