2006 Jetta air conditioner

The easiest way to have a working a/c is replacing everything BUT that way is not the best cost effective method (shelling $1200 hard earned dollars) that is why actually diagnosing the culprit of this is extremely important, if a 40 dollar piece is actually the cause why spend $1200!! What amaze me is that the same failure pattern exists in Zexel, Denso or Sanden compressors!! It appears that Denso and Zexel uses the same RCV and Sanden compressors have a little diferent RCV, I wonder if all of those RCV are manufactured by the same supplier and that the internal mechanism of the valve is the same. It would be interesting to know more of this matter.

Carlos,
I agree; I do all my own work (and help others). I would not pay that price. Now if I was out of town for a few weeks, I would be happy if that is all my wife had to pay.

I was just saying that less than $1,000 for a dealer to replace the compressor, TXV and drier was not a rip off.

the $982 covered the exp. valve, drier & compressor...plus a loaner from fri-wed. I asked them about replacing just the RCV & they said no go, they will not install aftermarket parts on at the dealer & VW does not sell just the RCV. I was sick of the delay, the hot air, stepping on the gas & the a/c warms again, etc. I almost was going to trade it in because it was pissing me off that much. Now, back to the v-dub love!

ILowNslowI,
Does your OTHER car happen to be a PA22/20 Piper?

JDB

redbarron55 said:

ILowNslowI,
Does your OTHER car happen to be a PA22/20 Piper?

JDB

Click to expand...

I wish, unfortunately no.

does anyone know the exact refridgerant charge? I have access to an a/c machine at work and want to evacuate and recharge mine to the correct amount to see if it fixes it.

between 17-19 Oz, 1 and half can of 12 oz can if you have vacuum your system out. otherwise, you'll need to hook up the gauges make sure you don't overcharge your system. I hope you already went thru the diagnostic we've outlined. Good luck.

zleem60 said:

between 17-19 Oz, 1 and half can of 12 oz can if you have vacuum your system out. otherwise, you'll need to hook up the gauges make sure you don't overcharge your system. I hope you already went thru the diagnostic we've outlined. Good luck.

Click to expand...

Yeah, have read all of it. The car was wrecked so I am assuming they have put the wrong amount in. It looks like the HP switch was right behind the bumper and I believe it is plugged up good. I checked both my fans working same speed. This is my last ditch effort before ordering a RCV valve. My local dealer said that I couldn't get the RCV and would have to buy a whole compressor for $594. I told him that I would shop around first.

If you know the model # of your compressor (Sanden). You can call Blake and tell him you are from this group to order a RCV valve from him at 1-800-926-4445. If that makes you more comfortable than ordering from china. if you AC is delayed and runs fine after the car has been running for 10+ minutes. It is a sticking RCV valve.

vdubdezl said:

Yeah, have read all of it. The car was wrecked so I am assuming they have put the wrong amount in. It looks like the HP switch was right behind the bumper and I believe it is plugged up good. I checked both my fans working same speed. This is my last ditch effort before ordering a RCV valve. My local dealer said that I couldn't get the RCV and would have to buy a whole compressor for $594. I told him that I would shop around first.

Click to expand...

zleem60 said:

If you know the model # of your compressor (Sanden). You can call Blake and tell him you are from this group to order a RCV valve from him at 1-800-926-4445. If that makes you more comfortable than ordering from china. if you AC is delayed and runs fine after the car has been running for 10+ minutes. It is a sticking RCV valve.

Click to expand...

Don't know the model number. I'll have to check that out. It had 1.25 lbs in it today when I checked it.

looks like you have enough refrigerant in it. Probably a sticking RCV.

zleem60, do you know what the name of this company that Blake works for? I tried to google his phone number and could not come up with a company. I'm really funny about buying Chinese parts since I got burnt by Rothenbocker Engineering(prothe) to the tune of almost $1100. Does any of our vendors offer it?

I contacted Blake on the phone. I forget to ask him about the company he works for, but one of the members did order the RCV part from him. I just did it on my own thru a chinese company on Aliexpress.com

Here's the link that I use to order mine. http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/102436571.html

Yours might be different so you need to find out your Compressor make and model # before ordering. Good luck.

I have a 2009 JSW with 80k on it and AC has been delayed for over 1 year, it now never really gets cold. So recently I was in Vegas it was hot and I was getting pissed so I opened the hood smacked the **** out of the compressor and valve with a wrench. Guess what ice cold AC...for a few days then back to stuck RCV valve. So I need to fix it for good, where do I find the model of the compressor and such to order the part? Is it written on there? Also I assume I need to recharge the system, I have not done this before but does not sound all that hard. Is there a good write up somewhere? Thanks for the help guys.

I will order from here once I figure out the compressor type -
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/102436571.html

Gavin_1,
You'll have to vacuum your system out before removing your compressor to find out which model you have. I don't know how different a 2009 is compare to 2006. But the compressor was not that difficult to come off (after you vacuum the system out). I believe if you relieve the tension on the belt, remove wire harness from RCV, remove two bolts. It should come right out. At that time, you can get the model # of your compressor. The RCV valve can be remove. Mine was held down by tension ring. I think that's what they call them. I would take a picture of the RCV valve and make sure you order the right one. Send me a pic, because I did order the wrong one. If it fits yours. I'll send it to you at cost because I have no use for them. Let me know.

THanks for the link. Just can't get over the 21+ dollars shipping! THe part is 24!!

It is coming from China. A lot more expensive to ship things there than it is here.

so finally after 4 weeks I got the !@#$%^&* rcv from action-ac (worst place I 've ever deal with) in the meantime there was an ebay auction for a new in box Sanden compressor, the auction started at $100 plus $15 shipping. Guess what? Nobody bid for it so I got it for $115!!! Best deal ever!!! So I'm just going to change everything , just got new expansion valve and dryer from VW for $65. Jetta is going to have a brand new A/C for $180 plus some R134.
Anybody wants an RCV for Zexel compressor??

I just finished replaceing the RCV on my 2009 JSW. It started with not cooling at low speeds or stopped. I found a flapper on the shroud missing and replaced that. Then I thought I was good to go, but the delay continued.
I added the ICE 32 and that helped. my wife assured me that the problem had not gone away. The A/C seemed to over cool and then cutoff sometimes.
I ordered and waited for the $21.00 Chinese valve plus shipping. This afternoon I had a chance to replace it and recharge the system.
I started ar 6:30 and finished at 9:00. An hour was spent going looking for a replacement internal snap ring after the original vanished.
Now to the point.
The system seems to work well (no 100 F to test with tonight).
Of interest is the modulation of the valve current in response to the inside temp and setting of the temp control.
Previously the current seemed to be either 0 or .820. Now it varied as the driving speed changes and temp demand varies.
I will keep the forum informed as to the results as esperience is gained.
Mostly I will see if SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED is happy with it.

Thanks for the update.
Sounds promising.

I suspect that this problem originates with high temp/pressure breaking down the oil and also the very fine swarf generated when any mechanical system wears in.
The oil was slightly discolored, but I did not think it was bad enough to flush and replace the dryer.
There was also some very fine swarf on the fine mesh screen on the valve.
I would consider this to be relatively normal for a mechanical system, but nothing to be happy about!
However my experience with hydraulic servo valves would indicate that this would contribute to sticking the spool in the valve. The very fine particles are not round and rolling, but rather usually flattish and what happens is they "cock" in the very small clearance space between the spool and body.
As a control "expert" I think the behavior we see is due to this sticking and the control system (CPU) winding up due to lack of response.
What happens is the setpoint is not met at partial % so the system drives it to 100% (.820 A.). Then the same sticking causes the system to over cool and the output is driven to 0% where it tends to stick again. In the control business this is known as "slamming" the valve.
Last night I watched the current demand and the respons was pretty linear and modulated to keep the temp. at setpoint. Moving the temp. control up and down was imeadiately answered by the current output to the valve. If you have VCDS you should be able to watch the current output slowly change as the demand changes due to engine rpm and temp setpoint. A proper system will not stay at 0.820 A. for long except when the heat load is higher than the system can deliver.
I have high hopes that this has fixed the system.
If I have further problems I will be prepared to replace the dryer and valve) and flush out the system and install new oil with ICE32.
Personally I think that the entire progress of this problem is low quality oil installed at manufacture. I would think seriously about installing ICE32 in a problem free car to help prevent this from occuring.
I wonder how many have had this problem with the "new" A/C system? From what I see here I think that it is fairly common. Also it is prety expensive to have the entire system replaced when the valve and oil is the problem.
I am currently in the market for another car, but I hesitate due to the high cost of maintenance and reliability problems like this. Fortunately I can fix a lot of things myself, but I am getting pretty old for this.

I had an opportunity to drive around in Mobile AL. heat today and I can report so far that the A/C is working like new.
The temp stays where you set it with no cycling.
SHE WHO MUSY BE OBEYED says it is OK and working correctly.
Cool air from the start and the temp is set higher tha where we had it (blue dot).

I have taken the valve apart and I can report that the spool feels rough in some spots and may have had particles in it that bind it up.
If one were careful it could be removed and cleaned.
The spool is about 1/8" in diameter and to do its job has to have close clearance.
Of course the coil could be bad, but I don't think so.
My guess is that the 800 HZ pulse width modulation positions the spool and if there is any hangup the bias is pretty much marfed up.
If the valve is not fouled again then I suspect that this particular A/C is good to go.

Belts Squealing but AC Working

I was resigned to replacing the compressor on my 06 tdi based on the belt squealing. I had replaced the belt and even put conditioner on it. The AC was working but I drive long distances and was really concerned about getting stranded. Then I read a post on tdiclub stating that the alternator pulley is one directional and has a clutched head. I pulled up on the tensioner and tried turning it both directions with a screwdriver holding the armature tight. It would not turn freely in either direction. I ordered a replacement pulley and the tools required. BTW-the inner is NOT a TORX but a triple square contrary to what you see written everywhere-I had one from an O'reilly set but I had to grind it down to fit inside the outer socket. It took a few minutes but I didnt even have to remove the belt. I held the tensioner up while I replaced the head. Took less than 5 minutes.

Instant relief from the squealing. I was still stuck on the typical US car. I have never seen a car squeal when you turn ON the AC and have it NOT be an AC problem. Thanks for the post. I believe it was someone who replaced their AC before finding out it was the pulley. Also I replaced the pulley because I wanted to keep the original no-problem Alternator it came with. Total cost: 60$ delivered to the door -tool and pulley.

Lesson learned: go research and ask before you commit to a repair! I am guessing I saved around $1k but it took several hours of searching for the right post that fit my problem.

redbarron55 said:

I had an opportunity to drive around in Mobile AL. heat today and I can report so far that the A/C is working like new.
The temp stays where you set it with no cycling.
SHE WHO MUSY BE OBEYED says it is OK and working correctly.
Cool air from the start and the temp is set higher tha where we had it (blue dot).

I have taken the valve apart and I can report that the spool feels rough in some spots and may have had particles in it that bind it up.
If one were careful it could be removed and cleaned.
The spool is about 1/8" in diameter and to do its job has to have close clearance.
Of course the coil could be bad, but I don't think so.
My guess is that the 800 HZ pulse width modulation positions the spool and if there is any hangup the bias is pretty much marfed up.
If the valve is not fouled again then I suspect that this particular A/C is good to go.

Click to expand...

This is what I was wondering. If this was a spool problem or a current problem. I think it could be cleaned and use a light emery cloth to polish the spool until it moves freely. I have had to do this to hydraulic valves that stick and this is the same principle.

My guess is that a thorough cleaning witha good solvent would do the job.
If you take it apart to clean it you should measure/count the turns that the brass end plug is screwed in. This sets the pressure on the spring that pushes on the spool. The spool is small and I doubt that sanding or buffing the "precision" fit would be a good thing to do.
When I get a chance I will post some pictures of the valve and parts.
Of course it could be a problem with shorted turns in the coil, but I doubt it.
The spool was "sticky" when I removed it.
I did have problems working the valve out of the side of the compressor with it mounted on the car, but I was able to do it with the cautious help of a small screwdriver prying and wiggling on the connector.
The newer style held in place by a stud and nut instead of the internal snap ring in the bore of the compressor may be easier to remove.
I would think that removing the old valve and measuring the brass plug to get the compression on the spring right might be worth a try. My brass plug was not retained with and thread locker or a stake and it is possible that the plug (with a hole drilled through it) had backed out where there was too little comression. I think that this was not the case since the current would compress the spring and increase the displacement of the compressor and the opposite is what is happening.
I waited until I had the replacement valve before I pulled it since I had no idea how it was made.
I would be comfortable pulling the valve, measuring the position of the plug and cleaning it with c good contact cleaner to get the screen clean and all of the microscopic particles out of the bore and off the spool.

JDB

I have a 2006 tdi with 170k mileage. The Ac works intermittently. It is charged no leaks, Low pressure is 90, high pressure is 130. Fans run when it warms up but believe they are only running on low. When Key is on, engine off, ac on, interior fan on, the cooling fans do not run.

Last year I was able to engage the ac by, after running the car for a few miles at 55 mph, place car in neutral and coast. For what ever reason the ac would then start to cool, but it would disengage at some point and go through the same process to reengage the ac.

The Ac now cools mildly if the ambient temp is not to high. Now that the hot season is in I could use some help. One mechanic thought it was the expansion valve. I hate just replacing parts would like to narrow down a cause.

Any help would be appreciated.

in 2011 and 2012 my 06 Jetta (same Miles as u) had the intermittent cooling as well. Last yr the ol lady upgraded to a new Subaru (yes, upgraded) and I started driving the TDI to work. I was not living with the air like that, so I put in a new compressor last June and the AC worked well all last summer.

Monkeytrader,
It sure sounds as if you need a new Refrigerant Control Valve. Your fans should not run unless you get to 150 pounds, about 10 bar, on the high side.

Thanks going to give this a try. Temps in NC now starting to hit 90+

Cant remove the RCV. Removed the split ring but the RCV will not pull out. Any suggestions it is really stuck.