A/C got a mind of its own

For some reason the AC has decided it will just do what it wants to do, when you turn it on it might come on it might not. If you leave it on sometimes the fan will begin to blow after a few min or so then randomly go off


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If you would have searched this forum, you would have found out that it is a common issue: RCV valve in the AC compressor.

Lots of info here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=284611

Have Fun!

Don

Deisel said:

For some reason the AC has decided it will just do what it wants to do, when you turn it on it might come on it might not. If you leave it on sometimes the fan will begin to blow after a few min or so then randomly go off


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Click to expand...

Clarify: the BLOWER (which is a separate component) or the AIR CONDITIONER, are not working?

If the air conditioner is not cooling, or not cooling quickly enough, then yes that is likely the very common RCV as already mentioned. But that would have nothing at all to do with the blower operation.

In any event, the Climate system has OBD, it is always helpful to start with that.

like it changing from high speed to nil. the actual fan speed changing? or the temperature? like the a/c compressor itself is turned on and off?


if its the latter, its a very common issue. waiting for it to warm up before replacing mine. dealer will replace the whole pump only for the problem to re-appear. its caused by the cheap solenoid valve on the pump they use. order the valve and go to a good shop. (not the dealer) tell them that you need the freon pumped out, this stupid valve on the pump replaced and it to be recharged. If you have the tools you could do it yourself.

DivineChaos said:

very common issue. waiting for it to warm up before replacing mine. dealer will replace the whole pump only for the problem to re-appear. its caused by the cheap solenoid valve on the pump they use. order the valve and go to a good shop. (not the dealer) tell them that you need the freon pumped out, this stupid valve on the pump replaced and it to be recharged. If you have the tools you could do it yourself.

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Or you could just inform the dealer of the TSB regarding this... which specifically states do NOT replace the entire compressor, but just the RCV itself.

Funny how VOLKSWAGEN dealers often need to be spoon fed publications FROM VOLKSWAGEN in order to service VOLKSWAGEN products properly.

oilhammer said:

Or you could just inform the dealer of the TSB regarding this... which specifically states do NOT replace the entire compressor, but just the RCV itself.
Funny how VOLKSWAGEN dealers often need to be spoon fed publications FROM VOLKSWAGEN in order to service VOLKSWAGEN products properly.

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yeah. most of the time they say the compressor is going bad. had them even tell me they could not replace just the valve. did not realise the TSB on it. a new pump was not cheap. Even talked to the very knowledgeable tech about it. showed him the valve after i changed it. would have been 1500 for them to replace the pump. I did it for less than 200. includes buying the vac, gauges, freon, oil, and the rcv.

oilhammer said:

Clarify: the BLOWER (which is a separate component) or the AIR CONDITIONER, are not working?



If the air conditioner is not cooling, or not cooling quickly enough, then yes that is likely the very common RCV as already mentioned. But that would have nothing at all to do with the blower operation.



In any event, the Climate system has OBD, it is always helpful to start with that.

Click to expand...

The blower fan, the controls say it should be on high but no fan then sometimes it will come on and work fine


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Deisel said:

The blower fan, the controls say it should be on high but no fan then sometimes it will come on and work fine


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Click to expand...

ah, that is different. do you have vag com? It could be a bad connection to the motor, your control going bad, or the motor itself going bad.

So the A/C is not at all the issue.

Most likely the blower or the speed control, does it work all the time when switched to high speed? Does your car have full Climatronic or the standard HVAC control?

oilhammer said:

So the A/C is not at all the issue.



Most likely the blower or the speed control, does it work all the time when switched to high speed? Does your car have full Climatronic or the standard HVAC control?

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Full climate control, and it doesn’t work all the time on high. It also doesn’t seem to be a short as it will come on periodically if you leave it on even when the car is parked so no bumps jarring a wire.
The ac and heat is working from the thermostat all the time because when your driving down the road there is a bit of air being forced through the vents and you can control the temp.


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Bump


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not really sure how the climotronic system works. does it act like this while it being full hot or cold? I know they have a temp sensor and regulate the heat. Have you tried reading codes with vcds?

DivineChaos said:

not really sure how the climotronic system works. does it act like this while it being full hot or cold? I know they have a temp sensor and regulate the heat. Have you tried reading codes with vcds?

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No access to VCDS it does act like this at full hot or cold when manually selected high fan speed and anything in between. The only thing I did notice is when it comes on sometimes when fan speed is left on half and you turn the ac up or heat up it when the thermostat tells it to go to full speed it will come on.


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my first sudgestion would be to find someone in your area with vag com to read it. otherwise your chasing your tail. it could be a number of issues and a generic reader will not tell you what it is. or a guru in your area.