AC compressor or clutch relay draining battery?

[newwvowner]

Hello,

I am a new owner if a 2003 Golf, manual of course, which was very well maintained by the previous oeners. This is a second vehicle and not driven but 3-4 times a week. She runs great, when she runs. After 6 months of no issues, I returned from a 2 week out of town, and while on the first outing I had to crank it twice to get her started, it now dies everytime it's parked overnight. The battery was tested, it reads fine so they did not recommend a new one. When I turn the AC off a loud noice is heard by the belt. We noticed vapor shooting out from the side (a hose leak?) And then once the switch for the AC was on the off position, the air still blows cold through the vents. I read something somewhere on thus platform about a similar issue mentioning clutch relay.

Is there anything I have not tried to rule out causes before I take it in, and sound some what smart about it, and not be charged for a ton of testing? I just spent couple hundred dollars for a fresh tint job and she looks great...but it's not a vehicle I was planning on replacing the AC compressor on, if that turns out to be the case.

I understand it is not a TD, wish it was, but hoping for WV commaradery on this one and some insight. Thanks!

 

[jettawreck]

I am not familiar with an AC clutch still pulling power when the vehicle is OFF, but I suppose you could test it at the appropriate fuse or pull the fuse and see if it quits the drain. Typically it's something else such as a failed micro switch on a trunk, glovebox, visor mirror, etc. Had an '04 (gasser 1.8) that the central locking module was drawing power. Or the battery really is shot and the test went poorly, which is also common.
I don't understand the last sentence in your post about not being a "TD"?? Did you mean PD that came out in 2004? Not sure why you would wish it was.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

I'll translate. Not a WV TD = not a VW TDI.

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Put the battery on a battery charger until the charging voltage drops below 2 amps. (At least overnight) If the charging Amperage does not drop below 2 Amps the battery needs replaced.

An almost dead battery will not provide enough voltage to the alternator's rotor to charge the battery very well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternator_(automotive)

 

[jettawreck]

I'll translate. Not a WV TD = not a VW TDI.

-----------------------------------------------------------​

Put the battery on a battery charger until the charging voltage drops below 2 amps. (At least overnight) If the charging Amperage does not drop below 2 Amps the battery needs replaced.
An almost dead battery will not provide enough voltage to the alternator's rotor to charge the battery very well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternator_(automotive)

Ahhh, yes. I need to think outside the forum more often. Silly me, I believe I'm still registered on VW Vortex even from when I had a couple 1.8s. Sort of miss the manual wagon now/then.

 

[Mongler98]

get a volt meter and find out.

 

[BobnOH]

O.K., something wrong at the AC. Shouldn't have anything to do with the battery, unless it's shorted to ground at the B+ connection.
Use the procedure for testing battery drain, parasitic draw. It will tell you if it's the AC or some other circuit.
Ol'Rattler- Are you sure about that 2 amp number? I thought it was half the impedance of the charger. Mine's a 4 amp, so I see it slowly drop to just under 2.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

O.K., something wrong at the AC. Shouldn't have anything to do with the battery, unless it's shorted to ground at the B+ connection.
Use the procedure for testing battery drain, parasitic draw. It will tell you if it's the AC or some other circuit.
Ol'Rattler- Are you sure about that 2 amp number? I thought it was half the impedance of the charger. Mine's a 4 amp, so I see it slowly drop to just under 2.

Sort of a ball park. If the charge Amps stays above say 3 to 4 Amps, most likely a bad battery. If the charging voltage drops below 2 amps the battery is probably OK. On my charger, a good battery will drop down to about 1 to 1 1/2 Amps. It is a 6 Amp charger.

My "guess" is that because the car has sat quite a bit, the battery is at a low level of charge. Checking charging voltage would be good as well as checking for parasitic draw if the battery and charging system are found to be in good shape.

A battery with a low level of charge will cause the alternator to charge poorly so starting out with a fully charged battery is a VG idea.

Over the winter, my Grand Daughters battery slowly lost it's charge to where it would not start the car. After a jump, the charging rate was about 12.95 volts. after a full charge on a battery charger the car's alternator charged at 14.5 volts.

 

[AndyBees]

Well, I guess every battery in all my vehicles needs to be replaced ........ , plus the one in my excavator and the one in my farm tractor. Hmmm...

There is a remote possibility that the Clutch is stuck/locked... doubt that though.

OP, with the blower On, pushing the button switch (AC) on the dash provides current to the Fan Control Module which sets in motion the two fans out front and the AC compressor clutch kicking in.

I've seen that switch hang in the ON position (internal of the dash), especially the early New Beetles of the A4 platform.

I've never seen a FCM (that's the relay of such that OP is thinking of) malfunction in the ON position for the AC clutch or the Fans. I guess there is a first for everything.

OP, your 03 is 15 years old. It would be my guess that the Injection Pump is losing prime. It sit for two weeks, that's more than long enough for the old deteriorated Gaskets/O-rings/Seals to start showing their ugly faces. I bet that nice well maintained engine cover is still there covering the IP. Have you removed it to see if there are any fuel leaks?

The ALH will start under about the worst circumstances if everything is working properly. I've seen the ALH engine in my Vanagon start when I thought the battery wasn't going to turn it another half revolution. This was early on when I was trying to iron out issues with my conversion. Grounding was the culprit. Also, my 00 Jetta has started when I was just about to give up hope, that last half revolution... it fired in spite of that weak arse battery and an ambient temp of a mere 15f.

Lastly, a complete clutch kit can be purchased on-line and is not that expensive or difficult to install.

 

[CoolAirVw]

battery testers are not 100%. Could still be the battery.

Here's a video, which includes my "common problems" that cause battery drain. At least its the stuff I've run into.

https://youtu.be/gNTmrwiPe6g

 

[grangeben]

NEWVWOWNER, did you ever solve this?

I have a 2003 tdi with VERY similar issues. battery drain which has been resolved by disconnecting the ac compressor, also before it was disconnected when the ac was turned off i had a similar noise where the ac was not fully turning off and the high pressure valve on the ac unit was blowing. Ran fine when left on.

I have been told i have a faulty ac compressor causing the blow off and battery drain, however after reading other similar threads others are suggesting it could be the fan control module (which powers the ac compressor as well) being faulty. I don't want to waste money having the wrong part replaced to still have the issue.

Cheers,