Adding climatronic

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
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I'm not asking how, just letting everybody know that I am. :D

I picked it up from eastern PA last weekend and will be doign the isntall as soon as the main harness comes in from germany. Will try to post a pictuer tonight.

One more to the list.:cool:
 

Nihilator

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Location
Dallastown PA
TDI
2004 1.8t wagon
Or this:



You're pretty much local. Shoot me an IM if you get stuck or have questions. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Good luck.

--Chris
 

delvi__acevedo

Mod'aholic
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Milford, PA ,USA
TDI
Getta GLS,2001,silver
Nihilator said:
Or this:



You're pretty much local. Shoot me an IM if you get stuck or have questions. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Good luck.

--Chris
Chris, I may have to go and visit you some time, mine still does not work (the AC part of it:eek: ).
Delvi Acevedo.
 

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
Joined
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Looks like a few of you guys have joined in on the fun. I will be taking lots of pictures and adding a write up which will hopefully be put in the FAQ.
I have an ELSAweb ID so I will add the actual VW instructions for replacing plus whatever else I find involved in the conversion.


delvi__acevedo said:
It will look like this when you get 50% done:D
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Nihilator

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Location
Dallastown PA
TDI
2004 1.8t wagon
M I N I O N said:
Looks like a few of you guys have joined in on the fun.
There are six of us, or so. Probably more, because not everyone posts that they've done it, but most people show up either here or the vortex looking for advice in the early stages.

SVTWEB
david_594
pheller
Nihilator
NorthernSky
delvi__acevedo

Anyone else come to mind, guys?

--Chris
 

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
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You covered the three that I knew of. Mine will go down the first weekend of January.
 

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Location
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You covered the three that I knew of. Mine will go down the first weekend of January.
 

xs650

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Location
Northern California
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2005 MKIV TDI Wagon
Thanks guys for scratching one item off my to do mod list.:D

I do admire your work though:cool: and am looking forward to your write-ups and pictures.
 

Nihilator

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Location
Dallastown PA
TDI
2004 1.8t wagon
Mr. Annoying said:
I was thinking about it
now I'm not (after I saw the picture)
Chickennnnn. Bawk, bawk, bawk.

Seriously, it's very time-consuming, but not hard, as long as you study up a little bit and know what you're doing going into it.

--Chris
 

Mr. Annoying

Veteran Member
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Apr 14, 2007
Location
Norwalk Conn
TDI
I gotta jetta wagon
Nihilator said:
Chickennnnn. Bawk, bawk, bawk.

Seriously, it's very time-consuming, but not hard, as long as you study up a little bit and know what you're doing going into it.

--Chris
2 family members are VW techs I'm a vw nut, not really worth calling in favors, I would love it thou, now the peliquin thats a favor Ill use:)
(are my feathers showing):D
 

david_594

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Location
Cheshire, CT
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS Silver
Nihilator said:
There are six of us, or so. Probably more, because not everyone posts that they've done it, but most people show up either here or the vortex looking for advice in the early stages.

SVTWEB
david_594
pheller
Nihilator
NorthernSky
BlueCTTDI
delvi__acevedo

Anyone else come to mind, guys?

--Chris
Updated your list. You forgot BlueCTTDI, I helped him with it this past spring so I think he had Delvi beat time wise on the install.

Minion, I think you will realize its really just not worth while to put the effort into doing a writeup. All you need to do is swap out the airbox(according to bentley) and then change all the wiring according to the bentley(or by buying a premade harness).

There are about a million steps along the way, but most are easy enough to figure out.
 

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
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Hopefully the write-up will change anybodies mind if they got swayed away by nasty pictures. :)
 

cevans

TDIClub Enthusiast, TDI Parts Ninja Vendor , w/Bus
Joined
Sep 24, 2002
Location
Hingham, MA
TDI
2015 Beetle Conv. TDI 6-Speed & 2006 E320 CDI
While I haven't done the swap, I've torn a few dashes down that far! LEGOs for adults...

M I N I O N, where are you sourcing your parts from?
 

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
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cevans said:
While I haven't done the swap, I've torn a few dashes down that far! LEGOs for adults...

M I N I O N, where are you sourcing your parts from?


Got it from a private seller in southern PA for $400
 

Nihilator

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Location
Dallastown PA
TDI
2004 1.8t wagon
thebigarniedog said:
Gentlemen:

This modification is inconsistent with a happy marriage.:(
I disagree. My wife was impressed with my mad skillz after I completed it (particularly since she saw the car in it's torn-apart state), and likes the consistent temperature and humidity in the cabin.

--Chris
 

251

TDI Owner/Operator
Joined
May 11, 2002
Location
NW IN
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL
SVTWEB said:
I remember doing this back in 2002... IT WAS A PITA! Changing the engine in the Passat was easier....
And the motor swap took just over a solid week and you had help from a few friends too!

As for Climatronic our mutual friend tongsli told me about his experiences with it on his old B5 gasser Passat and he/his wife were not impressed with it's operation either. He also assisted you with your Climatronic swap in 2002 on your Jetta - said it was a royal pain in the neck. His advice to me was if I ever consider doing this was to not do it. Being he had firsthand knowledge of both doing a Climatronic swap and how it functioned any dim visions I may have entertained doing this mod went away upon hearing his experiences with same.

I'm sure it has worked out for the few of you who have decided to take the plunge on this. david_594 should bring back his old signature (but using real big bold letters this time) which was "I have Climatronic, do you?" in order to promote this mod!
 

pheller

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2004
Location
Boston, MA
TDI
Jetta GLS 1.8t, 2003, Platinum Gray
Once you have mind-melded with the wiring diagram, this mod is just time consuming.

Besides the list posted earlier, I know bazmcc (in Ireland) as well as dub_mang (on vortex, from socal) have completed swaps.

There are also a few climatronic -> manual swappers out there, but I can't recall any names.
 

BlueCTTDi

Veteran Member
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Sep 26, 2005
Location
Manchester, CT
TDI
2004 Golf GLS (PD) - Indigo Blue
personally, i think it gets a bit of a bad rap, i love having it and I think it was worth the work *shrug*

set it and forget it! :D

it took dave (david_594) and I a solid day to do it, including all the wiring, and we had a couple minor snags on the way (broken sensor mount on the new airbox and incorrect AC seals from the dealer). I built the harness beforehand, but having the German pre-made one might have saved a little time on the day of the install, (but not much). Another chunk of that time was some anticipated cleaning up of existing mod wiring, etc etc..

Pain in the a$$, yes. But a lot of things worthwhile are at one time or another :)
 

Nihilator

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Location
Dallastown PA
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2004 1.8t wagon
BlueCTTDi said:
personally, i think it gets a bit of a bad rap, i love having it and I think it was worth the work *shrug*
Agreed.

BlueCTTDi said:
it took dave (david_594) and I a solid day to do it, including all the wiring, and we had a couple minor snags on the way (broken sensor mount on the new airbox and incorrect AC seals from the dealer).
You, too? They gave me the wrong seals, too! I just re-used my old ones, and haven't had an issue since.

Mine took two full days working alone. Day one was removal of the dash and manual airbox, and putting the Climatronic box in place. Day two was wiring and reassembly.

BlueCTTDi said:
I built the harness beforehand, but having the German pre-made one might have saved a little time on the day of the install, (but not much).
I think that just buying the German harness and not understanding it (i.e., Phil's "mind-melding" with the wiring diagrams) can be a bit of a false help. To know where all the wires go and what they're there for is priceless, both when installing it and when (God forbid) troubleshooting it.

I did both...I bought the Kufatec harness and then replicated it using OEM connectors and contacts. It even got wrapped in Coroplast; looked pretty damn professional!

M I N I O N, I strongly suggest to you what I suggest to every swapper...make photocopies of the Climatronic and manual wiring diagrams from Bentley. Tape them together to make long "scrolls". Compare them until you see *every* difference between the two.

--Chris

PS-- I had heard of dub_mang, now that you mention it, but I was unaware that Baz had finished his. I don't recall him posting about it. Good for him!
 

pheller

Veteran Member
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Location
Boston, MA
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Jetta GLS 1.8t, 2003, Platinum Gray
Nihilator said:
PS-- I had heard of dub_mang, now that you mention it, but I was unaware that Baz had finished his. I don't recall him posting about it. Good for him!
Yeah, I think he finished. Not positive, but I believe so.
 

M I N I O N

scammer & kfed poser
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
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Thanks for the kind words guys... I will most likely be starting the swap tomorrow..... WITHOUT the kufatec harness. Sadly the conversion rate brought it out to $160 for something I could easilly make. I have been doing audio installs since I was 16, started doing custom EMS systems synce I was 18, wired Interlock systems for the state of maryland when I was 19 and have worked for Audi since 20.... so... wiring is cake.

I bought myself HIDs today too. :)
 

VDUBS

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Location
Rockville, MD, USA
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2004 Golf GLS PD
I found one for $500 from a 00 GTI, says its everything you'll need. I'm debating whether or not to put it in my 04 Golf espically when I'm considering selling the car. Decisions decisions...

How long would it take to do one of these in hours?
 
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david_594

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Location
Cheshire, CT
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS Silver
VDUBS said:
I found one for $500 from a 00 GTI, says its everything you'll need. I'm debating whether or not to put it in my 04 Golf espically when I'm considering selling the car. Decisions decisions...

How long would it take to do one of these in hours?
I assume you are talking about the setup for sale on ebay... Its missing a few little parts like the outside temp sensor. Also the "little bit of wiring" it takes to install it is really a lot of wiring. Best bet for wiring would be to get the kufatec harness from europe, but that will run you a little over $100 and a good deal of waiting on delivery.

Install time in hours. The few of us that have done it before can do it again in probabily 12 ish hours. First timer, you need to figure on atleast 18 ish hours to do the job(assuming you buy the kufatec harness). Without the kufatec harness you have to add easily another 4-6 hours to the job to make the harness.
 

Doug71

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Location
Schenectady, NY
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2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5spd
david_594 said:
I assume you are talking about the setup for sale on ebay... Its missing a few little parts like the outside temp sensor. Also the "little bit of wiring" it takes to install it is really a lot of wiring. Best bet for wiring would be to get the kufatec harness from europe, but that will run you a little over $100 and a good deal of waiting on delivery.

Install time in hours. The few of us that have done it before can do it again in probabily 12 ish hours. First timer, you need to figure on atleast 18 ish hours to do the job(assuming you buy the kufatec harness). Without the kufatec harness you have to add easily another 4-6 hours to the job to make the harness.
Hey Dave,

We never got together like you promised a few years ago to install this in my Jetta:D.. Let me know when you are ready
 
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