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View Full Version : Question 2010 Golf Plus - AC light comes on when 'windscreen' is selected on air distribution.



Beerhowler
28-11-2014, 12:10 PM
I have gone through the Golf Plus Owner Manual and checked many threads here and searched on the internet, all to no avail.

I have owned the car (I am the second owner) for a couple of months now and I am really pleased with it. It has had a careful previous owner and has done 37,000 miles to date.

Why, when I select full heat on the temperature dial, and then 'Windscreen' icon on the air distribution setting, the AC light come on??

I do not understand why, but the heater control layout on my Golf Plus is not exactly the same as the two options shown in the Owner Manual, so there is no reference to this to be found. I have the manual climatic control, vaguely similar to Fig 158 on Page 214 of the Owner's Manual. I do not have Climatronic which I understand is controlled in conjunction with the Radio/Navigation screen. My Owner's Manual is coded 'Stand: 31.08.2010' which appears to be a date reference and matches the age of the car.

The only explanation I can come up with is that this is not only Air Conditioning, i.e. chilled air for warmer weather conditions, but also has dehumidification capabilities?

Having driven cars in the past with AC that basically chills the air, and require the temperature setting to be on 'Cold' to deliver that chilled air, with the Golf Plus it appears the AC comes on automatically when switching from, say, combined footwell / windscreen (9 o'clock position) to Windscreen only (12 o'clock position) all whilst on full heat setting.

I can manually turn the AC off, but I am intrigued and bemused by this and would really appreciate an explanation.

Many thanks in advance !!

M1tchy
28-11-2014, 12:59 PM
You are right, the car uses the AC as a dehumidifier and helps demist the front screen. It won't affect the temp of the air it's blowing but helps speed things up.


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Flash2
28-11-2014, 01:00 PM
The only explanation I can come up with is that this is not only Air Conditioning, i.e. chilled air for warmer weather conditions, but also has dehumidification capabilities?

That's why it does it. The dehumidifying effect of the aircon system clears condensation from the screen quicker. The aircon system is smart and knows that when you direct air to the screen it's probably because you want to clear condensation. So it automatically switches on the aircon system to help clear the screen quickly. Clever, eh.

Jim.

Beerhowler
28-11-2014, 02:20 PM
OK many thanks Jim, that is certainly is a clever feature.

My last car was over 10 years old before I exchanged it for the Golf Plus, and that of course had the old style AC refrigeration unit and little else.

I am surprised that VW don't make more of this within their marketing, unless I have missed it somewhere?

Thanks for confirming so promptly that this is not a fault , very much appreciated!

colraca5
03-12-2014, 02:41 PM
This is not a new feature, my Ford Mondeo had this way back in 2000.

zollaf
03-12-2014, 03:02 PM
my s4 does this and thats from a time called 1998. in fact, all air con systems chill the air and dry it. you can't have air con that just chills the air, but people just tend to use it to chill the air in the summer and not to dry in the winter. air con should be used regularly though to ensure the pump remains lubricated otherwise you can find it fails after the winter.