AirCon Question

[Teflon]

My wife's aircon (3 dial Climatic) has gone warm. It's a low mileage 2007 Eos, but no-one ever looks on the Eos threads, hence me asking the question here. Just pretend it's a Golf.

Unlike my Golf, which is still working fine, it's not had the aircon turned on all winter, which can't have helped. However, it is permanently garaged so there are no weather related issues to consider.

There are no visible signs of any problems around the engine (2.0 FSI-T) and no noises so my obvious first step is to get it re-gassed. Before I do that I'd like to rule out any bigger issues like a dodgy compressor or any control gremlins. I might finally invest in VCDS but don't want to waste the money if it isn't going to help.

Are there any specific error codes for compressor and other problems, or is this one of those silent maladies? Are there any measuring blocks I could look at? Should I be able to hear the compressor engage like in the good old days?

Anyone had anything similar?

Ta muchly.

[-M-]

It might be a problem with the compressor as these are quite common to go. The shaft inside normally snaps and therefore gives no circulation even though the pulley is engaged.

If it qualifys you may get a goodwill contribution from VW upto 5yrs old so worthwhile getting them to investigate. It is quite common for them to snap when there is a long period of less activity and then a warm day comes up and more demand is required.

Normally you need to look at the pressure of the system which requires an A/C station, whilst observing the rpm of the compressor pulley via a VAS diag machine - you will normally see the rpm and pressure differ and flucuate but on a faulty compressor the pressure is fixed for both high and low indicating no circulation.

[radox]

I think VW recommend an A/C service every couple of years. However, my car's A/C worked fine for 6 years before it's cooling capacity began to drop. I then let them do an A/C service (which includes a re-gas) for about £65 and that fixed it, although it wasn't immediately obvious. See Stuart Dalby - 2005 Volkswagen Golf Mk 5 - Wear & Tear

I was at my local VW dealer today and I think I saw them advertising the same service now for about £79. If your car is over 3 years old you should be able to get that down to about £70. I think that would be a good first step. Touch wood it won't be anything more serious but if it is, they should be able to diagnose the problem for you at the same time.

Hope that helps,
Stuart
Stuart Dalby - 2005 Volkswagen Golf Mk 5

[nevo]

Get it regassed,try the mobile guys they should do it for about £38/45,you should run the aircon in winter otherwise the seals in the compressor crack,you may find that it will leak again over the coming months if you're unlucky.

[Teflon]

Thanks for the replies. It's booked in next week for an aircon service so I'll report the results.

I could have got it done for half the price with a specialist but if there is anything major, maybe the dealer can get me some good will seeing the car has only done 11k!

[Teflon]

I found out last night I could have got it re-gassed for free this coming weekend, but hey ho, it was booked in at the dealer this morning so off we went. Full marks to them, because they aborted the aircon service due to a major leak and didn't charge me for the time. Another reason why I drive fifty miles rather than go to my local house of repair.

Anyway, it was diagnosed as probably being a G65 high pressure sensor, but can't be sure because it is behind the bumper. Having got this far, I'm minded to pay the dealer to do it rather than begger about myself, but I'm just a little nervous that they might find another source of the leak. Aircon is well outside my limited range of expertise, so I'm after a bit of guidance before I plunge in.

Does the G65 sensor sound plausible and are there any other possible issues? I'm particularly concerened in case there is a heat exchanger that might have picked up a stone.

Cheers!

[nevo]

I would source a good indy aircon specialist and get it pressue tested with nitrogen,if it is the sensor it will be showing oily deposits around it,I'd be surprised if it is that leaking more likely to be the condenser in front of the rad,anyway have a look round for oil deposits.

[-M-]

I found out last night I could have got it re-gassed for free this coming weekend, but hey ho, it was booked in at the dealer this morning so off we went. Full marks to them, because they aborted the aircon service due to a major leak and didn't charge me for the time. Another reason why I drive fifty miles rather than go to my local house of repair.

Anyway, it was diagnosed as probably being a G65 high pressure sensor, but can't be sure because it is behind the bumper. Having got this far, I'm minded to pay the dealer to do it rather than begger about myself, but I'm just a little nervous that they might find another source of the leak. Aircon is well outside my limited range of expertise, so I'm after a bit of guidance before I plunge in.

Does the G65 sensor sound plausible and are there any other possible issues? I'm particularly concerened in case there is a heat exchanger that might have picked up a stone.



Cheers!

You will find due to EU laws now that it is an offence for anyone without A/C certification to work on any system due to handling of refridgerant and environmental requirements.

The pressure sensor is a common leak source and a VW tech bulletin is available for this - a new sensor with better sealing ring is used.

[Teflon]

You will find due to EU laws now that it is an offence for anyone without A/C certification to work on any system due to handling of refridgerant and environmental requirements.

The pressure sensor is a common leak source and a VW tech bulletin is available for this - a new sensor with better sealing ring is used.

Many thanks for that. I can go ahead with confidence and let the dealer sort it.

There would have been no issues with regulations. The sensor screws into a schraeder valve so there is no possibility of a leak, other than from the faulty sensor itself. Even if that were not the case, my son is certified up his eyeballs for industrial AC systems, so I'd have got him to do the donkey work. He deals with the stuff by the tanker load.

I've found a copy of the American version of the tech bulletin -vw.tb.87-07-16 2016374. It seems to indicate that in the US it is a warranty repair. I can guess the answer, but does anyone know if this is the case in the UK for a car over 3 years old?


p.s. The dealer price is a bit steep, because it includes 1.5 hours of labour for the swap. The American document allows only 10 time units (minutes?) for the swap on an Eos. Which is correct?

[-M-]

10tu which is 6 minutes is about right to remove and replace the sensor. There will be seperate times for removing and refitting covers etc relating to the job which under warranty will be time coded and submitted for.

There will then be time to regas and recheck the system - outside of warranty labour times are subject to intereptation or thrown out altogether tbh. Ask the dealer you are using to give you a breakdown of the cost alongside the quoted ELSA times.