Air Conn problem

[EAP]

I have a 2005 Golf TDI sport, the air conn has suddenly stopped working. Is it a matter of having it re-gassed or am I looking at something more expensive? There are no noises from under the bonnet or any strange smells.

[GDEvans]

When you stay it has stopped, do the lights not come on or has it stopped giving out cold air?

I had a problem with the air con on my last car (Ford Focus) after about 2 years. The air con wasn't getting very cold and seemed to be struggling. Took it to the dealer and they had to fit a new compressor and regas the system. Fortunately it was a company car! When I bought my Golf recently I got them to service the air con.

The Ford mechanic explained to me that if air conditioning is not used much, the pipes can dry out and crack, releasing some of the gas causing a deterioration in performance. Ford tried different things to get people to use the air con - eventually they set it to come on every time you turn the dial to demist, although the light does not come on. Although this wasn't the case with my car - I never switched it off!

[zel]

As mentioned if it's not working period then it's probably the compressor which used to be a major problem with the MK4 Golf, the clutch mechanism used to go and a complete replacement was needed at a cost of some £600 + Fitting


If it's just a matter of needing regasing then I would suggest doing it properly and replacing the seals on the aircon pipes.

It's common mistake to think that aircon gas just evaporates, it doesn't. The seals become brital during winter and thus starts to leak!