Aircon died suddenly

[Alfie Noakes]

Hi chaps,

not posted on here for while, car has run great and have been in the land of the Finn on business, but now I have a problem. Drove my Avant today to pick up a few chisels at lunch time, and the aircon failled to come on. The light lights up, but there is no characteristic dip in revs which suggests to me the compressor doesn't switch on, and the air lacks a certain chill. It may be coincidence, but I did have a new alarm fitted recently following a break in, and this is the first time I have tried the aircon since then. Are there any VAGCOM codes for the aircon system, or is it a matter of getting into the wiring and looking for damage/disconnected wires? To start with do I just lever off the panel surounding the controls, or are their hidden screws behind the controls? Also if it is just a coincidence and the system needs regassing, would the compressor fail to start or would it just spin with no cooling?

Cheers,

Steve

[dan_b]

If the system needs re-gassing, you'll still hear the compressor working, you'll just get a sort of hissing noise out of the vents instead of any chilled air.

Does the low-speed fan come on when you press the Air Con on button - that's meant to operate the whole time the air con is on. If that doesn't, it does sound like an electrical fault, but I wouldn't know where to start.

My air con isn't working at the moment either, but that's a leaked coolant issue, I suspect a leaking compressor and haven't got round to replacing it. I re-charged the system in October and it's all gone already...

[audiman]

You may have just sprung a leak. If most of the gas comes out, then the compressor WONT click in and start, but the fan WILL run. There is a safety switch in the system that stops the compressor running if the system is very low/ empty, this is so that the compressor doesnt kill itself.

[S2central.net]

Totally agree with Tom on the safety mechanism. Get a good aircon specialist to test for leaks. If its leak free then you can go looking for electrical niggles just in case your alarm installer inadvertently disturbed something.


Paul

[Alfie Noakes]

Thanks Guys,

I thought there might be a safety mechanism, and the fan does indeed switch on as Dan suggested, so electrical faults are unlikely I suppose.

Off to find an aircon chappie...

Steve

[audiman]

If its a major leak then it should be easy enough to find with the correct kit.