MatTdi

Well after a summer of cool air from the topup kit its all gone pear shaped..... The vent temps were starting to rise so I was pretty sure I had a slow leak somewhere, unfortunately the CC panel started flashing and the rad fans dont spin up, from a quick visual check the compressor is not engaging either!! but I can turn it by hand. I have checked all the fuses but I am now stumped, how do I pressure check it without the compressor running?? Does anybody know of a good AC place in or around Milton Keynes? Would anybody who's local to Milton Keynes and has VAG.com be able to check system for codes for a pint or two?? thanks in advance M@

Well after a summer of cool air from the topup kit its all gone pear shaped..... The vent temps were starting to rise so I was pretty sure I had a slow leak somewhere, unfortunately the CC panel started flashing and the rad fans dont spin up, from a quick visual check the compressor is not engaging either!! but I can turn it by hand. I have checked all the fuses but I am now stumped, how do I pressure check it without the compressor running?? Does anybody know of a good AC place in or around Milton Keynes? also would anybody who's local and has VAG be able to check system for errors for a pint or two?? thanks in advance M@

I'd put money on them being the remains of an old Nokia car kit... Just loop them and secure them out of harms way, unless you want to fit a handfree kit!! Is there any holes in the dash and passenger footwell where the phone and speaker used to mount?? Regards M@

I can also confirm that the heated front screen has no effect on my GPS setup... I have TT3 on my Axim with a CF GPS reciever mounted on the dash, the only time it seems to loose sat lock is under heavy foliage(?) and in tunnels etc... I used TT3 to get me from Calais to Venice, I used route print out from ViaMichelin for reference and to keep me off the toll roads as I find the motorways very boring and prefer "route nationale" we went via Munich and the Brenner Pass to get through Austria, what a fantastic drive!! TomTom was faultless all the way thereand back it just needed a bit of coaching to keep it off the toll roads....... M@

That sounds excatly like the problem I had.... It was traced down to the field coil going open circuit and not providing the magnetism required to engage the clutch on the compressor. Are the fans running on the radiator when the AC is switched on?? If you have access to a multimeter then you can measure the coil and should see a low reading of less than 3ohms for the field coil. Hope this helps a bit M@

When I did mine it was a whole new plug and washer from ECP at a cost of

If you look at the lower rear corner of the doors you should see a round rubber lump, these are the door swithches which tell the car if the door is open or closed. the system will auto relock after 30 secs if a door is not opened so if a switch is duff then thats why it relocks as it cannot see the door open. Does it only happen with the rear doors and do you have the door open idicator on the dash and does it work?? M@

Just come back from Italy!! Did 2.5K over 2 weeks has to be the best long distance crusier I have had. Travelled through France, Germany, Belguim, Luxemburg, Austria and Italy from Autobahn's to moutain passes fantastic.... Have fun M@

If it relocks after unlocking by the remote fob then it looks like the door pin switches are duff?? I had this happen when a switch died!! M@

MM On fiday he AC had no cold air output as it was getting heat soaked due to low gas.. As soon as i got the pressure reading up into the good zone on the gauge the vent temp dropped from the ambient 28c to 7c from the vents, this was at idle and not set to recirc.... My aircon has been gurgling on startup and gets heat soaked on anything above 21c, so from fridays results it looks like more gas was deffo required!! Now all I need is some more heat to test it out!! M@

Well its done!!! Needed half a can as the starting pressure on the gauge was about 10 Put in about half a can and it now half way into the good zone and the vent temp at idle was down to 7C.... I will test more tomorrow to see what the vent temp goes down to at higher revs!! If you only need to use a bit of gas you can use it agin by closing the valve and leaving the tubing attached untill the next time!! the only downside was that the can gets bl**dy cold and the chrge process slowed down, I will see what happens tomorrow when its warmed up a bit... M@

Wow funny you should mention this.... I have bought one of those and a pressure check Gauge from the same seller. Ordered on Weds morning delivered this morning. I will be toping off my aircon this weekend as it has been making gurgling sounds and is not blowing as cool as it should be. Fingers crossed M@

Millers XFE PD M@

oh yeah nearly forgot, I used one of these beauty's to remove the circlips as there is not a lot of room!!! http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/pages/morei...ip+Tool&cid=880 http://im.edirectory.co.uk/products/225/i/52319.jpg also have a look at http://www.sanden.com/support/servicemanua...f_contents.html Good luck M@

Widget, It sounds like a problem I had, mine was the coil gone open and not engaging the clutch on the AC compressor. I obtained a coil and fitted it myself on the drive, you do not need to degass to get the clutch and coil off. You will need to remove the Aux belt and undo the lower turbo pipe, then with a fashioned locking bar, to stop the pulley rotating, remove the nut holding the compressor clutch and you can then remove the clutch plate and pulley etc... I might have missed a circlip or 2 but you get the idea, if you have a TIS disk then its on there as well..... http://www.sanden.com/support/servicemanual/english/clutch.gif Hope this helps M@

I think it was the orignal pump, it looks like its done 90k :( I have always changed waterpump on all the other cars, but the last belt change was done as the car was bought so did not have the chance to ask.... M@

Guys as promised.... the great example of VAG design.... http://img.photobox.co.uk/895200112ab10e507846bf182fa2bc42c050d1314addf46908f5e85b.jpg At least the new had a metal impeller!!! M@

Well its thanks again to this forum!!! I have finally had the waterpump replaced, upon removal the impeller remained in the engine as it had fallen off.... what a great peice of design work by VAG. (its a plastic impeller pressed on to a knurled shaft). So it only taken me 3 weeks to get sorted, 1 cowboy with a head gasket claim, 1 mechanic who rescheduled and then didn't show!! I have now found a good reliable mech who is local and will be getting my work from now on!! I will post a photo of the pump and impeller tomorrow to give you all an idea.... THANKS AGAIN (yes I meant to shout it) M@

Smoggie, Just a daft thought have you tried both buckles if its the roof mounted one? as I am sure that mine are "keyed" and the picture on the belt is not very clear.... Regards M@

Well I can honestly say that I now would not trust the original garage as far as I could throw my car!!! I reckon they must use the headgasket as a money earner... they collect the car do some "tests" and tell you the bad news, then say they would not be prepared to drive the car back as the gasket has gone...... if you didn't know any better you can see how it works!!! Regards M@

Well As I started this I better add some more info!! I got a second opinion from a VAG specialist who confirmed that the head gasket has NOT gone, they had the test running for 30 mins and no change in color. Also they confirmed that the most likely cause of the overheat at speed and no heating is the waterpump. Its booked in for Friday to change belt and pump (with a metal impeller!!!), so fingers crossed 'till then...... Thanks for all your help and info so far M@ PS DannyBoy, after speaking to the guys at the VAG specialist and the info from the guru's on here i'd put money on your water pump being stuffed.....

Hmm first garage says it has hydrocarbons in the coolant so the gasket has gone!!! so why is there no pressure in the system??? will be paying the diag fee and running away, will try and find a proper garage M@

I managed to change the stat on Sat Am, its pretty easy and if your quick you will only loose about 1 litre of coolant, better than the 10 I was expecting..... I followed the TIS instructions on refilling and bleeding the system, I hope I have no air locks now as all the coolant went back in!! Took her for a run and still the bottom hose is cold :lol: so I guess its the pump. Will be booking in at local garage today to have it done this week hopefully. Thanks again M@

Not that I am aware of... I got the prices for the belt etc as I was going to get them changed if the current one is not new, the garage I bought it from 12mnths ago changed it before I bought it..... not that I dont trust second hand car salesmen :lol: M@

Danny Boy, I will let you know how it goes... I am gonna drain and change the stat on Sat Am. The stat is