Air Con Not Working ?

[Clarky]

Hi, We have a 2005 Galaxy 1.9tdi Ghia with dual air con but it isn't working. The pressure has been checked with a diy gauge and is showing as ok but the compressor won't kick in. There are no fault codes present when scanned. When pressing Auto on the climate control the radiator fans don't kick in. All the fuses have been checked and are ok.

 

What would be the next step to try and get this sorted ?

[Russats]

Look under the bonnet at the compressor when it's switched on the clutch will engage and you'll see it spinning. When it's off the belt still runs but the compressor doesn't.

[SilverBeast]

Easiest to tell if it's spinning by looking at the bolt heads on the opposite side of the pulley from compressor.  You can do this from above - though a torch helps to be able to see them properly.

 

Has it just stopped working, or has it never work since you got the vehicle?

 

I never had any faults I could see on VAG-COM on mine even when it was totally empty.  I don't think you can really tell by using a pressure guage, The system really needs all the fluids extracting and weighing to tell if there is enough refridgerant.  At which point it should also have a vacuum and then pressure test for leaks, before being re-filled with the correct amount of refridgerant as specified next to the fill point.  (1050g + some compressor oil from memory as yours is dual air-con with rear roof vents).

 

I used a mobile specialist eventually who came out and diagnosed mine when he refilled the wifes fiesta.  He then ordered bits to repair faulty pipe and I stripped it down to give access to the pipe that needed repairing.  He came back and repaired/refilled/tested it. We put it back together while it was pressure/vacuum testing and I completed assembly after the repair had been proved.

[Clarky]

As I said in my first post, the compressor is not spinning !

 

It's never worked since we had the vehicle which has been a few months. It's been regassed with one of those cans from Halfords at the same time as a Honda Civic whose air con wasn't working. The Honda came up to pressure and the compressor kicked in and now works perfectly but the Galaxy came up to pressure but the compressor won't start.

 

The rad fans don't spin when Auto is pressed on the climate control. If the fans were faulty, would this stop the air con from running ?

[SilverBeast]

Just been out and checked on my 2005 TDI 130, which also has Dual air-con.

 

As it's just me I can't tell if it starts the fan at the same time as the compressor, or after the compressor has started.  You fan may not be spinning because the compressor isn't running rather than the compressor not starting because the fan isn't running.  I assume you have a single (like I have) as I understand some (earlier?) models had dual fans.

 

I would guess that the system has had a leak at some point an lost all the refridgerant. Unless there was over 1Kg of refridgerant in the can you used it probably hasn't got enough in it.

 

I suggest your next step would be to find a good mobile air-con guy (which I was fortunate enough to do) who will come out, extract all existing fluids and test the system for leaks before refilling.  He (or she I to be PC) should also be able to diagnose it if there is a fault.  Mine charged me £20 for diagnosing, as he was refilling my wifes car at the time, and I think £40-45 to do the above to my wifes car.

 

Alternatively I understand Kwik-Fit will plug in their machine which should do all the above automatically, they won't charge you unless it improves your cooling at the vents by more than 10%. Details here and a voucher code from here to get it from £49 if you do need to pay.

[SilverBeast]

Forgot to say.  There seem to be variable reviews for the Kwik-Fit service, and make sure you tell them how much refridgerant/compressor oil they should install as the label near the filler lists the volumes for both Single and Dual air-con which may confuse them as despite the adverts, some operators are NOT experts in air-con and just know how to run the automatic machine and can't diagnose faults.

 

A so called air-con/electrical specialist garage couldn't diagnose mine, but the mobile air-con guy I was lucky enough to find diagnosed mine very quickly, as we could both hear the compressed Nitrogen leaking from a common failure point under the headlight surround.  To be fair this may have been easier in my own quiet garage, rather than in a workshop with other cars around, and in my experience at least a radio also blaring out!