1996 Audi A4 Ac recharge
 

I am trying to charge the AC on my daughters 1996 Audi A4, I cant find any service ports on the low side. Is it possible to remove the pressure switch near the firewall and charge through this fitting? Will it require air conditioning adapter set -V.A.G 1786 to acomplish this? Or do you Know of any other way to charge the system? I really appreciate any help you can give me with this matter.


Thanks,
Mitchell

RE: 1996 Audi A4 Ac recharge
 

Well i think the pressure switch would be the high pres. side but im not sure... There is a low pressure fitting in your year on the compressor i believe but dont quote me on that. Check a service manual or something otherwise im sure someone on here knows, this has been asked alot lately so do a search and u might find it. You dont need that VAG numbered thing, its just what the dealer would use, i would guess that VAG code is for some type of high and low pres drainer and refiller where u can take the refrigerent out and put it back. You can use your standard fill from NAPA or wherever that connects to the low pres. side.

RE: 1996 Audi A4 Ac recharge
 

I just went through this with my 96. Cant find a low pressure fitting anywhere. Advance and Auto Zone plus a mechanic in Akron tried to figure it out with no results. I found a guy in Canton that said he'd do it for under $60 if he didnt run into any problems. Let me know if its on the compressor, but I dont think so. The Chilton showed it by the battery, so they were stumped.

RE: 1996 Audi A4 Ac recharge
 

Yeah idk actually i might have been wrong, the low side on the compresser might have been 97+ and someone on here said that theres a low side near the drivers vents? but its not quick disconnect but its a screw on so if thats true that isnt much help to you either. You might just hafta take it somewhere to have it filled.. see if anyone else has some ideas first though.

RE: 1996 Audi A4 Ac recharge
 

the 96 only have a high port. that means only a pro can service it. sorry

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ok here's the real deal with the '96 Audi A4 2.8L ....all there is on the A/C system is a "high" pressure point to charge the system from, on the left side of the condenser. The easiest option is to just take it to a shop and have them do it. I took mine in today cause I couldnt find crap on the net about the 96 A4. it's only gonna cost me $100 for them to do everything the best way and the complete way. That includes evacuating everything in the system, including air, moisture and old oil and putting new oil and freon in. I'm not sure if they fixed this issue in the 97 but I know they did for the 98. In fact I have a bunch of parts off a 98 and both high and low pressure lines have the couplings to the left of the battery. I was thinking about replacing them but then I remembered the low side switch and where I would plug that into. I dont know where that switch is on other cars. so it can be done but I'd have to replace more than just those 2 lines. hardly seems worth all that hassle when the shop only charges $100 to do everything through the high side port.
As far as the guy in a different thread and the guy who started this thread saying about taking off the switch and charging it there.... well thats all fine and dandy if I could find someone who makes a threaded adapter with a recharge coupling on the other side. but I've talked to my long time snap-on dealer and he's never heard of anything like that. and the shop im going to looked it up on all-data and said that all it says is to charge through the high pressure port (with the shop machine of course, cause if figured out how to hook up a can to the high side it would probably grenade on your ass!).
So if I missed something with all this plz comment and let me know :)

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Get yourself a mastercool 82272 adapter at Napa (Napa Part NTE 783618 expensive at $19.99), autozone (Santech M0948 - $12.99), or your favorite parts place, they probably cost between 6 and 10 bucks. Its a 1/2" ACME thread adapter but it fits onto the metric threads of the low pressure port just fine, and won't screw up the threads. Disconnect the plug from the low-pressure switch, and install a jumper across the terminals. Whatever you use for the jumper, I suggest that you put tape or some insulator over it so there are no accidental shorts. Unscrew the lo pressure switch, it will puff out a little freon and compressor oil as you remove it. The fitting's valve will keep any more from coming out. Next install the MasterCool adapter, which will not cause anything to leak. Next start the engine and set the AC for LO temp and maximum fan. You should note that the compressor is spinning; nothing on the front of the pulley should be motionless. Connect your R134a container to the MasterCool adapter and press the filler button. You should feel the can get cold if refrigerant is being pulled out of it. If you have a guage set you can use it to charge to the proper high and low pressure readings, then disconnect everything, take the adpater off and reinstall the low pressure switch. Remove the jumper wire and plug the wiring harness back onto the switch and your done.



http://tech.bentleypublishers.com/th...threadID=37307

Re: 96-A4-B5 low side A/C refill

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http://www.amazon.com/Mastercool-MAS.../dp/B000FN4990
it's like $6