RE: A/C freon level
 

From last summer my a/c wasn't as cold as it use to be. Now its just blows hot air and the compressor doesn't turn on. I'm guessing this means the freon leaked out. Right or wrong?

RE: A/C freon level
 

Ohi, its a good thing i have vodka in the system right now.
Just to clarify (for everyone) freon is the common name for R-12, not R-134a which is used on todays cars. I still have no idea why people call it freon since we haven't used freon since the 90's......

Anyways, if your losing refrigerant, the pressures would reflect that on both the high and low side. The system is sealed, so its NEVER supposed to leak. Re-charging the system will only cure the problem for about half the summer, depending on how bad the leak is.

Trey25: if the compressor stopped working there is a fault for it in the A/C control head which must be pulled out using the VAG COM. Only then can i tell you if its a refrigerant related concern, and not a compressor related concern.

RE: A/C freon level
 

yea but theres no lit econ button...well, I haven't noticed one. I'll just have get it on the VAG to see whats going on. Thanks though

RE: A/C freon level
 

Having a bad day yesterday? Rare I see you rant.

RE: A/C freon level
 

pete: follow the steps on this link

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/int6.shtml

you'll be able to run a diagnostics on your a/c control system.

long story short. I utilized this method to determine that my high pressure valve was closed. which was an indication that I was low on R-134a which also lead me to believe I had a leak in the system. Which I did and I temporarily patched it up.

If you need help PM me.
Basically you will have to go through each of the codes and write down its results. I got some good help from Ewok over at audizine but he's in the process of moving so I dont think he's currently available.

One thing you can do is go to autozone or something and pick up one of those re-fill bottles with a gauge. Plug in the gauge to see if there's juice in the lines without re-filling.
You just want to initially check to see if you have any leaks.

RE: A/C freon level
 

ok i scanned my climate control using the link and the only system malfunction code i got was 22.3 (A/C refrigerant high pressure switch sporadic open) anybody know the location of this switch? but something else i found wierd though is i checked the RPM of the compressor and it said 56 when the car wasnt even on. so then i turned it on and turned on the AC and checked it again and it still said 56. so that tells me that the compressor isnt work right? or could it be that the compressor is working and its just not sending the signal to the climate control.

RE: A/C freon level
 

thats the same code that came up for me. Your compressor wont turn itself on because the high pressure switch is stuck. It is a safety feature with our compressors.
Which means that either your low on R-134 or you have a leak somewhere. Has the A/C ever worked?

With me, I filled up my a/c and two days later it emptied itself out. The day after that I purged whatever gas was left. Re-filled it with some gas ( I believe we filled up with 30psi of gas. ) In addition to that I used two bottles of leak fix which is a red dye. Eventually I found the leak coming from one of the pipes behind the radiator. So I used to epoxy to plug up the hole.

RE: A/C freon level
 

btw...to locate this switch you will have to remove your passenger headlight. once removed you'll see a a plug with 4 connectors.

I Doubt its the switch though.

RE: A/C freon level
 

ok, so i am losing R134a then. yeah my AC used to work great. i've owned the car for about 7 months and its been used many times and it always blew really cold air and then all of a sudden it stopped blowing cold air last week. so i guess i need to buy a gauge and check to see how much is in the system and some leak check and do the same thing you did then. i still have to figure out why my AC fan isnt coming on though

RE: A/C freon level
 

A/C fan will only come on when compressor is working.

Mine never came on until there was enough pressure to allow the compressor to turn on. So i suspect it gets triggered on when compressor is on.
What you should do is inspect whatever piping you can see with the hood open to elimate those.

Next step would be to jack up the car or a lift which would be easier.
Im sure the epoxy wont last long but, so far so good.