after starting my car, after about 10 secs, the economy light, on the air con controls comes on. if you then press the economy button, the light on the button comes straight back on i.e. will not turn off. this prevents the air from being cooled. can anyone help. regards kaj

 

I'd spray the ECON button with RadioShack
Contact Cleaner.

 

Thanks, will try that.

 

Hi there,
I am new to the site, just joined today. I havea similarproblem. I recently bought my A6 and ever since I got it theEcon button is always on [:@], unable to turn it off no matter what (it does go off when the engine is turned off, of course!!). I don't think it's a button or contactproblem as you can hear the 'click' when pressing it,(what is Radio Shack Spray anyway?)- any idea how to get it to go off or why it might be permanently on? No word of this in the manual.
My car details - Audi A6, year 2002, 1.8 Turbo 60k miles. Based in Dublin, Ireland.
Thanks for your time.
RL

 

If the econ is always on, that means the A/C doesn't cool the air at all, since the compressor is off. There are quite a few possibilities as to why, but checking if the is any refrigerant in the system is a good place to start. If you have a chance to hook it up to a dignostic computer, see what faults you are getting.

 

Hi there Ray, i'm new as well to the site.Still looking into the problem and will post a reply once i find out. Been a bit busy just lately but will be on the case soon.

 

They sell cans of R134a with lubricant, stop leak and a gauge.

 

Hi lads, the cause of the problem was low gas pressure in the air con system. I have had the air con gasses pumpedup to the correct pressures , which has now stopped the economy light coming on, and allows the air coming into the car to be cooled. Because the air con gas pressure was low,the pressure valve in the system detected this, and so, prevented the air con from working. The low gas pressure can be caused by leaks in the system. Look and listen for leaks in the system after you have pumped it up. (Stones can gothrough condensor situatedat the front of the radiator. Run the air con, turn off ignition,lift bonnet, listen for gas leaks, look for oily leaksaround and oncondensor) (This looks like another radiator at the front of the main engine water cooler radiator)( Initially, with the engine off,and the bonnet lifted, you will hear a hissing sound near the gas charging points. Ignore this, it is not a leak. The low and high gas pressure equalising valve is being actived because the engine/ air con has been turned off and is equalising the gas pressureswithin the system).This cost me ten pounds, done as a barrow job, by a lad who I approached in my local pub, whoI noticed drove an air conditioning repair van. Itcan be done by any air conditioning guy. You do not have to go to a garage and be overcharged!!!Hope this helps you all. Regards Kaj

 

Hi,

I have exactly same problem with my 2002 A4 TDI, however as I thought the problem of not being able to switch the "econ" button off might be something to do with low gas I took it to someone I know to re-gas it, however when he connected up to the air con system with his 2 gauges, despite getting a reading he said that he couldn't re-gas it without the compressor kicking in, obviously this can't happen with the Econ button on, so I'm stuck in a catch 22 position. Any idea how your aircon guy managed to top up your gas without the compressor kicking in?

Any responses would be gratefully received.

Cheers.

Colly

 

Hi Colly

I have been told that you can re-gas without the compressor/pump running. Re-gas to the correct pressures, run the aircon for a while(the compressorshould cut in), then recheck the pressures, and adjust as required. Remember tocheck for leaks in system! P.S. I didn't have any, but will check pressures again in a month or so.

Regards Kaj

Ihave a2001 audi A4 TDI SE