strange air con problem MK4 GTi

[HOLEIN1]

hi there

after the first stinker hot day in Adelaide since i have had my golf, i fould that the air conditioning has a strange promlem

basically what happens is that the system will blow hot air out while the car is stationary ie. at the lights etc, but will start blowing rather cold air out when driving. i also find that he car as a bit of a lump in the throttle when cruising at a steady speed. ie at 60km/h you will feel the engine jump as if the air con is cutting in and out repeatedly every 20-30 secs

just wondering what could be the problem, at first i thought it just needed a gas top up, however the fact that i can feel it cutting in and out is the main point of concern here

any advice appreciated

dan

[NickZ]

Without pretending to be an aircon expert, my old car did something similar and it was the compressor clutch dying on me. Eventually it completely died and had to be replaced.
But I would get it checked rather than trust my word

[Bora Sport]

Are the cooling fans running when the engine is idling and the air con is on?

[The_Hawk]

Also not an expert here, but it could be the compressor starting to die (or dead to the point where it's not that useful).

I just had my Mk3 compressor replaced and dear god to I love my AC.

[Golf Loon]

I`d try gas first, with tracer dye and take it from there.

[HOLEIN1]

Are the cooling fans running when the engine is idling and the air con is on?

yher the fans go, just blow hot air when the car aint moving

jeez, the cars only got 65k on the clock, i would have thought the air con compressor would last longer than that

anyone know how much a new compessor would be?

[craig_the_german]

Hi, I have a similar problem with my other car (Holden Jackaroo).

The problem was diagnosed as the clutch on the air conditioning compressor. It started playing up and then blowing air con fuses.

For a new compressor, I was quoted $1000-$1200 (non genuine) + fitting, + regass +, +, +

I was also quoted $450 to have just the compressor clutch reconditioned and refitted to the existing compressor.

I know this is not VW prices but might give you some idea as to how much you are up for.

[torque]

hi there

after the first stinker hot day in Adelaide since i have had my golf, i fould that the air conditioning has a strange promlem

basically what happens is that the system will blow hot air out while the car is stationary ie. at the lights etc, but will start blowing rather cold air out when driving. i also find that he car as a bit of a lump in the throttle when cruising at a steady speed. ie at 60km/h you will feel the engine jump as if the air con is cutting in and out repeatedly every 20-30 secs

just wondering what could be the problem, at first i thought it just needed a gas top up, however the fact that i can feel it cutting in and out is the main point of concern here

any advice appreciated

dan

One or the other :

- You need to have this regassed
- You need to replace the compressor AND have it regassed

Take it to a specialist ASAP and hope for the best ; meanwhile, don't use it as you can do more harm than good if the system is low and there is no oil in the compressor left to "lube" it...

cheers

P.S installation is not hard , any system can be installed at home; I have done 3 aircon systems before and also fitted to a car that did not have it from factory ( although it had the brackets in the dash,etc ). You just need to use new o-rings and tighten the pipes well, then take it to someone to fill it up and test for leaks.

[FknDubbin]

A new compressor from VW is $1800. Im getting a changeover one for $750 from Nippon Air in Melbourne.

[HOLEIN1]

A new compressor from VW is $1800. Im getting a changeover one for $750 from Nippon Air in Melbourne.

jesus some crazy prices there

so is it fairly common for these to bugger up so soon? my car has only 65,000kms, and would only have used the air con in the summer months, i dunno, just doesnt seem right for it to be playing up so soon. the air con in my old 94' corolla was still going strong at 250,000

could it perhaps be something to do with the electrical system such as a relay or someting like that?