Rubbish aircon

poltheball

poltheball

A2OC Donor
Hi all,

The aircon in my 51 plate 1.4TDi SE is, well, a bit pants. Really weak and unreliable airflow, although the temperatures do tend to be about right (I think). By unreliable, I mean that the flowrate doesn't always change proportionally to the fan speed that I select; sometimes there is no difference at all between any fan speed setting/it's too weak to feel if anything is happening even at full blast.

Is this a simple (pollen?) filter replacement job, or do I need to get the whole system repressurised?

Thought I'd pop it up here for your opinions before possibly consulting a garage - won't be able to get to one for a few weekends so if it's something I can order and fit/fix myself that'd be preferable!

Cheers,
Paul
 
poltheball said:
Hi all,

The aircon in my 51 plate 1.4TDi SE is, well, a bit pants. Really weak and unreliable airflow, although the temperatures do tend to be about right (I think). By unreliable, I mean that the flowrate doesn't always change proportionally to the fan speed that I select; sometimes there is no difference at all between any fan speed setting/it's too weak to feel if anything is happening even at full blast.

Is this a simple (pollen?) filter replacement job, or do I need to get the whole system repressurised?

Thought I'd pop it up here for your opinions before possibly consulting a garage - won't be able to get to one for a few weekends so if it's something I can order and fit/fix myself that'd be preferable!

Cheers,
Paul
Click to expand...

The chances are that the pollen filter is blocked.

It is in a hatch underneath the glove box.

If you remove it, be careful and fully note how it comes apart so that you can reassemble it after it has been cleaned / replaced>

They are normally full of leaves!!

The temperature is ok as you say, so repressurising should not be needed.

Steve B
 
Smashing, ta. I'll have a go at that myself, pollen filters seem fairly cheap on ebay. Just got to make sure I order the right one..
 
poltheball said:
Smashing, ta. I'll have a go at that myself, pollen filters seem fairly cheap on ebay. Just got to make sure I order the right one..
Click to expand...

It might be worth just whipping it out to see if that cures it before you buy one.
out can always put the old one back in until you get the new one?

But they are cheap enough and it would probably need replacing anyway.

Steve B
 
Good point, I'll do that before ordering anything. I assume it's needing replaced as it's a consumable, but I'll see what a good clean out can achieve.

Cheers mate!
 
I'd suggest also trying to direct air around and seeing if that works correctly. If it doesn't, or not how it should, then your problem is probably flaps. For which I'd suggest a VCDS reader to find out which ones are borked and then reading the guides here on how to take them out and replace them.

- Bret
 
bretti_kivi said:
I'd suggest also trying to direct air around and seeing if that works correctly. If it doesn't, or not how it should, then your problem is probably flaps. For which I'd suggest a VCDS reader to find out which ones are borked and then reading the guides here on how to take them out and replace them.

- Bret
Click to expand...

In other words, pop the pollen filter out and see what the airflow is like without it? And if it's no good, have a cry and get it to somebody with the relevant kit?
 
That is a fair summary.

If the flaps are sticking you can try and manipulate them by switching the flow to the screen, then floor, then face vents quite a few times to see if that helps.
If after the pollen filter has been sorted and the above "cycling" has not helped, then someone with a VCDS cable and software would be able t cycle them fully and check the output to see if they are all moving.

But if you take out the pollen filter and half a forest falls out, that may be the main cause.

Steve B
 
pollen filter is probably a good starting point. But I mean shifting air upwards, downwards, to the face. THen turning fan up and down. So air up only, on 5-6 fan bars. Eco on, temp set to approximately outside temps (20C). Is the air flow consistent? Now add the footwells in; does air come out on both sides, left and right? And still to the windscreen? Add the centre vents, test again, then take one section at a time and see if the air flows consistently. It should!

If the air is directed properly, great. If not? Flaps. --> VCDS.
If the temperature is changed correctly, great. If not? Temp flap or Climate possibly empty, compressor issue, eco pressed etc. --> VCDS
If the fan level changes erratically during the test for no apparent reason and the filter is out, then it's probably the resistor in the blower. But you'll need VCDS to check.


Currently my system doesn't give me ultra-cold air; somehow at the last fix, the temperature flap wasn't reengaged 100%, so it's occasionally flapping still. But it's a three hour job to take everything apart and test it for me, (LHD car and I know where the bits are, they're just a complete pain to get to) so I'm prevaricating.

- Bret
 
Cheers for the pointers lads, I'll have a dig around when I've got the time, and I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again!
 
As suggested start with the pollen filter. Make a note of which way the old one comes out though!
There are excellent write ups here on the climate control system in the A2. Be warned however that if one flap motor is inop or slow it can cause other potentiometer/flap faults to show up on a scan too. I know because I changed one for a new Audi motor (well Tom did it actually) and the air c on is still pants and shows up the same scan faults as before!
 
I pulled out the pollen filter last night, hoovered the gunk out of it (there wasn't much), and then sat in the car and cycled through the settings a few times. Everything seems to work in terms of temp and direction, but power is still a bit low compared to what I'd like.

Thoughts? I think I'll just leave it as is, it does the job well enough, unless you lot can come up with a cheap (read "free") way to increase my airflow?
 
The next step is a VCDS check to see what error codes there are (there are normally always error codes on the cars I have scanned, even when they are apparently working correctly). But it may highlight a specific issue.

Steve B
 
Please empty your hoover too. There are many bacteria and nasties in the pollen filter and i have heard of people becoming seriously ill from handling old pollen filters.

VCDS the car to check for faults as Steve mentioned.
 
Hah, brilliant! Well I'll let you know if I drop dead, if I do there'll be an 1.4TDi for sale in the classifieds shortly.. ;)
 
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