ac not working-- in fla!

[madducrich]

So I took my 2010 jetta tdi into the stealership for the 100k timing belt replacement (working too much now so I had no time to DIY). LOKEY VW in Clearwater fl. I picked up the car friday night, everything seemed ok, so I drove my jetta to work on saturday. On the way home from work, I turned on the a/c and the compressor would not engage. I drove back to the dealer and they brought it in to check the problem... they said the internal valve inside the compressor is stuck open. Long story short, they want $1700+ to replace the compressor, dryer, and system flush. Just odd that the a/c was working fine when I brought the car in for service... now no a/c!!! Any ideas?

[madducrich]

I read on vw vortex something about a replacement valve ... cost about $60-!!! Anyone else heard of that?

[chittychittybangbang]

I haven't heard of this but I'm not an AC guy. FYI, the most common failure is the valve inside compressor, it replaces the AC clutch function. Any place that does AC can do this service. Don't try to DIY since you have to pull a vac to refill.

And yes it's very suspicious that the AC was working when you brought it in. Tell the dealer to pull the codes as a courtesy seeing how you just spent $$$ and see what the codes are.

[gt4494]

Try. The easy stuff first. Find the AC clutch connector and hot wire it. If the clutch engages and the system cools the knocked a wire loose while working on the car.

[chittychittybangbang]

There is no AC clutch on the mk5 and newer, it uses a valve inside the compressor. Same function though and a wire could have been knocked loose. It varies output from 2 to 100% according to the tech documents.

I searched the vortex and the only reference to a replacement valve is this: http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/101472791.html for a sanden pxe16 compressor. You could also try these guys http://www.sunairusa.com/news/SandenBulletin.pdf from a quick google search. Maddurich, if you want to try this and buy it, please take some pictures and do a DIY. There's lots of people who could benefit from this. VW doesn't sell this separately but you could also try sanden.

[gt4494]

Originally Posted by chittychittybangbang

There is no AC clutch on the mk5 and newer, it uses a valve inside the compressor. Same function though and a wire could have been knocked loose.

Good info. Never knew this. Is there a low pressure switch on the mk5 systems? That is another connection that will stop the older systems from working properly.

[chittychittybangbang]

not sure but I know there's a high pressure switch.

[madducrich]

Ok, I found a place that has the control valve!!! My compressor is a sanden 1601... but it uses the same control valve as the pxe 16. Anyway, the valve cost me $63.00-- I did not take any pics during the replacement, but it is SO EASY! First, evacuate the system. Next, unplug the harness that connects to the compressor. There is a circlip where the harness plugs into the compressor. Remove the circlip, and gently pull out the control valve. Be careful to catch any compressor oil that may leak out. Install new control valve in reverse order! Go to "polarbearinc.com" to purchase the control valve! http://www.polarbearinc.com/PBPC/Hom...es.html#SD6V12

[chittychittybangbang]

so does it work?

[gt4494]

Originally Posted by chittychittybangbang

so does it work?

I can't stand the suspense.....