TDI Owners, Please Read.

[mwilson]

Only starting to dive into my no A/C issue, but this I have learned...



If you have a New Beetle or Jetta TDI from '99 through at the least the '04 model year...



CHECK YOUR RADIATOR COOLING FANS.

Right now, like today.....



Easy to do... This is assuming that your A/C curently more or less is working. Also this relates to manual A/C, not automatic climate control.



Turn ignition to on, do NOT start the engine, turn heater fan on to at least speed 1 and press the A/C button.



At that point open the hood. Both fans should be turning on slow speed. If they are not or only 1 fan is running, then you have a problem starting.



This is a weak point that I just discovered and have been researching all morning.



I will do a more in detail post after I troubleshoot my issues.



Please have a look, some TDI forums suggest checking the fans at every fill-up. It is that common an issue.



Mike.

 

[GCroyle]

Mike,

I saw a sticky about this issue on tdiclub, big write up. Dang144 started it. He helped me with my Bug, him heep big VW Guru.

Very important to maintain the smoke where it's supposed to be, don't let it escape.

 

[Dl5treez]

Roger that!

 

[JLEONARD]

You said there may be a problem starting... what is that problem? We have close to 150 K on our 99. 5 and everything works I think, haven't done the test you described. A/C seems to work ok. So do the turn signals and the brakes are good.

 

[mwilson]

You said there may be a problem starting... what is that problem? We have close to 150 K on our 99. 5 and everything works I think, haven't done the test you described. A/C seems to work ok. So do the turn signals and the brakes are good.

In my case the primary (driver's side) fan motor locked up at some point. Then this spring while Seth was running Gizmo he mentioned that there was no A/C which had worked 100% last summer.



I did some extensive troubleshooting yesterday afternoon and I believe that defective motor wiped out the fan control module as soon as the A/C tried to engage for the first time this year.



These cars use a thermistor that trips out at 32 degrees so that the A/C will not engage below that temperature.

All it would take is to have the defroster on that first morning that the temperature is higher than 32 degrees. The FCM would have tried to send the low speed fan and clutch engagment signals against a fan motor that would not turn.



Easily going to top $200. 00 for parts doing things my (thrifty) way.



I can assure you that a fan test (probably can hear it without even lifting the hood once you know how it should sound) will be at the least a weekly test from now on.



I have one more test this morning to run on the A/C clutch. These little buggers are tricky as it is not a matter of simple 12V and a ground, they operate on a duty cycle with a variable voltage.



Mike.

 

[GCroyle]

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=242699&highlight=Fan



I'm working from an iPad, hope this is the link.

 

[mwilson]

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=242699&highlight=Fan



I'm working from an iPad, hope this is the link.

Yes, that is the troubleshooting tree that I used. I have to contact him as there is one test he could add to verify A/C clutch engagement that I discovered on another site.



After some heavy duty on-line shopping I located a decent quality, non-oem fan control module for $52. 00 with free shipping. Then located a Taiwan mfg. fan motor and blade unit for $48. 00 with free shipping as well. The parts stores will try to sell a universal style fan, don't bother with it. You can find one like I did that is made to fit the factory three spoke plastic bracket.



Fan control unit arrived last Thursday, plugged it in. The secondary fan engaged and the A/C compressor clutch kicked in. I mounted it in place.



Woo-Hoo!!! Cold Air!!!



I used the A/C from that point the rest of the week and weekend, just didn't let it sit and idle very long with the air on.



Yesterday the primary fan motor and blade unit showed up. I installed that last night in the driveway.



Wowzer, even colder air now. Me one happy indian.



So please check your fans, the car needs both working for the A/C to function properly and to keep the head pressure in the A/C compressor down (which extends the life of the compressor).



Mike... .

 

[mwilson]

Mike,



I saw a sticky about this issue on tdiclub, big write up. Dang144 started it. He helped me with my Bug, him heep big VW Guru.



Very important to maintain the smoke where it's supposed to be, don't let it escape.

Smoke is contained, plus new fan motor and module are pre-loaded with proper amount... .....



Mike.