Fixed AC Problem with out R-134A

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sat May 22, 2010 1:50 pm

My AC would work for a few minutes and then would go hot. When I started up, the pipe going to the condenser was hot like it should be and the line going to the compressor was cold as it should be.
No AC oil leaking out of any fittings or onto the AC clutch, low chance of any leaks.
Checked the fan in front of the condenser and it was not going.
No need to waste time hooking up the gauges.
Checked the 40A fuse, OK.
Popped the relays and bypassed with jumpers and the fan ran on both high and low speed.
Figured out which relay was bad and plugged the good one into the high speed slot.
Looked up the number on O'Reilly went to store and the R3074 was a five pin instead of four pin.
Went to AutoZone, no luck.
Went to Advance and they could not find it in their computer but the guy said he saw it before and I told him my Wife's TDI uses the same relay. He walked away from the computer and they had it hanging up on the visual parts display.
Cost $8.97 with the stiff local sales tax, plugged it in and it worked.
Took a close look at fuse/relay box by the battery and there are 4 large relays all the same and 8 small relays all the same.
Yanked the Fuel Heater Relay and put it in the console box for a spare.
Plan to pick up a spare 4 pin relay to have along.
Noticed the large relay slots have 5 slots so the 5 pin may have worked.
For those of you that do some of the DIY stuff, try the steps above if your AC quits before you go to the AC shop and make a pain full donation to the Stimulus Package.
For those of you who don't do your own work, check the simple stuff mentioned above before you go to the AC shop and make a pain full donation to the Stimulus Package.
There are good AC shops out there but a lot of them will never pass up a chance to make money.
For any Investigative Reporters who are having a dead news day, unplug the fan fuse or the relays and do a News Story Sting on the Crooked AC shops. :-)r

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat May 22, 2010 8:14 pm

warp2diesel wrote:

M
There are good AC shops out there but a lot of them will never pass up a chance to make money.
For any Investigative Reporters who are having a dead news day, unplug the fan fuse or the relays and do a News Story Sting on the Crooked AC shops. :-)r

The very 1st thing I check when doing A/C work,if the electric fan comes one,then to see if the A/C clutch is cycling.

1st thing they teach you for automotive A/C work.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sat May 22, 2010 8:51 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

warp2diesel wrote:

M
There are good AC shops out there but a lot of them will never pass up a chance to make money.
For any Investigative Reporters who are having a dead news day, unplug the fan fuse or the relays and do a News Story Sting on the Crooked AC shops. :-)r

The very 1st thing I check when doing A/C work,if the electric fan comes one,then to see if the A/C clutch is cycling.

1st thing they teach you for automotive A/C work.

X2, But some shops are too anxious to extract the 134A, clean it, put the exact amount needed with in 1/100 of a gram back in and then do the checks we mention.
Seen it way too many times.
You should be commended for doing the diagnostic job right.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat May 22, 2010 9:08 pm

warp2diesel wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

warp2diesel wrote:

M
There are good AC shops out there but a lot of them will never pass up a chance to make money.
For any Investigative Reporters who are having a dead news day, unplug the fan fuse or the relays and do a News Story Sting on the Crooked AC shops. :-)r

The very 1st thing I check when doing A/C work,if the electric fan comes one,then to see if the A/C clutch is cycling.

1st thing they teach you for automotive A/C work.

X2, But some shops are too anxious to extract the 134A, clean it, put the exact amount needed with in 1/100 of a gram back in and then do the checks we mention.
Seen it way too many times.
You should be commended for doing the diagnostic job right.

Now if all that visual stuff checks out,fan,clutch getting power(low charge it will not engage or stay engaged),and no visual damage,then yes it's time to evac the system to see how much is actually in the system.Then draw a vacuum for over 1 hours(best),and if it hold vacuum for some time then re-charge with the correct amount of R134A(and oil if required) and add .5oz of tracer dye and send the customer on there way and have them come back in a week or so for the black light to find the leak.Of course some leaks can show there self very fast at full charge even if the system held vacuum,but most times it will not.

Now after 1991 the condensers are virtually impossible to flush so if your compressor takes a dump a new compressor,receiver/dryer,orifice tube,condenser,and depending on the type of evaporator that will need to be replaced also or a special filter added to the system that will need to be replaced after a a week or so with another.So basically to do it the right way the whole system has to be replaced due to the inability to correctly flush the system,some of the lines can be saved and that's about it.It will be expensive if your compressor takes a dump and done correctly.

Can't you tell I just spent 2 days a few weeks ago in a advance A/C training?

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sat May 22, 2010 9:56 pm

Think about how many DIYers used to put 134A into an R12 system to top it off. I about $#!t when I heard that the first time. One clown jacked in 4 cans of 134A into his R12 system and could not figure out why it did not work.
Then cheapie auto parts stores had the conversion slop that would transform mineral oil into ester oil with out changing the receiver-dryer, yah right.
When I did conversions years ago, I would replace the Receiver-dryer flush out all the oil mineral oil, vacuum out for an hour then add the Ester Oil and 134A.
I would always check the electrics and drive belt first.

TDIwyse · **Joined:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:44 am **Posts:** 91

My situation kind of fits with this topic. . . It got really hot here and this is my first hot/humid summer with this vehicle. My normal route now has all kinds of construction going on. When stopped and waiting my AC has not been keeping up. Tonight I verified that the front electric fan is not running. Checked the 40A fuse and the relays. All OK. Then I tried to trace the connection to the e-fan. If the line has a connector fitting under the air box (which it appears to be) then the previous owner cut the 3 lines at the base on the connector that goes to the internal vehicle wiring . . . ugh. Any suggestions on how to fix this mess?

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue May 25, 2010 11:44 am

Try to match up the wires the best you can. I would like to put the Local Game Warden in charge of Idiots that cut wires instead of fixing it right.
There is a plug near the TCM that can make an Atheist Pray for guidance to get it unplugged. But that same plug can un clip its' self when you get anything near it like your TCM. If this plug gets loose, the AC will work erratic and the electric fan will run all the time. This may be what provoked the previous owner or his shop to cut the wires. Open up the harness cover and figure out what is screwed up.
Good Luck.

TDIwyse · **Joined:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:44 am **Posts:** 91

Thanks. Only had a few minutes tonight but did not find where the vehicle wire/loom connection is supposed to be. I'll definitely need a new connector as the wires are cut off at the base with no length to work with for reconnecting. I did put the mechanical fan back on which I've had off most of the winter. Hopefully that will help a bit . . .

Anybody got a wiring diagram that shows the loom connection where the underhood e-fan connector is supposed to go?

warp2diesel wrote:

Try to match up the wires the best you can. I would like to put the Local Game Warden in charge of Idiots that cut wires instead of fixing it right.
There is a plug near the TCM that can make an Atheist Pray for guidance to get it unplugged. But that same plug can un clip its' self when you get anything near it like your TCM. If this plug gets loose, the AC will work erratic and the electric fan will run all the time. This may be what provoked the previous owner or his shop to cut the wires. Open up the harness cover and figure out what is screwed up.
Good Luck.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue May 25, 2010 9:37 pm

TDIwyse wrote:

Thanks. Only had a few minutes tonight but did not find where the vehicle wire/loom connection is supposed to be. I'll definitely need a new connector as the wires are cut off at the base with no length to work with for reconnecting. I did put the mechanical fan back on which I've had off most of the winter. Hopefully that will help a bit . . .

Anybody got a wiring diagram that shows the loom connection where the underhood e-fan connector is supposed to go?

warp2diesel wrote:

Try to match up the wires the best you can. I would like to put the Local Game Warden in charge of Idiots that cut wires instead of fixing it right.
There is a plug near the TCM that can make an Atheist Pray for guidance to get it unplugged. But that same plug can un clip its' self when you get anything near it like your TCM. If this plug gets loose, the AC will work erratic and the electric fan will run all the time. This may be what provoked the previous owner or his shop to cut the wires. Open up the harness cover and figure out what is screwed up.
Good Luck.

I looked at mine when I was trouble shooting my electric fan problem that turned out to be a bad relay. Looks like the harness goes under the area of the air cleaner box. Since the air cleaner box is easy to pull, i would look there first.

TDIwyse · **Joined:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:44 am **Posts:** 91

Thanks.

UFO · **Posted:** Fri May 28, 2010 12:27 pm

Excellent thread. I have the same problem, I will check it out.

TDIwyse · **Joined:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:44 am **Posts:** 91

Putting the mechanical fan back in has made a huge improvement. Still haven't found the time to dive into trying to fix the electric fan issue . . .

TDIwyse · **Joined:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:44 am **Posts:** 91

Got power going to the connector and verified with volt meter. However the electric fan does not move. Looks like it's dead. Question: Do you need the e-fan if the mechanical fan is in the vehicle? Even when the mech fan isn't locked up it is still spinning and pulling quite a bit of air. And the A/C stays cool in stop-n-go traffic. I'm leaning toward not replacing the e-fan at this point . . .

UFO · **Posted:** Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:58 am

TDIwyse wrote:

Got power going to the connector and verified with volt meter. However the electric fan does not move. Looks like it's dead. Question: Do you need the e-fan if the mechanical fan is in the vehicle? Even when the mech fan isn't locked up it is still spinning and pulling quite a bit of air. And the A/C stays cool in stop-n-go traffic. I'm leaning toward not replacing the e-fan at this point . . .

I would think low RPM, low speed operation would place more dependence on the electric fan, like city stop and go. Where my Jeep has the problem.

Fixed AC Problem with out R-134A

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