Aircon intermittent problem

[nknight]

Help please. Our 2009 174 Cali which we've had from new has had a problem with the manual aircon for the last two plus years. It normally but not always works for a while after you switch on the engine but then then stops. There is no fixed time for how long it works. It can be 10 or as short as 5 mins other times it can be longer like today it was the whole 1 hr 30 mins journey. Sometimes it won,t work at all. If it stops working and you stop the engine then restarting the engine will often cause it to work again. Other times after the aircon stops working it doesn''t work until the engine is started the next day. The switch light continues to show the aircon is on even when it stops working and if you turn the switch off when the aircon is working it won't work again when you press it to on even though the switch light is on. Our local VW van van dealer has tried unsuccessfully to identify and rectify the issue over the relevant period including re-gassing the system many times checking for leaks. They originally didn't believe there was a fault and just re-gassed it. Eventually they did recognise there was a fault but sent it back working only for it to stop working 5 minutes from the garage. At one point they replaced some wiring after getting a wrong voltage reading and that improved things for a while but eventually we were back to square one. Dealing with them has become immensely frustrating as often it seems they have no record of what they did before or system for tracing this kind of fault Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[ash]

Interesting, ours of the same vintage did the same in the high UK temperatures last summer. Exactly the same intermittent behaviour and hit and miss working again when engine switched on/off. It's behaving so far this summer. No idea what makes it happen. Haven't tried to get it sorted (yet).

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Help please. Our 2009 174 Cali which we've had from new has had a problem with the manual aircon for the last two plus years. It normally but not always works for a while after you switch on the engine but then then stops. There is no fixed time for how long it works. It can be 10 or as short as 5 mins other times it can be longer like today it was the whole 1 hr 30 mins journey. Sometimes it won,t work at all. If it stops working and you stop the engine then restarting the engine will often cause it to work again. Other times after the aircon stops working it doesn''t work until the engine is started the next day. The switch light continues to show the aircon is on even when it stops working and if you turn the switch off when the aircon is working it won't work again when you press it to on even though the switch light is on. Our local VW van van dealer has tried unsuccessfully to identify and rectify the issue over the relevant period including re-gassing the system many times checking for leaks. They originally didn't believe there was a fault and just re-gassed it. Eventually they did recognise there was a fault but sent it back working only for it to stop working 5 minutes from the garage. At one point they replaced some wiring after getting a wrong voltage reading and that improved things for a while but eventually we were back to square one. Dealing with them has become immensely frustrating as often it seems they have no record of what they did before or system for tracing this kind of fault Does anyone have any ideas?

Just wondering what fault codes come up if any when you plug in an OBD2 reader?

 

[Alan Andrews]

Just wondering what fault codes come up if any when you plug in an OBD2 reader?

Yes I'd be interested to see what/if system errors are recorded.

I'd assume that the VW engineer will have connected as part of their diagnostics, but they may have been reluctant to share the full detail.

Using a vcds tool you'll be able to see all error codes plus the frequency that the error occurs.

 

[nknight]

Just wondering what fault codes come up if any when you plug in an OBD2 reader?

Thanks. Its in for a service tomorrow so will press them on this.

 

[nknight]

Yes I'd be interested to see what/if system errors are recorded.

I'd assume that the VW engineer will have connected as part of their diagnostics, but they may have been reluctant to share the full detail.

Using a vcds tool you'll be able to see all error codes plus the frequency that the error occurs.

They generally haven't been clear about what they've done. I'm going to try a final time to have the problem fixed by them and this time try to extract some detail on what they've done and the results of diagnostics.

 

[Alan Andrews]

They generally haven't been clear about what they've done. I'm going to try a final time to have the problem fixed by them and this time try to extract some detail on what they've done and the results of diagnostics.

I am assuming that you are paying for the diagnostics. In which case you should be provided with a full report.
Ask for a printout of the vehicle scan/error report.

The club used to offer a vcds diagnostic tool for hire...it was around £20/week.

Loads of information online on how to perform diagnostics scans. Plus further searching online of any error codes that arise.

 

[nknight]

Update: At the service the van dealer said they couldn't provide a printout of the diagnostic results as they use a tablet. First I've heard that a tablet can't print from a printer but there you go. That aside they reported no stored faults and everything was working which I kind of expected as no faults have ever been picked up on diagnostics before (except a rogue voltage reading once (which never resolved the problem when corrected)) and because when the vehicle went in this time the aircon was seemingly working fine. As however it hadn't been working correctly just a couple of days ago I told them that if no fault could be confirmed I wanted the pressure sensor which is under the bonnet on the bulkhead where the 2 aircon pipes meet replaced, which for the manual aircon is I believe, the only relevant sensor (the other one being the temperature one behind the bumper which the garage seem certain couldn't be the cause of my problem) . I'd read on another T5 forum that replacing the pressure sensor worked for someone so for me it was the logical next step and so they replaced it at my risk! The result is the aircon is still working fine which looks hopeful as it has never previously worked correctly for any length of time since the intermittent problems started over 2 years ago and it normally packs up on the drive home from the garage anyway. I'll post again with good or bad news on the solution in a week or so.

 

[Perfectos]

I seem to remember having read a post, some time ago, discussing the air con not working correctly.
from memory the issue was the a/c did not blow cold on all occasions when cold was selected. In some instances one side blew cold the other warm.
On further investigations the fix was to replace the temperature sensors on both the passenger and drivers side.

I can’t for the life of me think where I read it, may be worth a Google search

 

[nknight]

I seem to remember having read a post, some time ago, discussing the air con not working correctly.
from memory the issue was the a/c did not blow cold on all occasions when cold was selected. In some instances one side blew cold the other warm.
On further investigations the fix was to replace the temperature sensors on both the passenger and drivers side.

I can’t for the life of me think where I read it, may be worth a Google search

Thanks, I read something similar. The T5 Cali I have has manual a/c so sensors in dash won't be relevant to isue.

 

[Perfectos]

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[nknight]

Update: Changing the pressure sensor has definitely almost sorted the intermittent issue. Have covered 750 miles in the last week including a long trip to Devon only had the problem twice and then just for very short periods which were sorted when the engine was restarted. A/C can now be turned off and works again when its switched back on during a drive. It also hassn't stopped on long journeys. . No idea why there were two occasions when it stopped or didn't start when switched on first time. I can live with it not being perfect though having had it12 years.I'll update again if it changes but fingers crossed.

 

[nknight]

T5 130 Caravelle 2004 Fans Stuck on No Air Con

Hi I have a a 2004 Caravelle with Climatronic air con and I've just finished a trip after which...

www.brick-yard.co.uk

Diagnosing A/C Problems

I'm probably going to sound stupid now but need some help diagnosing my air conditioning problems...the...

www.brick-yard.co.uk

couple more ideas

Fascinating stuff. Cheers. I'm hoping a/c will continue working most of the time now I changed the sensor.

 

[nknight]

Help please. Our 2009 174 Cali which we've had from new has had a problem with the manual aircon for the last two plus years. It normally but not always works for a while after you switch on the engine but then then stops. There is no fixed time for how long it works. It can be 10 or as short as 5 mins other times it can be longer like today it was the whole 1 hr 30 mins journey. Sometimes it won,t work at all. If it stops working and you stop the engine then restarting the engine will often cause it to work again. Other times after the aircon stops working it doesn''t work until the engine is started the next day. The switch light continues to show the aircon is on even when it stops working and if you turn the switch off when the aircon is working it won't work again when you press it to on even though the switch light is on. Our local VW van van dealer has tried unsuccessfully to identify and rectify the issue over the relevant period including re-gassing the system many times checking for leaks. They originally didn't believe there was a fault and just re-gassed it. Eventually they did recognise there was a fault but sent it back working only for it to stop working 5 minutes from the garage. At one point they replaced some wiring after getting a wrong voltage reading and that improved things for a while but eventually we were back to square one. Dealing with them has become immensely frustrating as often it seems they have no record of what they did before or system for tracing this kind of fault Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[nknight]

Delighted to say that there have been no problems at all with the a/c since I last reported. Everything works completely normally. Changing the pressure sensor despite it showing no fault on VW's fault finding equipment worked. Gratifying to solve an annoying problem a VW Van dealer was unable to solve over several years.

 

[Crasher]

Same problem here .Interesting watch on you tube with Edd China from Wheeler dealer.His t5 aircon has tested him.His was the controller in dash.Im going to replace the pressure sensor myself fingers crossed.Will resolve my issues to.Cheers for info.

 

[Crasher]

Would you be able to give me a part number to try and source the correct part please .Not having much luck with dealer.Cheers