First time use of VAG-COM- a few thoughts and questions....

Pompeydave

Pompeydave

A2OC Donor
Hi all,

I recieved my Vag-Com terminal yesterday, and plugged it in for the first time today to see what came up. It's instantly repaid it's cost with the single engine code that came up, 17664, which is a failed engine temperature sensor (g62).

This explains why the car has intermittently has been revving it's nuts off from cold startup. Anyway, £2.50 later and a replacement is on it's way from fleabay.

The other sections of the menu returned the following info:

A/T: LINKING ERROR

SRS: NO CODES

ABS: NO CODES

Am I right in thinking that A/T is for Auto Transmissions, hence the 'LINKING ERROR' message on my manual A2?

The ABS fault code sequence is obviously working as the ABS lights come and go off again when it's going through it's paces.

My main problem however is with the climate. When I bought the car the previous owner told me that she'd had the climate looked at by South West Audi in Exeter and that it would cost "over £1000 to fix."

I have very little if no cold air comng out, but no error codes on the handheld. Would I expect to see any codes if there is a genuine fault with the climate control? I'm just wondering whether all it needs is a simple re-gas?
 
Normally with the climate if there is a stuck flap, you'd see an error code.
I wonder if your compressor has seized?
Might be worth getting it regassed and seeing what happens.
 
Ah, interesting. Cheers Dan! Did a quick search and found Mike's compressor pulley check description:

"Looking down into the engine on the drivers side, you'll see the auxillary belt - it runs around the alternator pully at the top and drops down by the intercooler.
The next pully it goes around at the bottom front is the climate compressor.
Put your hand down there and grasp the raised centre portion of the pully - NOT the grooved pulley itself. Try to turn it either forwards or backwards.
If the centre of the pulley moves or spins whilst the outer is static, then the compressor is toast."

Just went out and tried it and get about 5mm movement either way. I couldn't be that lucky could I?

Off to get it regassed. Will report back with findings...
 
Pompeydave said:
Anyway, £2.50 later and a replacement is on it's way from fleabay.
Click to expand...

Is this a genuine Audi part? Other members have had issues with 3rd party replacements and have wished they just bought a genuine part in the first place.

Cheers,

Tom
 
If it's just a system leak and it needs re-gassing, the only question then is why did it leak and where - when you get it regassed, ask them to put in the UV-leak detection dye into the mixture - that way if it does leak again you can inspect the engine bay under UV light and you'll get to see where the gas leaks from - then you can work out a fix...
 
Ok, back from my local and very professional aircon specialist and I'm not that lucky after all :(

In short, I need:

Condensor (holed)- £69 (ebay, new)
Drier (blocked)- have been advised not to buy the drier secondhand as they're apparently nearly always blocked- £49 (ebay,new)
Drier to Compressor hose (holed)- £50 roughly (ebay s/h)
Fan Ballaster u/s- can't find any quotes for this anywhere.
2 x radiator mounting clips- they're missing apparently
Regas.

Looks like £200 odd quid if I do it myself + the regas. Could have been worse- they wanted £681 + vat to do the whole lot....

Anyone know what the 'fan ballaster' is?
 
timmus said:
Is this a genuine Audi part? Other members have had issues with 3rd party replacements and have wished they just bought a genuine part in the first place.

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...

Hmm, not sure. Would imagine non-genuine for that price. Will wait to see what turns up...
 
wow, £49 for a drier/desiccator from ebay! I bought an aftermarket one for my 911 and it was only £20 from a reputable porsche parts dealer. For that money, I'd drop a mail to Stoke Audi parts or call you local VW/Audi parts department. If the hose is £50 used from ebay, I'd also be asking how much for a new OE part. I suspect it won't be far off. The condenser itself though, will be a fair bit more than £70 from audi.

If the compressor is fine, the vacuum check should get 3 'clicks' as there are 3 valves that'll pop. This is a good sign for the internals of the condenser as I saw my local air con guy did a service after I replaced my condenser. The spinning centre of the pulley is the magnetic engagement failing, which could be repaired if you take it apart (but I've not done this myself).
 
Cheers for the replies guys. I've ordered a new condensor and drier, but the drier to Compressor hose is proving difficult to source via a net search. Might have to try Stoke Audi as it seems the are good for A2 bits?

Does anyone know what the 'fan ballister' is? That's exactly how it's spelt on the card the diagnostic guy gave me. Does he mean 'ballaster'? If so, is this like a strip light ballast, or something completely different? Can't find any reference to it or part number anywhere so I'm stumped on that one at the moment....
 
Hi dave i would say the ballaster is the fan control box---weather that is the interior fan or the radiator cooling fan i dont know. We have had the radiator fan box "go" on vonnies---with engine running(even cold)with aircon "on" is the fan running on the back of the radiator? as it should run all the time with the aircon turned on. tThere are a few of these boxes on ebay. They are located on the back of the radiator-large alloy casting with two conectors on the top. Its dead easy to swap.
If its the interior fan ballast that has gone i have no idea where that is located--but if you have a working fan i would say that its fine.

really hope that makes sence and is of some help mike
 
Thanks Mike. I think it must be the fan that sits behind the radiator as the interior fan is fine. I'll have a look to see if the rad fan is running with a/c switched on.

If and when I get hold of the drier to condensor hose, is there anything out of the ordinary I have to when connecting it all together, e.g. Sealant required between joints or high torque settings? I ask as I'm sure a good seal is vital at all points..
 
Quick question, did your temperature sensor sender unit arrive from ebay yet and have you had an opportunity to fir it? I've also just ordered one, looks reasonably straight forward enough to change. Am hoping that the cheapy doesn't throw up any problems as someone else suggested they might. Thing is, I looked at the more expensive ones and saw they had less warranty on them and they looked identical. Also, how "bad" can a basic resistor be?!
 
Yep, I fitted the new temp sensor just this afternoon. The hardest part was getting the wiring connector off the duff sensor. In the end I had to turn the whole lot through about 90 degrees until I could get a screwdriver into it to lever the connector off the sensor.

The clip holding the sensor in place is then levered off downwards, and then the sensor itself just pulls out, but beware- the clip is black and very hard to see as the housing the sensor pushes into is also black!

I lost about a half a pint of coolant.

It's a bit tricky to get the new sensor to go in far enough to fit the new holding clip, but I got there eventually. I refitted the wiring connector and that was it.

Started her up- nice gentle idle, normal steady temperature rise and no leaks. Also cleared the fault code out and re-scanned it. Fault code no longer present. Result, hopefully!

By the way, the sensor was identical to the OE one I pulled out. As you say it's resistor- nothing fancy, so I'm hoping it's going to be ok....
 
Thanks for the info, I'll see what happens when mine arrives. When looking yesterday at the currently installed one, I didn't even see a clip(!) so thanks for the heads-up.
 
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