Climate Issues

[Eric Astle]

I am new to Audi ownership and have a fault with the air conditioning on my 2002 S3 which I hope somebody may be able to assist me with? Essentially it is not blowing cold and I have done the following so far:

• Checked pressure at air con filling point = reading zero psi
• Re-gassed system correctly = now reading a stable 40psi (no drop in pressure to indicate a leak)
• Noticed that neither fan kicks in when a/c set to auto (econ off)
• Checked green fuses and carriers on top of battery = all ok

I then proceeded to remove fuse 16 (10A) from the circuit board located at the end of the dashboard on the drivers side. I wanted to see whether this fuse was intact as it is listed as being for the water pump and magnetic clutch. Upon removing this fuse (it is intact) both fans immediately kicked in. I checked the temperature of the air which was still blowing through the vents in the vehicle and it still isn't blowing cold. The fans run constantly until the fuse is re-inserted and at which point they immediately stop.

I am a bit puzzled as to how the fans will not operate with the fuse in situ but will operate with the fuse removed! I have searched the forum and tried to glean information from other online resources though have drawn a blank. Before I take the car off to be diagnosed properly by a technician I thought it was worth raising it as an issue here to see if anyone can offer any further information or advise on what I may check next.

Eric

 

[Eric Astle]

I am new to Audi ownership and have a fault with the air conditioning on my 2002 S3 which I hope somebody may be able to assist me with? Essentially it is not blowing cold and I have done the following so far:

• Checked pressure at air con filling point = reading zero psi
• Re-gassed system correctly = now reading a stable 40psi (no drop in pressure to indicate a leak)
• Noticed that neither fan kicks in when a/c set to auto (econ off)
• Checked green fuses and carriers on top of battery = all ok

I then proceeded to remove fuse 16 (10A) from the circuit board located at the end of the dashboard on the drivers side. I wanted to see whether this fuse was intact as it is listed as being for the water pump and magnetic clutch. Upon removing this fuse (it is intact) both fans immediately kicked in. I checked the temperature of the air which was still blowing through the vents in the vehicle and it still isn't blowing cold. The fans run constantly until the fuse is re-inserted and at which point they immediately stop.

I am a bit puzzled as to how the fans will not operate with the fuse in situ but will operate with the fuse removed! I have searched the forum and tried to glean information from other online resources though have drawn a blank. Before I take the car off to be diagnosed properly by a technician I thought it was worth raising it as an issue here to see if anyone can offer any further information or advise on what I may check next.

Eric

Looks like I've stumped you all..! Not surprised really as it appears to be an odd situation. Off to the techs with my wallet then

 

[Grant-s3]

Have you plugged in an OBD to see if any fault codes flag up. It may be holding pressure but the air con condenser could be nakered, causing air to blow out but not cold air.

 

[Grant-s3]

Also did you do the re-gas yourself or a garage? If so did the correct amount of gas go back in ? I work in a body shop and many people just fire in any old amount, not to spec and its never freezing cold due to lack of gas.

 

[Eric Astle]

Hi Grant, many thanks for the reply. Yes I forgot to mention in my first post that I did check the DTC's via a basic OBD Checker and it returned error codes 16955 and 18057 which I understand both relate to the braking system so probably not connected to this problem. I should add that the car doesn't overheat either, even though the fans appear to be inoperative, which given the current weather conditions is also a surprise to me. The needle sits on the midpoint of the gauge at around 91/92 degrees.

I did do the re-gas myself and to be honest I have no idea whether the correct amount of gas went back in. I simply checked the pressure before re-filling and it read zero psi. I then proceeded to fill it following the instructions on the can and when the gauge read 40 psi (being the top of the normal pressure zone according to the instructions) I stopped filling.

I guess the condenser could well be knackered as you've suggested. Would that prevent the fans from operating though with the fuse in situ? Pulling the fuse out immediately kicks in the fans which would suggest some kind of short circuit to me but I have no idea to be fair.

 

[Eric Astle]

Just posting a brief update to my climate issues. It's been in to the garage and they've narrowed it down to the compressor switch or the compressor itself. Apparently they're unable to determine which of the two it is so given that the switch is the cheaper of the two parts I've opted to have that replaced first. The part is on back order with the trade part supplier so I'll have to cook for a bit longer yet. I'll return and post what ultimately fixes my issue in due course in the hope that it helps someone else in the future.