Climate - Stuck on Econ

A

anty

Registered User
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
Messages
66
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Hi

My A3 is 3 years old now and the aircon started going smelly so I decided to get it re-gassed and have an aircon service.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the "ECON" button sometimes will jump on automatically and stay on. I tried pressing it again to turn it off but it just stays on, the only way to turn it off is to turn off the engine and restart. It's an intermittant problem though as it doesn't jump on all the time and it is starting to drive me nuts !

Anyone have any ideas as to why ?

ps. Aircon even on 18c sucks !
 
The ECON lighting may indicative of the compressor going off. I'd start by checking that first.
 
sorry to be dim, but how do i check whether the compressor is off ?

and :p at MarcQuinlivan
 
With the ECON light off ,i.e. when the aircon is working, feel the compressor with your hand. You will feel it running and aircon pipes will be cold. Then repeat 5 minutes or so after the ECON light comes on. If the compressor isn't running at that point you need to check it has power.....
Just use a logical diagnostic approach.
 
Twizzler said:
With the ECON light off ,i.e. when the aircon is working, feel the compressor with your hand. You will feel it running and aircon pipes will be cold. Then repeat 5 minutes or so after the ECON light comes on. If the compressor isn't running at that point you need to check it has power.....
Just use a logical diagnostic approach.
Click to expand...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but if econ button constantly on this indicates a fault, I had this problem with the A4 and had to have a new compressor (under warranty).

Get it into the dealers it may be something as simple as a fuse hopefully .

Spin
 
:O i just passed my 3 years warranty - sigh, it is not constant though, it comes on intermittently and when it does, it doesn't go off. It was a ****** on Saturday since it was such hot weather !
 
Spin140 said:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but if econ button constantly on this indicates a fault, I had this problem with the A4 and had to have a new compressor (under warranty).

Get it into the dealers it may be something as simple as a fuse hopefully .

Spin
Click to expand...

LOL Well spotted! That's why a logical fault diagnosis procedure is needed........
 
anty said:
:O i just passed my 3 years warranty - sigh, it is not constant though, it comes on intermittently and when it does, it doesn't go off. It was a ****** on Saturday since it was such hot weather !
Click to expand...

Don't let that stop you.
Your rights don't stop the second your car becomes 3 years old.
Provided it's been serviced properly etc.etc., I'd be pushing for Audi to replace the compressor (assuming that's what it is).
Even if they refuse to replace it FOC, you might strike a deal.
Do not just give up and accept you are 100% liable for the entire cost.
Good luck.:salute:
 
bowfer said:
Don't let that stop you.
Your rights don't stop the second your car becomes 3 years old.
Provided it's been serviced properly etc.etc., I'd be pushing for Audi to replace the compressor (assuming that's what it is).
Even if they refuse to replace it FOC, you might strike a deal.
Do not just give up and accept you are 100% liable for the entire cost.
Good luck.:salute:
Click to expand...

Agreed. Audi tried to bill me £850 for the A4 as a 'foreign body' had punctured the compressor, I complained to the service manager, it was reduced to 50% each, I complained to the dealer principle and they fixed it FOC.

Be direct but polite and they may be sympathetic.

PS

Thanks for the sarcasm twizzler :)
 
Did the A/C work ok before the service ?
 
The fault is most likely to be an undercharged system if the light is intermittent.
 
sorry for the late reply...long weekend blah blah blah

The problem only started after having it re-gassed. Basically, the aircon started to smell like dead must especially in the hotter weather we are experiencing nowadays so i thought i'll get it regassed (this was about a month ago and the car is 3 yrs old and never had an aircon service). Anyway, since then, when the aircon has to work that little bit extra harder, it would jump to "econ" mode and won't turn back off unless i restart the car.

I tried to take the car into audi on saturday but did not realise they only did half days, so gave up. I might try to take it in sometime this week.

ps. the air con service was done at kwit fit :( (stupid stupid i know)
 
Definately sounds like Kwik fit have made a boo boo somewhere.

Could either be under or over charged
The pressure switch monitors this and will switch the system on and off accordingly
 
If it was over charged (more likely than undercharged as the system was fine) can they just "extract" whatever they did to a normal state ?

I'll give them a call later and see what they say (lie...whatever)
 
audi upgrades
Depends on what machine they use, some modern A/C stations are almost fully automated and can only do a full de-gas.

Would be better for them to fully evacuate the system and re-gas with the correct amount of refrigarant. Im not sure what the charge weight is but i know its detailed on a label that is fixed onto the rear underside of the bonnet.
 
anty said:
If it was over charged (more likely than undercharged as the system was fine) can they just "extract" whatever they did to a normal state ?

I'll give them a call later and see what they say (lie...whatever)
Click to expand...

They will need to do a full recovery because they won't know how much is in there to be able to correct it. Plus if you're going to claim that they're at fault by over or under charging the system they will need to be sure of that before they do the work for free.

I just had a look at my car and it takes 525g +or- 25g of refrigerant. Do you have reciept with details on? A decent ECS specialist will put on your reciept how much he has recovered and put into to a system on the reciept.
 
I wonder if they have charged the car using the gas weights for an 8L A3 ?

That would explain the overcharge because the Autodata info says that the 8L 1.9tdi takes 750-800g.
 
What has the 8L got to do with anything? You have an 8P yes? Sorry, I'm confused there.
 
A lot of modern A/C stations are fully automatic so all you have to do is connect the high and low pressure hoses select the vehicle from a database and hit the go button. It then goes through the evac, vacuum and fill cycle on its own.

If they have selected the wrong variant A3 from the database it will put the wrong gas weight in.
 
Thanks again all <3 !

Anyway, by the time i got home, stupid kwik fitters was closed so i googled the problem. I couldn't really find anything to do with VAG cars but there was some american forums with similer problems for their buicks lol !

Anyway, 1 tip was to disconnect the battery to reset the "brain" of the car. I armed myself with the knowledge of what to expect when you disconnect/reconnect the car battery.

I disconnected the battery for 15mins and then reconnected and did the usual safety precautions and re-synced all the relevant stuff. I then took the car for a quick spin with air con on full blast and low and behold ! econ stayed off !!! w00t w00t !!! I won't know for sure as the drive was short 5mins and i won't be doing a long commute will the weekend so hopefully this has fixed itself now !

Thanks again for the help so far and i shall report back after the longer drive :D
 
Felix A3 said:
A lot of modern A/C stations are fully automatic so all you have to do is connect the high and low pressure hoses select the vehicle from a database and hit the go button. It then goes through the evac, vacuum and fill cycle on its own.

If they have selected the wrong variant A3 from the database it will put the wrong gas weight in.
Click to expand...

Oh I see yes.

Ok anty glad it's sorted. I hope it stays that way also!
 
Thats g0od news anty !

Wish all climate problems were that easy to cure :thumbsup:
 
I went to kwik fit today and had a lot of bother!

Went to one branch to get the regasing done - original temp was 7.37 degrees and he hoped for around 5 degrees

came back an hour later and was going fine until he got out the car and said... "no charge" I asked why and said that it didnt go down - strange!

he didnt give me any reciepts or to say if the temp was the same or warmer

anyway my mate and i headed up the road and the car was ROASTING!! we had the windows right down and then the ECON light came on. turned the car off and it was fine, then headed to another kwik fit and the ECON light came on again

Complained to them and all the guy did was reconnect the air con gasser, checked the pressure (which was fine), refitted the screws and the temp was down to 4.9 degrees!

I was happy enough and after a small chat I didnt have to pay a penny

sorted now but going to see if the ECON light comes on again
 
moral to story - never trust the kwik fitters :(

if only audi did not want £200 just for the air con service !

i'll let you know how i get on with my "econ" light after a much longer stint in driving.

good luck mate !
 
The econ light jumped on last night after being fine all weekend !!!

Anyway, went back to kwik fit and had a word with the guy there and he assured me that all their systems are automatic and they don't touch any of the electronics in the system blah blah blah bullsh*t. I asked him whether it could be over or undercharged and he was getting quite rude and condescending and said its all automatic etcetc. I had my kid with me there so I didn't want to kick up a fuss so i just left it there.

Took it into Audi this morning and had it diagnosed and fixed.

Problem was, the system was overcharged by quite a bit hence the compressor shutting down to save itself or something like that. It cost me £158 so I will now be writing to Kwik Fits head office complaining about that particular branch and staff and demand a refund.

Never will I step foot in Kwik Fit again, bunch of monkeys >: |
 
Jeez. Their system is automatic but it a warning light is coming on then there's obviously something wrong, ie over or under charged!

You have a good case so complain complain complain!
 
Thought this may be the case. Its not un-common for someone to input the wrong vehicle details on the fully auto machines.

IMO you cant beat the traditional method of gauges, botte of refrigirant and weighing scales.
 
Kwik Fit is always a no no for anything, they are famous for being ***** & it amazes me how they are able to make so much money with such bad service, I'm sure they are not all bad but they do make some fairly bad mistakes, I only if absolutely neccessary pay them to use there ramp once or twice to change my oil which I do not them.

But aircon screw ups like that is pretty damn bad, 100% compalin mate cause problem is as with alot of industries alot of tools are automatic, alot of users dont really understand how they work, they just know to press buttons here & there & hope for the best, when the auto part fails they are lost.
 
Finally have this sorted, took its time but eventually I got a call from the Op Manager whom said that the aircon regassing system they use should all be automatic, it should be able to tell whether it's been over or under charge etcetc but was interested to know why mine failed. He asked me to scan in Audis diagnosis and once he got that, I received a cheque for the Audi work.

To be fair to them, once the Op guy started to work on it, he was apologetic and was willing to help. He did say this was the 4th incident he was aware.

Just glad I have this episode past me now and my aircon back to normal ! But I still think beware just incase.
 
Picked my A3 up today after the stealers having it nearly three weeks (had the machatronic unit replaced - DSG) they told me about some other faults.
1. Intake manifold flap faulty - I know about this going to replace myself
2 ECON light on

Had a big discussion with the girls on service that the ECON fault was not there when I took the car in. She said you can leave the car with us and we will check it out in the morning. I declined and said I will see if it goes of and said I will bring in back in the morning or Saturday - I made sure she made a note of the discussion.

I started the car no ECON light on drove 1/2 mile slow traffic and the ECON light came on, I stopped the car turned off the engine, restarted and it stayed off, then drove 30mins home (open roads) with aircon on LO and auto, by the time I got home I was freezing (obviously the aircon was working) I then parked in the drive and turned the aircon up to HI it was then like a sauna, then turned it back down to LO and after a min or so the ECON light came on.
Think its something to do with the fans not cooling the condenser when stationary as when you drive along the flowing air cools the condenser

I have the following faults in vagcom
Address 01: Engine
Control Module Part Number: 03G 906 016 AT
Component and/or Version: R4 2,0L EDC G000AG 5689
Software Coding: 0000078
Work Shop Code: WSC 66565
2 Faults Found:

17075 - Fan 1 Control Circuit: Short to GND
P0691 - 000 - -
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 798 /min
Torque: 32.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Load: 0.0 %
Voltage: 14.21 V
Bin. Bits: 00101100
Temperature: 90.0°C
Duty Cycle: 9.6 %

19558 - Motor for Intake Manifold Flap (V157): No Signal
P3102 - 000 - -
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 0 /min
Torque: 0.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Load: 0.0 %
Voltage: 12.16 V
Bin. Bits: 00101100
Torque: 0.0 Nm
Torque: 92.0 Nm

I believe these faults are related and just waiting a response from rosstech.
Can anyone shed any light
 
Don't know why I didn't look before but Ive found a blown fuse

Fuse 8 Actuators/sensors (engine compartment), radiator fan, main relay for ignition coil

Not sure what caused it to blow but it seemed to be causing the three problems I have.
1. The condenser radiator fans not working
2. Intake manifold fault which is an actuator/sensor
3. ECON light is not coming on when vehicle is stationary - as the fans are now running.

Going to keep an eye on the fans, and keep scanning for faults
 
did you have the check engine light on when you were getting the intake manifold motor fault?
 
mattandrew said:
Fuse 8 Actuators/sensors (engine compartment), radiator fan, main relay for ignition coil
Click to expand...

i just checked the same fuse and mine was blown too! replaced it and all seems fime now, hmmm strange :shrug:
 
I have replaced the fuse a few times, it seems to be the intake manifold flap jamming which causes the problem. Mines ok at the minute, once the warmer weather is back it may blow more often and I will then have to replace the intake manifolf flap
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mattss3
S3 stuck in 'ECON' mode
Replies
12
Views
1K
Aqib
A
S
econ light on
Replies
4
Views
1K
Andy021
Andy021
R
another econ light on
Replies
3
Views
508
Rhosj
R
pazaz
ECON & AUTO on together??
Replies
15
Views
1K
jfow
J
L
Econ button Staying on !!! Help !!!
Replies
6
Views
1K
JPK
J
Top
Back