I took my 2013 A3 to Tesco the other day, and noticed that the air con wasn't blowing cold at all. It was probably the first day of the year that I was in the car and it was warm enough to notice, so it might have been a gradual thing. The red light in the switch is coming on, and I hear something moving through the pipes when the air con is on - louder than normal I think - so it's not totally out of gas.
I plugged in VCDS once I got home, but I don't really know what I' m looking for. No fault codes. With air con off but engine running, refrigerant pressure was 3.8 bar, temperature after evaporator 21.6 degrees. Switching the air con on, refrigerant pressure went up to 6.0 bar and the temperature after the evaporator went up to 25.6 degrees.
I suspect/hope it just needs a regas (it hasn't been done yet, and it's 6 1/2 years old), but is there anything else it could be? Is there any definitive test I can do with VCDS?
I know it's the mass of refrigerant that matters more than the pressure. My theory is that if the condensed liquid refrigerant has got low enough, then it might be sending gas through to the evaporator and not liquid, hence being a bit noisier and getting warmer not colder... That's just a total guess, though, and I've never diagnosed or worked on air con.
I'm not going to be able to get it regassed until lockdown is over anyway, so I can't just try that yet!
Thanks in advance for any info!
I plugged in VCDS once I got home, but I don't really know what I' m looking for. No fault codes. With air con off but engine running, refrigerant pressure was 3.8 bar, temperature after evaporator 21.6 degrees. Switching the air con on, refrigerant pressure went up to 6.0 bar and the temperature after the evaporator went up to 25.6 degrees.
I suspect/hope it just needs a regas (it hasn't been done yet, and it's 6 1/2 years old), but is there anything else it could be? Is there any definitive test I can do with VCDS?
I know it's the mass of refrigerant that matters more than the pressure. My theory is that if the condensed liquid refrigerant has got low enough, then it might be sending gas through to the evaporator and not liquid, hence being a bit noisier and getting warmer not colder... That's just a total guess, though, and I've never diagnosed or worked on air con.
I'm not going to be able to get it regassed until lockdown is over anyway, so I can't just try that yet!
Thanks in advance for any info!
