A/C Compressor
#1
04-22-2012 | 04:01 PM
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1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 3
From: North Las Vegas
A/C Compressor
Wife's 99 A4 Quattro w/ 110k miles, 2.8 AHA with valve job and new alternator and battery in Oct/Nov of 2011. Wife turned A/C on yesterday (4-21-2012) while cruising home on the freeway with Vegas temperature at 105 at 2PM. NO cold air! Ouch....
Like an idiot I went and purchased 2 refrigerant cans (darn cans were $11 at W-Mart and $16 at Autozone..WOW- I believe they were 4-5 buck last year...maybe not.) thinking ...well it has not been recharged in 3 years, perhaps it is time. I was going to check the low side to see if it was under 15 lbs but after turning on the climate control to the low temperature and fan on high for 10-15 minutes I noticed that the compressor is not even turning on.
Oct and Nov of 2011 I had a valve job, timing belts throttle body replaced along with several other upper components and alternator/battery replaced. Although all work is still within warranty time frame, I really do not want to have them keep the car again as every month it is something else ever since I had the shop just do this elective work on the upper section of the engine. They freaking lost my dampers, battery compartment cover, had the fan belt fall of and because my wife said the symptom was loss of power steering they made an attempt to get her to purchase a power steering pump until I walked in there in person and set them straight..these are only a 3-4 issues I had with these .... what I now know as perhaps....crooks. Worse of all I was never given the parts that were replaced as I had requested, which really pisses me off.
I could not wait to get the car out of the shop. And I am still being haunted seemingly once a month with little issues.
Back to the subject of the compressor not kicking on at all. I am thinking that perhaps the compressor electrical connection was not hooked up, or a fuse or maybe there is some reset issue after the electrical system was interrupted. I sure hope that it might be something simple like pull connector and reconnect and insure connectivity. I swear I could go postal on these jerks. (maybe I did not get enough rest last night)
Question: What is the most common reason an A/C system in non-functioning after having major work or heck even minor work performed on an 1999 A4 Quattro, 2.8 AHA 6 Cylinder? What might a mechanic miss or foul up when doing electrical or major work on an engine, that would keep the A/C from kicking on?
[Really do not want to take the car back if I can avoid it. I have multimeter, the manual on my wife's car am a jack of many trade. But I am not an expert.] Any experienced suggestions and/or opinions would be just great.
I would like to thank anyone for these suggestions and any help in advance.
I probably have included more information than needed but I hope that I have at least included the minimal information required. I am heading out to check fuses and connections. I will re-seat the connection to the compressor. The A/C worked great through the 2009, 2010 and 2011 summers with temps up into the 110s and 115s.
My name is Israel and again I thank you for any help you might offer.
God Bless
Like an idiot I went and purchased 2 refrigerant cans (darn cans were $11 at W-Mart and $16 at Autozone..WOW- I believe they were 4-5 buck last year...maybe not.) thinking ...well it has not been recharged in 3 years, perhaps it is time. I was going to check the low side to see if it was under 15 lbs but after turning on the climate control to the low temperature and fan on high for 10-15 minutes I noticed that the compressor is not even turning on.
Oct and Nov of 2011 I had a valve job, timing belts throttle body replaced along with several other upper components and alternator/battery replaced. Although all work is still within warranty time frame, I really do not want to have them keep the car again as every month it is something else ever since I had the shop just do this elective work on the upper section of the engine. They freaking lost my dampers, battery compartment cover, had the fan belt fall of and because my wife said the symptom was loss of power steering they made an attempt to get her to purchase a power steering pump until I walked in there in person and set them straight..these are only a 3-4 issues I had with these .... what I now know as perhaps....crooks. Worse of all I was never given the parts that were replaced as I had requested, which really pisses me off.
I could not wait to get the car out of the shop. And I am still being haunted seemingly once a month with little issues.
Back to the subject of the compressor not kicking on at all. I am thinking that perhaps the compressor electrical connection was not hooked up, or a fuse or maybe there is some reset issue after the electrical system was interrupted. I sure hope that it might be something simple like pull connector and reconnect and insure connectivity. I swear I could go postal on these jerks. (maybe I did not get enough rest last night)
Question: What is the most common reason an A/C system in non-functioning after having major work or heck even minor work performed on an 1999 A4 Quattro, 2.8 AHA 6 Cylinder? What might a mechanic miss or foul up when doing electrical or major work on an engine, that would keep the A/C from kicking on?
[Really do not want to take the car back if I can avoid it. I have multimeter, the manual on my wife's car am a jack of many trade. But I am not an expert.] Any experienced suggestions and/or opinions would be just great.
I would like to thank anyone for these suggestions and any help in advance.
I probably have included more information than needed but I hope that I have at least included the minimal information required. I am heading out to check fuses and connections. I will re-seat the connection to the compressor. The A/C worked great through the 2009, 2010 and 2011 summers with temps up into the 110s and 115s.
My name is Israel and again I thank you for any help you might offer.
God Bless
#2
04-22-2012 | 06:55 PM
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 3
From: North Las Vegas
Troubleshooting
No reply's.
Well after checking out the fuse panel, issue is not there- all is well..no blown fuses.
I did read up on AC troubleshooting.
If the freon is very low, the low-refrigerant shut-off activates and the compressor will fail to even function.
I will run a jumper from the compressor to the positive on battery and eventually jump it. If it kicks on then I will attach the low side gauge and attempt to see if low and recharge if necessary.
Hope this is the issue. Perhaps a slow leak has now locked the compressor out and it needs freon.
I hope.
If I should stop now, please let me know.
I will check back later and see if I should get reply's telling me otherwise.
Well after checking out the fuse panel, issue is not there- all is well..no blown fuses.
I did read up on AC troubleshooting.
If the freon is very low, the low-refrigerant shut-off activates and the compressor will fail to even function.
I will run a jumper from the compressor to the positive on battery and eventually jump it. If it kicks on then I will attach the low side gauge and attempt to see if low and recharge if necessary.
Hope this is the issue. Perhaps a slow leak has now locked the compressor out and it needs freon.
I hope.
If I should stop now, please let me know.
I will check back later and see if I should get reply's telling me otherwise.
#3
04-23-2012 | 06:29 PM
Former Sponsor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 511
From: Beaverton Oregon
I would look at the pressure switches in the system. My diagram which has a vin split in 99 does show low and high pressure switches in their respective lines. See if a connector is removed, which in turn wouldn't allow the compressor to operate. And if you jump the compressor with that switch unplugged you could cause damage to the system by over pressurizing the lines.
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