[Az-DaisEy]

Ok, I need some help! My air quit a few months ago and am not sure what to do. Had it checked by a garage and they told me the compressor is shot and they wanted $750 to fix it. That was in Florida. We have since moved to Arizona. I have had two different mechanics look at it and the both said the same thing. The compressor is engaging, both fans are working, just needs freon....... Huh? So, I'm thinking I will try the freon fill myself, buy the kit with the gauges. I've read that it is dangerous, then I've read that it is a piece of cake! Help! Don't know what to do. If the compressor is engaging, the fans are both working, is there another way to find out if it is the compressor? It blows warm air..... Not a good thing in Arizona! Would appreciate any advice I can get... thanks, in advance

 

[Jeff2]

Ok, I need some help! My air quit a few months ago and am not sure what to do. Had it checked by a garage and they told me the compressor is shot and they wanted $750 to fix it. That was in Florida. We have since moved to Arizona. I have had two different mechanics look at it and the both said the same thing. The compressor is engaging, both fans are working, just needs freon....... Huh? So, I'm thinking I will try the freon fill myself, buy the kit with the gauges. I've read that it is dangerous, then I've read that it is a piece of cake! Help! Don't know what to do. If the compressor is engaging, the fans are both working, is there another way to find out if it is the compressor? It blows warm air..... Not a good thing in Arizona! Would appreciate any advice I can get... thanks, in advance

If it needs refrigerant, it is likely to have a leak somewhere. Recharging it yourself may therefore be only a temporary fix. It can also be a bit tricky to know when to stop adding refrigerant, especially with one of the "kits" that only has one gauge (the one on the hose going to the can of refrigerant).

Buyer beware, your mileage may vary, and etc.

 

[Az-DaisEy]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the lever under the dash, it works like a charm, moves nicely. She does blow foam out thru the vents. With the car running, when I switch on the ac, you can hear the change.... Like something is kicking in.. Hopefully, that is the compressor?? As far as the foam is concerned... Do I have to replace this foam on the door in order to have air conditioning? I'm in Arizona and really don't need the heater. Here's hoping itis just freon? Husband has Parkinson's and so, I will be doing this myself. Even though I am a girl, I love working on my car. My father and brother owned a bump shop back in the day... Was always there, right in the middle of it all! Would appreciate any help I can get on my baby!

 

[dnyed]

Mine was not cold very recently, so I set aside several hundred dollars to get it fixed. I took it in, to my independant VW gurus, and it was just a fuse, acoording to them. I left, with cold AC, and most of my money.


Hope yours is somewhat the same. Good luck!

 

[Az-DaisEy]

Lucky you! As far as I can tell the fuses on top of the battery look fine, no burn marks. Maybe still could be the problem? Don't know... Thoughts?.... Anyone

 

[turboturbo]

Did you actually take the fuse out and look at the blade terminals? Ours looked fine, no melting, fuse was good, but the blades were black with arcing corrosion. Sanded corrosion off, coated with dilectric grease, working AC ;-)

 

[Az-DaisEy]

Yes, I took them out. No black at all. Just looked a little brown. Scraped it off.... No difference

 

[mike03]

foam?

Daisy...Foam? Small black pieces that blow out? Is that right?

They are off a flap door and its part of the gasket around it.
I think its easier to live with than fix.

As for the A/C, yes I would try to charge the system, per the instructions in the kit. Go to internet and ask how to charge it. It could last a long time on a small leak.

 

[Az-DaisEy]

Believe me... I don't want to take my dash apart. It is around 100 degrees outside ane I have no garage

Do I have to replace the foam in order to have cold air? If the system needs to be recharged, and I do that, will I then have a/c even though I didn't replace the foam? Help!

 

[Az-DaisEy]

Oh, yes, it is kinda gray colored foam....

 

[xntrik]

There will be two aluminum lines running through your firewall from the engine bay that go to your evaporator in your dash, they'll trace back your compressor and condenser.

Run your car, turn on the AC, make SURE your compressor is engaging FULLY. Feel those lines, one should be freezing cold, the other should be warmer. If they're both warm/hot, you need a charge. If one's cold, the other's warm, and your still not getting cool air from the vents, you have a problem in the blend door.

(and make sure your grabbing the AC lines and not your heater core lines, which are usually black rubber hoses.

I'd just buy some canned Freon at wally world that has a UV leak detector in it, pump some in until you feel cold air (or cold on one of the aforementioned lines) and stop. Go about your business, and check periodically near any fittings for the UV green dye that's in the leak detector Freon.

When you found your leak, fix it.

The old lady's 99 had a slow leak from "SOMEWHERE", and I did exactly this. My leak was at a fitting on one of the condenser lines on the lower driver side. Upon taking the fitting there apart, it was obvious the o-ring had just gotten old/deformed. The PO had pumped TONS of Freon with "sealer" in it, that only crusted at that bad o-ring and made the leak worse. I cleaned the area thoroughly, slapped in a new o-ring, took it to the garage, vac tested etc, and charged it up. FREEZING cold now.

If you're doing this at home without a professional recharge machine, DO NOT forget to put vacuum to the system BEFORE you charge it up. You can rent vac testers at Autozone. This will tell you if you still have another leak BEFORE you waste the 134a on charging it back up. Put Vac on it down to like -30 and let it sit for at least 15 minutes to ensure no leaks.

ALSO, don't forget to inject some oil in the system as well, sure fire way to destroy your compressor if you don't. Even if you don't think you've lost any oil, injecting one OZ into the system won't hurt it, and will give you piece of mind that there's at least something in it.

Also, do NOT replace any O-rings without lubing them up with PAG oil first, that's asking for trouble. and for petes sake, only use HNBR or otherwise AC O-rings.

good luck.

 

[Az-DaisEy]

Thank you so much!! Best advice! I will check it out. I think that what I am going to do is take it to a garage and have it charged, if that is what the outcome is. I'm hoping for it having a leak. I can't imagine what someone is going to charge me to tear into that dash!
Again, thanks much!

 

[Az-DaisEy]

By running the car, do you mean drive it down the road. I know I sound stupid, but this is all new to me, but want to learn.
I went out and looked under the hood..... on the passenger side of the engine there are what I think, two small pipes. Both are warm. But all I did was let the car idle for a bit, and turn the air on to #4. There are two larger pipes coming from the firewall on the drivers side. these are alittle more difficult to get to. Which ones are you talking about? Thanks for the help...

 

[xntrik]

Not a problem at all. I applaud you wanting to learn! I'll do my best here, hopefully some others will chime in as well.

Just went out and looked on my wife's 99 2.0. You'll probably have to remove the black plastic engine cover to get to the lines. Should only be 4 10mm nuts to remove it. I believe you also have to take out the oil dipstick to take it off. Be sure to put that dipstick back, even of you leave the black plastic cover off.

If someone could post some pix here that'd be super. I'm working with an iPhone and can't post those.

http://newbeetle.org/forums/new-member-forum/57421-engine-cover.html

The lines I'm talking about are on the Passenger side (lookin at the motor standing at the front of the car) , kinda hard to get to, but you can feel them by reaching back there. They both lead to a small black box ( inside that plastic box is your expansion valve) before disappearing into the firewall.

In this thread look at "second set" to see what I'm talking about.
http://newbeetle.org/forums/2-0-liter-gas/36064-2000-new-beetle.html

The line that's closest to the front passenger tire should be Ice cold if your compressor is on, and you have an acceptable level of freon in the system.

Make sure when you push "AC" on your dash, the compressor actually engages. Do this by looking at the compressor. It should be directly under the alternator. With the engine running, and AC OFF, look at the "clutch" on the front of the compressor, it will look like this http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=320970648692 . You should see the little "arms" stationary. Now, with engine running, have someone push the AC button to turn it on. You should see that pully, olutch, engage and begin to spin very quickly. That should be the "click" that you hear.

 

[Az-DaisEy]

This is wonderful, what you have done for me! I think I should have been a guy, cuz I love to work on my car. I will get out and check for those pipes here in a few. If they are the ones that I was seeing yesterday, they both were warm. As I said, I didn't run the car down the road, but just let it idle here in the driveway. With the engine cover still on, I could just get my fingers in there to touch these two pipes... they were both warm.
Do I need to drive it down the road in order for the temp of the pipes to change or will the temp change with the air running and the car just sitting... please let me know.
Again, Thanks!!!!!

 

[Az-DaisEy]

ok, went out and followed these instructions. Clutch does engage, both pipes are warm. So, I guess I am looking at it needing freon???? Thoughts?? Anyone?? Fans work, dash knobs work... still foam flying out.........
Am I missing anything else. Forgive me, but the last garage that I trusted and had always done the work on Daisey, told me that my compressor was shot. I want to have some knowledge before I take her in to be tested... Anything else that could be wrong with the compressor???? Also checked any fuses that could have any possible connection to the air, that I could tell.. none are blown. Thanks in advance

 

[Az-DaisEy]

I think a girl should know some stuff about her car... right??

 

[red99]

I think your problem could be low refrigerant or a bad compressor. Either there isn't enough refrigerant in the system or the compressor isn't moving it, both would have your symptoms.

You will need to measure the system pressure to determine which is the problem. The $20-30 do-it-yourself cans of R-134a at the auto supply stores have a gauge on them. If you had access to one of them you could at least check the pressure. The system would need to have some charge to make a determination on the compressor as well.

 

[xntrik]

If the clutch is engaging, don't worry about fuses. Just idling in the driveway is fine.

So long as the clutch isn't "slipping" I'd honestly say you should just go grab some canne freon with uv leak detector in it, and squirt some in there until your AC runs cold. Don't over do it, just enough that the line I was talking about get cold.

Drive your car a usual. When you notice that the AC isn't cold anymore, start looking at all the fittings, and the clutch on the compressor for that yellow/green neon uv dye. That's where your leak is.

I agree that girls should know how to work on a car. I don't think my daughter realizes how serious I am when I tell her she won't get her license until she can at least change a tire on a car, show me where all fluids are and how to check/fill them, and change her own oil.

ALL TOO OFTEN I've worked on peoples cars who've previously taken it to someone who really either screwed it up from not having a clue, or seriously oversold parts that the person didn't need cause the victim didn't have a clue.

 

[xntrik]

One other thing. Don't get too crazy on injecting the freon. You could also possibly have a restriction in the system, and pujing too much pressure could do serious damage. I'd just start off with one small can of freon. I think they're only like $10. Squirt a little in. Check lines, etc. just a little at a time.