Air conditioning in Audi A4 (faulty clutch)

alsiet2011 · 04-07-2012 9:02am #1

Howdy,

I'm hoping someone could help me out here.

After paying over 200 squids to get a regas for my A/C in my Audi A4 B6 model the rip off merchant happily charged me for it and told me that the regas wasn't the problem but the clutch in the a/c compressor unit wasn't engaging .

He also says you can't buy these clutches seperately and that Id need an entire new compressor which seems like madness to me.

I'm curios does anybody else have a similar problem and is it possible to get a clutch component seperatly like in a scrappie or something and then swap the parts out?

Anan1 · 04-07-2012 10:22am

Is it even possible to regas a system when the compressor isn't engaging?

alsiet2011 · 04-07-2012 10:24am

Anan1 wrote: »

Is it even possible to regas a system when the compressor isn't engaging?

I don't know to be honest but I was told by the garage that it was regassed so i guess theres no other way of knowing. I wont be going back to this particular mechanic anyway. I wasnt happy with the service at all. Strange though, it was a high end garage dealing with high end cars.

Anan1 · 04-07-2012 10:52am

I think €200 is crazy money to recharge a system in the first place - Fast Fit charge €50, or €40 if you have an Axa Plus card. If (as I suspect) it's impossible to regas the system without the compressor running then you should demand your €200 back. Maybe wait until someone with more experience confirms or denies that the compressor must be running for a regas first.

alsiet2011 · 04-07-2012 11:12am

Anan1 wrote: »

I think €200 is crazy money to recharge a system in the first place - Fast Fit charge €50, or €40 if you have an Axa Plus card. If (as I suspect) it's impossible to regas the system without the compressor running then you should demand your €200 back. Maybe wait until someone with more experience confirms or denies that the compressor must be running for a regas first.

christ are you serious? jesus i was robbed!! i would love to take it back and demand my money but this was actually done about 2 years ago and i wouldnt have the receipts anymore.

since then iv tried to find a clutch by ringing scrap yards and stuff. no joy, so i left it because weather in ireland is crap these days so didnt have the need.

wouild love to get it going again though for little money if i cud. i shoud actually call this garage and ask them is it possible to recharge the gas if clutch is out of order.catch them off guard! and when they tell me its not possible theyl be caught out

Anan1 · 04-07-2012 11:38am

If it happened two years ago then I wouldn't bother chasing it up - you'll get nowhere. I'd give this guy a shout instead and explain the situation - he's reasonable, and he knows his stuff. With a bit of luck it might be something simple.

http://www.carairconditioning.ie/

alsiet2011 · 04-07-2012 11:41am

thanks anan, ill look into this

Man of Aran · 04-07-2012 4:01pm

Would be of the same mind as Anan1.
Keep in mind that "compressor running" means the armature has been pulled in by the electromagnetic coil, to make contact with the driven pulley face/ This armature is on the end of the crank.
Coil signal of course is based on thermostat demand (cabin air) and LPCO too ( low pressure cutout to prevent damage if loss of refrigerant)- so this may be a chicken-egg issue you had initially.
Check coild resistance with DVM for open circuit, if good then check voltage to coil via thermostat/LPCO. This will help decide if electrical v mechanical issue you have.

With a clean and vaccumed system down to 500microns level (close to 30" HG vaccum gauge) it may be possible to get from 50~80% of the HFC134a charge into the receiver -drier < reservoir tank> but to finish off, you generally need to get the compressor running, condenser fan(s) on and evap blowers moving air too..
Same principle applies to all HVAC - refrigeration and AC. I dont knw of any Vapour Compression HVACR system where you can weigh in 100% charge on a non running compressor.

Bear in mind that auto-air just takes a few ounces of refrigerant (few hundred grams) to begin with.

Give a shout to some of the 'fridgie' guys in the Transport Reefer industry there. Thermo King "Ballinlough' , Carrier , Sanden, MHI and Denso . They all use these same swashplate compressors on the van chillers. And yes, clutch pulley, armature, magnetic coils , bearing and seals may be serviced on most. TAMA Zexel, Denso and Sanden compressors are quite common. Clutches generally OGURA or Denso.

Bensmyth · 21-07-2012 4:42pm

The Audi Cars don't operate with a clutch coil to engage the air conditioning.
They are a direct drive system that is constant and the flow of gas is regulated Via a swash plate system.

Clutches are available for them and there are two types for the Audi A4.
Try these guys www.airconautomotive.ie
They have all the parts for most cars.

Man of Aran · 29-07-2012 5:43pm

Bensmyth wrote: »

The Audi Cars don't operate with a clutch coil to engage the air conditioning.
They are a direct drive system that is constant and the flow of gas is regulated Via a swash plate system.

Clutches are available for them and there are two types for the Audi A4.
Try these guys www.airconautomotive.ie
They have all the parts for most cars.

Would be very interested to see photo or model specs of such a open dirive aircon /refrigeration compressor for automotive application that does not have an electromagnetic clutch.
The purpose of such device is to control I/O , protect from LPCO /HPCO conditions and also very importantly to prevent serious drive line/belt fire in the event of a locked (seized) compressor by allowing the belt driven pulley to "freewheel".

Variable stroke of the swash to give more or less displacement is a different matter entirely - its related to idle RPM capacity versus high speed performance at highway cruising speeds.

AFAIK, only semi-hermetic/ fully hermetic totally electric drive compressors as being seen on hybrids or electric vehicles may operate without a clutch. All open drive via enginbe crankshaft belt or PTO need a clutch.

George Dalton · 29-07-2012 10:01pm

They use variable displacement compressors which means you don't need a clutch. Some variable displacement compressors retain a clutch for disengaging the system completely but others do not as they can adjust the displacement to zero which achieves the same result.

More info here:

http://delphi.com/pdf/contact/brochures/Delphi_Compressors.pdf

Rowley Birkin QC · 15-06-2015 8:07pm

Dredging up this old thread to see if anyone here got a cost effective resolution for this issue?

My dad's A4 has been diagnosed as having a dodgey aircon compressor clutch. Audi are talking €1500+ to rectify it. Any input from the people that previously had this issue would be appreciated.

corcaigh1 · 16-09-2015 3:58pm

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Dredging up this old thread to see if anyone here got a cost effective resolution for this issue?

My dad's A4 has been diagnosed as having a dodgey aircon compressor clutch. Audi are talking €1500+ to rectify it. Any input from the people that previously had this issue would be appreciated.

I have a slight rattle of late from what I believe is my air compressor on my B6 Tdi A4, the air con is not working and has not worked in 6 months or so.

Can you anyone tell me if a regas would remedy the compressor noise or is it likely ill be needing a new compresssor?

Air conditioning in Audi A4 (faulty clutch)

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