I’ve watched about a dozen videos VW Jetta A/C troubleshooting. This video is hands down the best! The captions, the reading in the low side, removing the solenoid from the compressor. Very informative clearly understood. I’ll watch it again and again. Thumbs up!
Just a PSA for those curious customers wondering if this is a sure fire fix. This is coming to you from an auto tech with 15+ years experience in the field. 7 of which were spent at a VW dealer. Presently, run my own German car repair center in the heartland of mandatory A/C: Miami, FL. Firstly, you must get a competent MVAC shop to properly diagnose your system. Many things can cause poor cooling. Finally, if it is confirmed to be the solenoid, understand that this will not be a permanent fix. It will get you by, 6-8 months, maybe a year. The trouble is these valves fail due to debris circulating inside the system from compressor wear. Not a knock on RKX, I have used a plethora of their products (vacuum pump reseal kits FTW). This is only a bandaid to buy you time. The long term, trouble free repair is to replace the compressor and drier/condenser assembly. (It is built in to the condenser.) What happens is as the compressor wears down, debris is pushed out the exhaust (high side), and finds its way inside this solenoid. With time, it just plugs up and seizes. The other issue is, as the compressor wears, it becomes less effective, so the solenoid is cycled more vigorously. This leads to premature wear of the armature inside the solenoid. TLDR, if you are on a budget, and a professional confirms the valve is bad, replacing it will buy you sometime, but another failure is in the near future. Replacement of the compressor, and drier/condenser assembly will guarantee another 50-60k of trouble free miles from the new unit.
6-8 months in miami, that's like 2-3 years in Minnesota; I'll go with the valve. But I'm surprised to hear wear causes this as my 20-year-old Honda with 240k still blows cold air and the system has never been messed with. It must be the continual use of the A/C that my Louisana Jetta went through.
This did the trick! VW mk6 variant 2012, 1,6 tdi 77 kw; first i thought there is not enough cooler fill (the car was able to blow cold air for like 10 seconds and after just blows hot air, in 30 C+), so i got it filled, nothing changed at all. Then the mechanc said to change the compressor for $$$ so i reached out to this video and this did the trick so far, THANKS, for fraction of the price like 1/5. The part number was - 5N0820803H - my clima control display unit says both AUTO and DUAL and the valve fitted the compressor just right.
Just want to say thanks- I told a friend I was having ac issues and it would cost $1500.00 to replace. He sent me the link to this video. I bought the solenoid and had it installed by a local mechanic. It works great. total cost less than $200 installed. Awesome, thanks!
Do you have a Volkswagen Jetta and if so what year? I'm in the same boat right now, looking at $1300 to replace my AC compressor because it won't turn on
I saw this on a VW forum a few years ago on an old laptop; I bookmarked it and lost the laptop. Thanks for putting it out there, RKX. Summer is coming on in southern AZ where I live and I'll get his little widget!
Here’s a pro tip: you don’t need to do any of the following things recommended in the video: Take off the tire Move the wheel liner Move the serpentine Dismount the compressor. Just take the vertical dog bone mount out and pull back on the engine with a ratchet strap between the block and the subframe. You’ll have plenty of room to get the valve in & out.
Perfect solution to 2007 Rabbit... 4 yo compressor... would not blow cold at idle, only at highway speeds... replaced and did high side charge and COLD air at idle now! Thanks for your expertise!
He is correct, i had the same problem as his video. you don't have to take down the belt and the compressor if you willing to manuver the 90 degree snap ring plier. this video is clear explanation and steps. very helpful. thank you.
Thanks for the input. Some models and engines have more room to work and can defiantly be done without removing the compressor with the right tools (the 2.0t Passat comes to mind). The TDI jetta in this video and some others have much less room to work in and its usually easier to just take a few minutes and drop the compressor down to gain some extra working space, but defiantly more than 1 way to do this job! Glad you got your AC back up and running.
Just repaired my 2011 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Symptom was outlet temperature that would go down to 38 degrees and then would go up to 55 and then back down again. This progressively got worse and finally the temperature for the most part would stay in high 40's to 50. I was able to remove the old solenoid from underneath the car. I first brought the car to an auto shop and had the refrigerant evacuated. I then put the car on jack stands, removed the lower panel, and was able to access the compressor. The only difficulty I encountered was I needed a 90 degree snap ring tool which I bought for $24 at NAPA. After replacing the solenoid I had the auto shop vacuum the system and refill with refrigerant ($87). I also cut open the old solenoid to look for debris as mentioned by a shop owner below but did not find any. I suspect the solenoid simply no longer actuated as my car now has a constant 35 degrees coming from outlet.
I did mine the other day for Mk6 Jetta. It fixed my problem. You may have to spray the area with penetrating oil and wait for a few min before trying to remove the valve since the o-ring and the grove get rusted and the plastic tab gets broken off if you try to pry it w/o the oil.
I noticed in the comments quite a few people had certain questions. First off when the tech evacuated the system, he removed all refrigerant from the system and stored it in a holding tank on his machine. After the repair he pulled a "deep Vacuum". This should be done for at least 30 minutes and preferably 1 hour depending on relative humidity. The more humid it is, the longer you need to pull vacuum. Replacement of the receiver/drier is optional as long as the system isn't open to air for more than 10-15 minutes, again depending on relative humidity. Pull the valve out, install the new one and pull vacuum right away. This can also be done on other brands of VW compressors. As far as over engineering goes, would you rather replace the compressor? You should also make sure your clutch isn't damaged before you replace this valve. I have seen numerous clutches broken where people install the valve then wonder why it doesn't work. Make sure first.
Thanks for your clarification. So I'm assuming the solenoid can't be replaced without removing the freon? Meaning it's not something I can do on a ramp with just a couple of hand tools?
Oh yes. In some countries, you also have to get these valves shipped from the US, because parts stores only sell brand new compressors and nothing else, and dealer stores no longer have them once the car is old enough. I had to get mine shipped from the US.
Thank you for your valuable video. Will freon gas leak when replacing the solenoid valve? Is it necessary to extract freon gas before replacing the solenoid valve? Please answer
My A/C compressor on VW Passat pressure valve failed at highway speed in fast lane and it's thick fog vapor suddenly obscured all sight screening up from windshield vent port. Be quick with the windows in volume traffic. I had no idea such sorcery was possible; it's a smooth blind blowout.
Whats the likelihood of popping the solenoid out and using the extra room between fan blades to do it with compressor still in situ? Belly pan off, right angle circlip pliers etc
Keep in mind with the variable compressor and ambient conditions this number will fluctuate anywhere from 34 all the way up to 50 in extreme heat / humidity conditions. 41-42 sounds perfectly normal for a lot of normal ambient conditions
its sensitive to overfilling it, the temp will go up instead of down. I put 22 oz in it and it was blowing 50 degree air, after recovering a little refridgerant, it came right down to 40 degrees. 18oz is the spec.
There is an easy fix for the delay start ac, stops at idle, or low cooling. Remove the freon from the compressor, add approx 250 ml oil into the compressor, and than add the froen. The oil will lubricate the solenoid valve and ac will work perfectly fine. I have tried this method and well satisfied.
Compressors require a finite amount of oil and the only way to know how much is in there is to discharge the system, remove the compressor, drain the oil out of the compressor, and refill it with the specified amount. If u overfill it, the system won't cool properly. If u underfill it, the life of the compressor will be shortened.
Worth mentioning that some of these compressors have main shaft failure so a new valve won't solve that. Very important to check gas pressures and levels before making your diagnosis. Seems to be very difficult to get these valves in the UK
I have 2012 vw passat se 2.5l and the AC works only when the car is moving and even then it is not cold enough. A lot of people are saying the problem is the valve. Is it true? And can you help me find the part number? VW has one for $250 but I think that is too much
My compressor pulley spins but not the centre part, which according to previous comments means my compressor has seized. However I can rotate the central part (inside the pulley) by hand and it rotates fine. Also I can feel some resistance like it is actually turning the compressor, so seems like my compressor is not seized. Any advice on why the centre part doesn't spin but I can still spin it by hand? Could this be caused by the solenoid valve or not?
hi i have a question is this also a repair if ac wont give cold air when car has no movment or rpm with gas pedal, but when its on movment on 1500-2000rpm ??
The airco on my sons mk5 Golf does not work. Compressor spins and system has 525grams of filling inside. Both high and low pressure side have the same pressure. Between 2 and 3 bar's. Is it possible that it's just a defect valve? He measured the signal on the connector of the valve so that's okay. I see a lot of different valve's when i search on 'Golf mk5'. Different shapes (longe, short, wired connector, build in connector). Do they all fit or not? Thanks ;-)
I've been struggling with very very similar problem with my Audi A3 2010 HVAC since it went for the 60k(I guess) km periodic service. As soon as I took the car from the Audi dealership, grabbed the phone and called right away to say that was more than 30Cº outside and the car just did not cooled the cabin like before. Just didn’t made cood as before and could not cooled me inside the cabin. They regassed it, adjusted the vents, improved but was never like before. I live in Southern Europe and in Summer I get 40Cº days and this car when was brand new refreshed the cabin in 2 minutes of A/C working. Just from the start of the engine, even before it got to operating temperature, against what Audi technicians say (BS from them). Can a bad service ruin the solenoid or compressor ? I don’t know if this is my exact problem, but I should try it. Do any of you have the same problme as me and solved it replacing this solenoid ? PS :What makes me mad is that Audi technicians just don’t know how to diagnose this and they just replace the all compressor unit. They should be the first ones to know what’s wrong with the car. Thanks a lot you guys for letting this out to other people.
Hello mate, I'm having the same issues you are talking about on my 2008 passat. Did replacing the solenoid work for you? I was thinking to replace the compressor but I think of replacing just the solenoid first
That is how my 2012 passat 2.5 behaved before replacing the solenoid with a RKX one , it was hot at idle and cold at high RPM. After replacing it , the behavior was reversed : it is blowing cold at idle , and hot at highway speed( at high RPM, the compressor discharge pressure goes down to almost zero psi). I wonder if i have to replace it again...
Nice video. I been diagnosing some problem with my cars AC to, Audi A3 3.2. When I drive the car it blows cold air but as soon as I come to a stop or the car is in idle, it just blows hot air.
Same with my 2009 Rabbit. When RPM's are high enough, such as highway driving, the A/C blows great but if I slow down in city driving the A/C starts to go out. I drive, my standard, delaying before shifting into higher gears so I can keep the RPM's higher and keep the A/C working and rev the engine at the red lights; very bad for gas mileage. So using the standard transmission I bring the engine to 3000 rpms by keeping transmission in lower gears.
This could possibly be a bad valve, but I would check your coolings fans first. With the AC on both cooling fans should be running and never turn off. After verifying the fans work I would check the freon charge level. After verifying both of those I would then suspect a bad valve.
When you evacuate the AC system you will lose some oil. If you have an AC machine it will usually have a bottle that it drains any oil it pulled out into so you know how much to put back in. If you use other methods of recovery you may have to guess, but usually adding 1/2 - 1 OZ of PAG oil will be just fine.
@@ryanjacobson5694 This is why I had a professional technician purge/replace my refrigerant while upgrading the factory solenoid switch with the RKX Tech one. Because he did it with the proper equipment. I didn't have to worry about over or undercharging the refrigerant or replacing the correct amount of PAG oil. Spending the extra money to have it done this way is worth the peace of mind. My Sanden compressor works MUCH better now. It cools quicker and cooler. The compressor has 157K miles on it and it works flawlessly.
@@ryanjacobson5694 The other way to look at the failure of your AC is an opportunity to learn how to fix AC. This requires gauges, lots of reading, evac pumps and more but it's a skill u will retain for many more cars. The skill helps u avoid unscrupulous repairmen.
@@DigitalDissident don't know about labor cost but It took me about a hour start to finish.... AC drain equipment? No.....face mask,open space ,2 lightly dampened towels and a screwdriver.
@@lenwoodcruze3594 Thanks for reply, what I meant was: did the refrigerant need to be vacuumed & recharged. It's been at least 1yr since I last had it working. Dealer quote was four figures for compressor swap but I wasn't dumb enough to do that on a car that already had 120k miles. I'm sure this will work for $34, - $280. Thanks
@@DigitalDissident If your AC compressor uses this part I'd definitely try this first or you might just need a basic recharge...(prices vary soo much from place to place it's hard to say how much it will cost you) Yes it should technically be vacuumed then recharged but if you're low on funds like me then...... Cut your car on with the AC running full blast at it's coldest setting,door or window open,get your facemask and towels,locate the port to refill your AC then press the valve (like you're letting air out of a tire).....have the port covered with your damp towels and let the old refrigerant out, most if not all will be captured by the towels......when it stops spraying then you'll know it's empty........cut your car off and replace the valve then recharge the system. I went to Walmart and got the basic AC recharge kit but "AC Pro" which is more experience does work better because it has a higher pressure level.....I got the pressure level to almost 40psi which is in the middle and things are working great
If you are a environmentalist then I am soo sorry for not evacuating the refrigerant correctly but I did what I thought was beneficial for greatly limiting my negative environmental impact.....as far as I can tell most if not all refrigerant was captured by the towels.
Did you took the freon out before proceeding , removing the solenoid? Or did you remove the solenoid without removing the freon ? I have a 2012 VW Jetta 2.5 SE and my ac does have this issues where it give cold air then blow warm air hit within 5 or 10 min while driving , it annoying.
Yes, you have to completely evacuate the system before trying to remove the solenoid from the compressor. If you don't, you'll get a face of r134a instantly as the totality of the refrigerant escapes.
Hello! My Golf MK5 through VCDS and "hidden" Climatronic menu shows 9 to 12.5 bar pressure. Is it ok? What reading should I/do you get? I also have a failing G89 sensor that shows 0°C in the first 10 minute fromo engine start and prevents the compressor engagement. To replace it I have to remove ALL the dashboard (including steering wheel, radio, glove box etc...!), I'll try it later in august. I have "bad" air conditioning when the car slows down at the red light for example.
not understanding what you are saying. Is the compressor locked up...or is it not getting cold anymore. If it is not getting cold it may be there is a leak. THey are hard to diagnosis. On one of my cars I still ended up replacing the compressor and some Orings that were leaking. Uusally this valve fixes most problems at least for me.
in the video doesnt appear how can you remove the gas inside the circuit, if you want to make it in your house and after go to a mechanic to reload the gas. either how to put again the belt with the tensor
HI, great video. I am unsure if this is my problem with my 2009 Tiguan 2.0 TDI, but I get about 90 psi on the low side (a bit lower when the compressor is not running) and 100 psi on the high side (again, a bit lower when the compressor is not running. Also, not cool air. Could this be the solenoid valve or the expansion valve? Thanks for the help.
i have pretty good intermittent cooling. But when I start the car, before the ac gets cold(it takes a long time to get cold) and ac running, I have a low side of 90 and a high side of 140-160. Do u think it's the valve?
i have the 2006 jetta tdi. the ac started blowing warmish about a week ago. i thought maybe it just need a slight charge, but then figured out the fans aren't turning on as they should. would a bad valve cause the system to not turn the fans on or would something else have went bad. i checked the fuse box in the engine but have no idea what one in the panel in the dash side is for the ac. a cooling fan does kick on when the engine gets hot like normal, just not when i hit the ac button. any ideas here.
The HVAC control module controls the output of the solenoid via a PWM signal to it. It varies the output based upon a number of inputs such as outside temp, evap temp, engine temp, high and low side pressure, ect.
Did you not need to replace the drier for this install? I have a MK6 GTI and everyone is claiming the drier can't be exposed to air for more than a few seconds before it's saturated with ambient moisture. What's the solution/trick here?
Best practice would probably be to replace the drier, but in the real world 99% of the time it is not replaced every time you open the system. Just make sure to pull a nice long vacuum on the system once you are done this will remove the majority of the moisture stored in the drier and you will be good to go!
Why evacuate the entire system(remove refrigerant) if your only replacing the solenoid valve? Is replacing the solenoid valve that intrusive into ac system?
Elvis Putnoee Lol! Yeah I did a little research after this video, and found out when they say the whole system is under pressure. Literally the whole system is under pressure. I was thinking the solenoid was just electrical and was isolated from the rest of the system, but it's not.
@@MrAviator81 It's not just a solenoid, it's a solenoid valve. Which means that refrigerant and oil is always passing through it, it's only routed differently depending upon how much the solenoid gets excited
I have a question about unit check of the solenoid valve, such as internal resistance or etc... Could you let me know how to check the solenoid with symptoms. thanks.
Yes, if the pressure switch senses too high of a pressure, different things may happen. AC may also go in recirculation+minimum blower fan speed to keep the heat load low but still allow minimal AC. Failing this, the valve might stop the refrigerant flow completely, that is, let it circulate only within the compressor casing and not pump anything through the system at all. The control valve of a clutchless compressor is able to work just like a clutch, otherwise you would basically have AC always turned on in your car, in order to prevent the evaporator from freezing.
I dont think they are serviceable. would cost more to do that then replace. THese guys have a good supplier in china. Well managed. I use their valves in all my cars
Please answer.when you activate ac the compresor clutch activate?the colling fan is runnig?on my 407 the clutch is on but the colling fan not working.pls give me a answer.sorry for my english
With this style AC compressor there is no clutch. The input pulley is always turning. If the center of your compressor pully is stationary with the engine running this means that your compressor has locked up inside and the "brake away" tabs on the pulley are gone letting the pulley still spin. Any time your AC is on and running both cooling fans will turn on. If your AC is "on" but no cooling fans are on either you have 2 burned out cooling fans or the car is not allowing the AC system to activate because it has detected a fault somewhere.
It could be, but it also could be a number of other factors such as low refrigerant, a failed compressor, or bad expansion valve (very unlikely). If you have verified charge level than I would highly suspect either the control solenoid or compressor as the 2 most likely reasons.
That kinda sounds like my vw jetta 2015, the a/c some times takes forever to turn on, some times when im in the highway it turns on and when i turn it off it makes this weird noise that comes from the compressor but the sound only comes on when they ac has been on for a while and i later turn off the ac, could this also be a valve problem?! If so im buying one of your website.
My hyundai tucson 2016 the ac compressor is not working. I have a question sir. Can you help me? I check the connection of compressor it gives 3.2 volts...how many dc volts do have to suply the solenoid valve to engage the compressor. Please help me sir. Thanks
These valves are controlled by pulse width modulation so you will not be able to get an accurate reading with just a voltmeter. You can manual test the valve by applying 12 V to the pins. You should be able to hear an audible click from the valve. You can also try this with the car running to see if you can manual "jump start" the ac, but do not apply direct 12v power for more than about 20 seconds at a time.
We highly recommend having the AC system professionally recharged. These systems are quite small and over or under charging them even slightly can have a pretty big impact on performance. Typically you can not get enough accuracy out of a DIY can in our experience.
Should I be concerned about exposing the system to atmosphere when this part is changed? In other words, should the receiver drier or accumulator be replaced too?
Not really depending on the car and what's in your way. Jack up the right side, remove tire and tire well shroud and you should have some decent access from there. Removing the compressor usually doesn't give you too much leverage to help extract the solenoid.
Excellent video, thanks! My ac sometimes gets cold air and sometimes not, as the same commented in the video, but when I get some expressway, highway, the air seems to start to freeze, can this be the compressor solenoid valve? The low pressure is close to 50 and the high is very high. I have a Jetta 2007 2.5. Thankyou!
It defiantly sounds like a compressor valve. I would also check to make sure that both cooling fans are turning on. Both fans should run and never turn off with the AC on.
My 2002 vw beetle is doing the same thing going down the road it blows cold but when I stop HOT. I'm a single mother trying to fix my cat myself. Got the book. I need some advice bad
Where on the compressor is the label where we can see what brand it is? Is it viewable from up top or do we need to pull the plastic guard from the bottom to see it?
fan assembly will not come on when Freon is low. but this valve usually does not effect the fan activity. also there is a delay when you turn on your ac about say 10 seconds to 1 minute for the fans to turn on. I would replace the valve first I have done all my cars and it fixed most problems.
