Car maintenance

[cfcjim]

I feel your pain. I have the Maxi Manual. After 115000km the aircon just stopped working. Gas is topped up and they can't find anything wrong with the compressor. They want to charge me R1200 just to do diagnostic to maybe find the issue.

Find a decent independent. You'll get the diagnostics done for half the price; I'm presuming you're out of warranty.

There's a VW forum somewhere out there, I'm sure they'll help.

[l4y3rcake]

Find a decent independent. You'll get the diagnostics done for half the price; I'm presuming you're out of warranty.

There's a VW forum somewhere out there, I'm sure they'll help.

Yeah out of factory warranty. I have a 3rd party extended warranty and service plan. Going through it now to see if i'm covered for a/c repairs.

[cfcjim]

Yeah out of factory warranty. I have a 3rd party extended warranty and service plan. Going through it now to see if i'm covered for a/c repairs.

Ah I see, so you're tied to the agent for servicing.

[Amberdrake]

Extended warrenty policies differ, mine allows me to service at any RMI (Retail Motor Industry) registered facility. But read the policy carefully

[Grebel]

As mentioned already, DON'T take out a 3rd party warranty and expect it to cover everything that breaks. Read the fine print VERY carefully and see that there are limits as to how much they will pay out as well as what they will pay for. 

 

And don't be late for a service........

[Andymann]

I feel your pain. I have the Maxi Manual. After 115000km the aircon just stopped working. Gas is topped up and they can't find anything wrong with the compressor. They want to charge me R1200 just to do diagnostic to maybe find the issue.

Aircons are relatively simple to diagnose and they only stop working due to one of four major things - no gas (due to a leak), compressor failure, compressor clutch failure or faulty thermostat.

 

So what you want to do is check if the clutch is engaging on the front of the compressor - that's the click you hear when you switch on the aircon button -if it isn't engaging, it's either a fuse, or the clutch solenoid has burnt out.

 

If you say the compressor is ok then check the level of gas -interestingly enough, there is a low pressure, AND a high pressure switch on the aircon, so sometimes, when you top up your gas, the guys put in too much and then the hi-pressure switch kicks in.  We had many people who came to us after they had topped up their aircons on the side of the road and the high pressure switch had been activated.

 

If your gas runs out make sure when the Aircon Tech tops it up he adds some UV dye to the oil.  That way, when it leaks out again, you will be able to spot under a UV light where the leak is.   All decent Aircon Shops should have a UV light available.

 

In Gauteng, O.E. and Harrack (well at least when I had my shop), were the best.  There might be more now - I haven't done an aircon since 2003 :-)

 

If its not the clutch, not the compressor, gas is ok then it will most likely be the thermostat - pray that it isn't, because usually you need to take out half the dash to get to that!

 

Final thing - Aircons work the most efficiently at Fan speed 2, and with the Recirculate button on......

[Pure Savage]

Aircons are relatively simple to diagnose and they only stop working due to one of four major things - no gas (due to a leak), compressor failure, compressor clutch failure or faulty thermostat.

 

So what you want to do is check if the clutch is engaging on the front of the compressor - that's the click you hear when you switch on the aircon button -if it isn't engaging, it's either a fuse, or the clutch solenoid has burnt out.

 

If you say the compressor is ok then check the level of gas -interestingly enough, there is a low pressure, AND a high pressure switch on the aircon, so sometimes, when you top up your gas, the guys put in too much and then the hi-pressure switch kicks in.  We had many people who came to us after they had topped up their aircons on the side of the road and the high pressure switch had been activated.

 

If your gas runs out make sure when the Aircon Tech tops it up he adds some UV dye to the oil.  That way, when it leaks out again, you will be able to spot under a UV light where the leak is.   All decent Aircon Shops should have a UV light available.

 

In Gauteng, O.E. and Harrack (well at least when I had my shop), were the best.  There might be more now - I haven't done an aircon since 2003 :-)

 

If its not the clutch, not the compressor, gas is ok then it will most likely be the thermostat - pray that it isn't, because usually you need to take out half the dash to get to that!

 

Final thing - Aircons work the most efficiently at Fan speed 2, and with the Recirculate button on......

 

2?

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

2?

2/4 or halfway. 

 

Any lower and it doesn't push enough air, any higher and it's pushing too much air to cool / heat to the temp ou desire. 

 

On mine it's most efficient at about 30% - I have 10 light bars and 3 is the spot I find myself at most often. 

[New Landy new life]

Brake Bleeder - Pressurized Type

 

 

Anyone know where I can get a pressure bleeder where you have a container  that you either pump up or connect to a tire and fill with Brake Fluid and then connect via the master cylinder cap.

 

Have looked at some Garage Equipment suppliers but they have more professional type and the Midas and those type of places don't seem to have.

[cfcjim]

Brake Bleeder - Pressurized Type

 

 

Anyone know where I can get a pressure bleeder where you have a container  that you either pump up or connect to a tire and fill with Brake Fluid and then connect via the master cylinder cap.

 

Have looked at some Garage Equipment suppliers but they have more professional type and the Midas and those type of places don't seem to have.

Eezibleed on Fleabay for about GBP26 including postage.

[l4y3rcake]

As mentioned already, DON'T take out a 3rd party warranty and expect it to cover everything that breaks. Read the fine print VERY carefully and see that there are limits as to how much they will pay out as well as what they will pay for.

 

And don't be late for a service........

Gave them a call and I'm covered for R10500 for the a/c. Taking it to an aircon specialist in the west rand, that was recommended, next week when I get my van back from the panelbeaters. A dude bent my towbar into my bumper when he failed to stop in traffic.

 

Edit: autocorrect doesn't recognize the word "towbar"

Edited November 3, 2016 by l4y3rcake

[AlanD]

Anyone know how I can disable the immobilizer?

 

I bypassed the fuel valve that I think is part of the immobilizer to solve my problem of the car cutting out.

 

All went well for a good while and then the weekend the car just cut out, no spluttering or jerking, just died. I think it's the immobilizer. 

[Amberdrake]

Usually its tied into the Electrical and fuel line.

You would have to remove the device from the live sitting between the battery and Distributor somewhere. Unfortunately that will require some inspection etc to find. Good Luck those devices can be a major pain as intended. If its aftermarket shouldn't be to difficult, if its OEM your better off taking it to a professional. 

Google will be your friend here either way.

[AlanD]

Usually its tied into the Electrical and fuel line.

You would have to remove the device from the live sitting between the battery and Distributor somewhere. Unfortunately that will require some inspection etc to find. Good Luck those devices can be a major pain as intended. If its aftermarket shouldn't be to difficult, if its OEM your better off taking it to a professional. 

Google will be your friend here either way.

Thanks. I think it is aftermarket as it has a fuel valve that does not look like OEM. Will see what google will reveal.

[Skylark]

Anyone know how I can disable the immobilizer?

 

I bypassed the fuel valve that I think is part of the immobilizer to solve my problem of the car cutting out.

 

All went well for a good while and then the weekend the car just cut out, no spluttering or jerking, just died. I think it's the immobilizer.

If it's a factory immobilizer then check the key, the transponder is normally passive and the pickup will be in the ignition key well, sometimes the key dies after all the abuse they suffer on your keyring.

[AlanD]

If it's a factory immobilizer then check the key, the transponder is normally passive and the pickup will be in the ignition key well, sometimes the key dies after all the abuse they suffer on your keyring.

Its got that little black piece with the three pins on the end that you slot into the other piece in the car and then the light stops flashing and you good to start. I think it's after market.