RS162 MY15.5 air conditioning

[Reichter]

Try manually setting it to inside air recirc. Different car, different system, different behavior. By having it set to inside, it'll recycle the already cooled air, keeping it cooler. If set to outside and its warmer outside, it'll mix warm air with cool air, so not making it quite as effective. Using outside is good for fresh air, but doesn't always help air con efficiency.

And on cold days, and you have the heater going, it won't be as warm as its mixing cold air with warm air.

I hope that makes sense.

[rc_vRS]

Try manually setting it to inside air recirc. Different car, different system, different behavior. By having it set to inside, it'll recycle the already cooled air, keeping it cooler. If set to outside and its warmer outside, it'll mix warm air with cool air, so not making it quite as effective. Using outside is good for fresh air, but doesn't always help air con efficiency.

And on cold days, and you have the heater going, it won't be as warm as its mixing cold air with warm air.

I hope that makes sense.

Yes what you said makes sense, but I'm sure this isn't what is happening to mine. I tend not to use inside recirc long term as it helps prevent drowsiness using fresh outside air (I do a lot of long country driving).

When the a/c stops working if make no changes at all after a period of time the a/c will work again as per normal. When the cold air starts blowing again the system has no problems cooling the car down with it set to outside air. So it's not actually a cooling capacity problem more that it just stops blowing cold air altogether.

As mentioned it can happen with outside temps in the low to mid 20's so really there should be no problem trying to bring the inside temp to 20 deg. It has probably happened more than I've noticed in the colder weather because when it starts happening it is fairly subtle. It has become much more obvious in the current heat wave in Melbourne.

[wfdTamar]

Maybe slipping AC belt?

[techdave]

- After a period of time (~5-15 minutes) A/C will suddenly start blowing fully cold air again until the next cycle it happens.

This is exactly what I'm experiencing. I doubt this is a settings issue...I've timed it a couple of times, and they're exactly 11 minutes lag (I checked the trip computer). It's definitely noticeable as it is instant cold after this 11-minute lag, almost as if switching from fan only mode. After it starts blowing cool air, I have no issue with the aircon strength whatsover..it is cooling fine just like any other car.

Yes, I'm in Melbourne as well, the last couple of days' of heatwave has definitely made it more noticeable.

[rc_vRS]

This is exactly what I'm experiencing. I doubt this is a settings issue...I've timed it a couple of times, and they're exactly 11 minutes lag (I checked the trip computer). It's definitely noticeable as it is instant cold after this 11-minute lag, almost as if switching from fan only mode. After it starts blowing cool air, I have no issue with the aircon strength whatsover..it is cooling fine just like any other car.

Yes, I'm in Melbourne as well, the last couple of days' of heatwave has definitely made it more noticeable.

Alright, it is fair to say this issue is reasonably common then. Thanks for confirming.

Can anyone who has had this software fix applied comment on what their actual symptoms were and whether the software update did in fact fix the problem? Any details from the service report would be great.

[wfdTamar]

Hooked up my VCDS to see if there was anything I could do and found this which I tried and it possibly has made a difference (haven't driven enough yet). It recalibrates the flaps inside I think. You hear all the flaps running their full range of movement and fans going, then it turns off.

I know when I do this on my Saab 9-5 it works wonders if it's skew wiff.

VW Golf (1K) Climatronic - Ross-Tech Wiki

[Select]
[08 - Heating/Air Conditioning]
[Basic Settings - 04]
Group 001
[Go!]
Activate the Basic Setting.
[ON/OFF/Next]
The basic setting takes approximately 40 seconds.
[Done, Go Back]
[Close Controller, Go Back - 06]

[wfdTamar]

Yes, that seems to have made a difference. Haven't noticed any warm air BS since I did it.

[rc_vRS]

I got mine checked at 15k service recently. Predictably they couldn't find a fault, I gave them very specific details on what was happening but just got the "monitor it" line and that there are more settings in the menu that I need to use (even when I told them setting it on max cold full fan A/C on that it still would blow warm air).

I asked if there were any firmware updates or reset that they could do but nothing they could see.

And of course it did it again on the way home, not as badly though maybe because it was only 25deg outside. I found it happens less if I keep the setting on very cold and don't give it a chance to cycle the A/C level.

So....looks like either go back and forward to the dealer to give them another crack or fix it myself.

Anyone that has had a "software" fix by a dealer can you please post the details so I can tell my dealer how to do it? I don't have vcds so can't do the basic setting myself.

[ilidchen]

I got mine checked at 15k service recently. Predictably they couldn't find a fault, I gave them very specific details on what was happening but just got the "monitor it" line and that there are more settings in the menu that I need to use (even when I told them setting it on max cold full fan A/C on that it still would blow warm air).

I asked if there were any firmware updates or reset that they could do but nothing they could see.

And of course it did it again on the way home, not as badly though maybe because it was only 25deg outside. I found it happens less if I keep the setting on very cold and don't give it a chance to cycle the A/C level.

So....looks like either go back and forward to the dealer to give them another crack or fix it myself.

Anyone that has had a "software" fix by a dealer can you please post the details so I can tell my dealer how to do it? I don't have vcds so can't do the basic setting myself.

I have exactly the same problem, and it normally kicks in when the stop start activates, went to the dealer they gave me the same spill "monitor it"... so if you get any results please share the fix, thanks!

[rc_vRS]

Well I haven't take. It back in yet, been too busy.

Yesterday I drove from Melbourne to Albury and back, around 7 hours of driving with a couple of short stops in between. On the way up I had no issues, but I had the temperature set to heating for the majority of the trip up.

On the way back it wouldn't cool properly on and off for the whole trip. I got fed up and one point and set it to max Lo temp and got a digital thermometer I had in the boot.

Here you can see that the air temp coming out of the vents is slightly higher than what the car measures outside. The probe is inside the centre vent.



Later after the system deciding to respond and actually send cold air through the vents:


I didn't stay cold though, after a few minutes I set it back to 18-20 deg and warm air started to come through again. I tried setting it back to max Lo and couldn't get it below 16 deg. I gave up after around 15 mins of trying between auto and manual settings. The same sort of cycle repeated every half hour or so.

The temperature measured inside the car about 30 cm back from the centre console was approx 26 (varied around 1 deg during the time I was messing around trying to get cold air).

[Reichter]

Well I haven't take. It back in yet, been too busy.

Yesterday I drove from Melbourne to Albury and back, around 7 hours of driving with a couple of short stops in between. On the way up I had no issues, but I had the temperature set to heating for the majority of the trip up.

On the way back it wouldn't cool properly on and off for the whole trip. I got fed up and one point and set it to max Lo temp and got a digital thermometer I had in the boot.

Here you can see that the air temp coming out of the vents is slightly higher than what the car measures outside. The probe is inside the centre vent.



Later after the system deciding to respond and actually send cold air through the vents:


I didn't stay cold though, after a few minutes I set it back to 18-20 deg and warm air started to come through again. I tried setting it back to max Lo and couldn't get it below 16 deg. I gave up after around 15 mins of trying between auto and manual settings. The same sort of cycle repeated every half hour or so.

The temperature measured inside the car about 30 cm back from the centre console was approx 26 (varied around 1 deg during the time I was messing around trying to get cold air).

Can you post a pic of your aircon "setup" settings?

[toaster]

Mine is finally fixed I think!

Took it for a long drive on the weekend after the service last week and it stayed cool the whole trip.

Mind you I had to take it in 3 times before they agreed there was a problem.

Here are my service notes if it helps anyone:

[rc_vRS]

Can you post a pic of your aircon "setup" settings?

I don't have a pic of both setup screens but it happens when set on strong, Medium and light profiles.

I tested with auto recirc on and off makes no difference either.

This weekend I drive about an hour trip mostly freeway and some suburban streets. After a few minutes drive with the temp set at about 19 (22 deg outside) I noticed it wasn't blowing cold air. I tested again and found that the air out of the vents was hotter than ambient, even though the setup screen graphic showed cold air coming from the vents. I then set it on Lo for the remainder of the trip and the air never got cold. At one point I measured this....



I set the profile back to medium because I was sick of getting hot air blasted at me when on the strong setting.


On the drive home I put the temp back to 19 and I started getting cold. I checked the air temp coming out of the vent was between 5-8deg which I would expect to be normal when trying to cool.

[rc_vRS]

Mine is finally fixed I think!

Took it for a long drive on the weekend after the service last week and it stayed cool the whole trip.

Mind you I had to take it in 3 times before they agreed there was a problem.

Here are my service notes if it helps anyone:

Thanks for that info, I will mention it to the dealer. I did check the pipes one time after it happened and it felt to me like one of the pipes was frozen solid even though I wasn't getting any cold air.

Out of interest you in Melbourne? Just wondering which dealer it was.

[toaster]

Lennock in Canberra