Hi All,

Right I've had my 2.0 Elegance Estate 55k miles for about 4 months and the aircon isn't working. I've tried to regas the system with a kit from Halfords, but the gauge reads between 25- 30ish psi, which according to the kit is a little low but OK (under 25 psi is apparantly low). Anyone know what the corerct presure should be? Although when I try to add any gas to it it appears not to go into the system and simply releases presure when you take the valve off, having apparantly no effect on the aircon system presure.

I've read on here that the clutch from the compressor can fall off, when I look at the compressor from the top top of the engine all appears OK, but could I be missing something?

The climate control works fine, but the aircon doesn't make air colder than the ambient temperature.

Thanks for any help.

J

I prosume that you are running in auto mode not econ (compressor dos'nt run in econ)

yes!

If it's beyond you and us, look for a specialist automotive air conditioning firm in your local Yellow Pages.

Surely if the clutch has fallen off the compressor I'd be able to see it?

Looking from the top it will look as if the clutch is still attached, but it isn't. The clutch is hidden inside of the pulley and everything will still turn.

It isn't usually repairable as when the clutch comes off it breaks the thread on the bolt.

Indy prices are about £400 fitted and Dealer is about £1k

Sorry :(

Oh dear. How much would no aircon knock off resale value?

When you turn on the aircon, the load on the engine increases and the compressor seems to turn, as if the compressor is doing something and turning.

If I take the under plate off and have at the compressor from underneath is it possible to see if it's damaged? (I'll happily have a look but it would great to know before hand if I'm wasting my time!)

Is the part number "1J0 820 803F"? I'm not sure where to look.

Thanks.

If the clutch has fallen off this wont effect the filling of refrigerant.

I'd be looking at fault codes myself first.

I've had a quick look at the fault codes on the climatic screen, but wasn't sure what I was actually looking for as there were 50 odd different 'channels/levels' Any particular 'channel' I should take the code from?

Ta.

The code would be best from a diagnostic machine.

Ah. So you can't tell anything from the climatic screen stuff then?

Sounds like your having a similar problem to me.

I think your right on the part number. I have the TDi engine and the part number for mine is S1J0820803K. Thats taken from the quote the dealer give me to replace it.

I didn't know mine was working either. The car was serviced earlier this week and they found the air wasn't cold enough, hence why they checked the air con compressor.

Did they find anything wrong with your compressor? Or did it look ok?

I have the same problem. the plate with 3 lobes on the end of the compressor had fallen off, 3 spot welds had failed. it was found when i had the car serviced lying on top of the plastic sump guard. i don’t think you would notice it was missing unless you removed the compressor. i have a replacement compressor but haven’t fitted it yet, weather still too cold!. Jobs mounting up, door control unit requires re wired, air con compressor to be replaced, windscreen wipers sticking, someday's I wish I had kept my old British built nissan!

Hi I am new to this forum.

I came here to try to find info regarding a problem I have which I think this thread is about.

I have a high mileage (220k) 2002 octavia tdi, today I started getting screeching noises from I believe the air con compressor clutch.

The confusing thing is that the noise goes away when the clutch is engaged i.e on defrost or auto, this led me to suspect a clutch or pilot bearing problem rather than the compressor.

Unfortunately I am working in France, there is snow on the ground and my workshop and tools are in the UK.

My questions are:

Is it likely to be the clutch unit?

Is it accessible from underneath after removing the undertray?

Is it repairable, or is the clutch available seperately?

Or any other advice

Many thanks

-

I see to be having a similar problem - tapping noise when aircon is disengaged.

Is it possible to grab a clutch from a breakers yard and fit to the compressor, as the compressor is fine and i dont eant to have to pay for regassing one if i dont have to?

Also, is this likely to be a big job and is it accessible without dropping/winching the engine out??

Any help would be great, cheers.

Hi JR and Lecky,

I have a 81kw TDI Octavia (76k and asv engine code) with what sounds like the same problem. With the a/c off (and on engine start up and shut down) I get a loud noise which sounds like a belt slipping or a loose bearing. When the a/c is switched on the noise goes away but a/c dosen't cool the air.

I found the problem to be the clutch plate on the a/c compressor. The splines on the plate have been stripped off so the plate rattles around when disengaged. When the clutch is engaged the plate locks onto the compressor pulley and spins with it and there is little or no noise. Because the splines have been stripped the compressor shaft doesn't spin so you get no cooling.

The clutch plate is the thing in the center of the compressor pulley with about six circular studs on it. You can access it by dropping down the bottom engine cover. Get your hand up to the pulley and spin the drive disc. It should spin smoothly with some resistance from the compressor. If it feels loose or spins freely your probably in trouble.

I drove for about 400 miles from when I first heard the noise before investigating and found that the splines on the compressor shaft have also been stripped. This means a new compressor :(

You might get away with a new drive disc only if you get it in time, but theres probably a fault in the compressor that caused the clutch to fail. (Dealers usually only supply complete compressor/pulley assy).

I have removed the drive disc and am running with no a/c while I save up

Hope this helps

Hi Scannyj,

Cheers for that mate. I have seen a new compressor unit on ebay for

Don't forget to put a new dryer on if you have opened the system

Got a compressor off local scrap yard yesterday. 50euro. slightly damaged but clutch was good. Swapped over clutch plate and its working fine so far! Splines on the shaft were not as badly damaged as I thought. The shaft is much harder material than the drive disc so it took most of the wear, so I might be ok.