- Joined
- Aug 28, 2020
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- USA
- VCDS Serial number
- hcn00a-00b7fa-ae3dcb-acb8ea-tqiahh-6a0c
Thanks to those who read these new posts and reply!! I’ve benefitted so much from your time and knowledge over the years.
My ac on my '13 tdi Jetta wagon has been intermittent for a couple weeks now at the worst possible time of year here in FL. Some trips it works the whole time, sometimes it starts working, then starts blowing hot, then sometimes it doesn’t work at all. I read about the common failures of the RCV valve so I started there: with the car running, I reached down to that valve in the compressor and wrapped on the housing area a couple of times, and it kicked on, as if I had just freed the stuck solenoid valve. I was sure I had it diagnosed. So I had the system drained, I replaced the valve, then went back and had it refilled. Worked great for the rest of that day. Then the next day, it was back to not working for a 3 hour drive I had to make across the state…then the next day it worked for whole trip back. Since then, the best it will do is blow cold for a few mins then start blowing hot, but usually doesn’t blow cold at all.
For the trips where it starts then stops, VCDS shows 2 codes: 9481200 - refrigerant pressure too low; 9480465 - control circuit for A/C compressor short to ground.
For the trips where it doesn’t work at all, VCDS just shows the 9480465 – short to ground. I checked advanced measuring blocks on the last of these trips and it showed the following: refrigerant pressure – 8.0 bar; compressor shutoff – malfunction in activation path; compressor current 0.0A.
Where do I start in trying to diagnose the compressor circuit issue? Seems like I should start with the control module, being that there’s 0 amps going thru whatever sensor VCDS pulls from. I am concerned about the refrigerant level code but want to fix the control circuit first.
Many thanks!!
My ac on my '13 tdi Jetta wagon has been intermittent for a couple weeks now at the worst possible time of year here in FL. Some trips it works the whole time, sometimes it starts working, then starts blowing hot, then sometimes it doesn’t work at all. I read about the common failures of the RCV valve so I started there: with the car running, I reached down to that valve in the compressor and wrapped on the housing area a couple of times, and it kicked on, as if I had just freed the stuck solenoid valve. I was sure I had it diagnosed. So I had the system drained, I replaced the valve, then went back and had it refilled. Worked great for the rest of that day. Then the next day, it was back to not working for a 3 hour drive I had to make across the state…then the next day it worked for whole trip back. Since then, the best it will do is blow cold for a few mins then start blowing hot, but usually doesn’t blow cold at all.
For the trips where it starts then stops, VCDS shows 2 codes: 9481200 - refrigerant pressure too low; 9480465 - control circuit for A/C compressor short to ground.
For the trips where it doesn’t work at all, VCDS just shows the 9480465 – short to ground. I checked advanced measuring blocks on the last of these trips and it showed the following: refrigerant pressure – 8.0 bar; compressor shutoff – malfunction in activation path; compressor current 0.0A.
Where do I start in trying to diagnose the compressor circuit issue? Seems like I should start with the control module, being that there’s 0 amps going thru whatever sensor VCDS pulls from. I am concerned about the refrigerant level code but want to fix the control circuit first.
Many thanks!!
