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douglas225 Samba Member
Joined: February 06, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: St. Augustine, FL
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:16 am Post subject: air condition relay problems |
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earlier this year, i had my ac worked on and it was working quite well. however, during the summer time i put my van away - the opposite of you guys up north...down here in FL it is too hot. anyways, when i started using it again last week, i noticed two things:
1) the freon had leaked out....that was not really a surprise, but it was disappointing nonetheless
2) and i have now lost fan speed relays 1, 2, and 3... the highest speed (4) is the only one that works.
could this have something to do with my compressor going bad. when ever it is running it makes a loud sound...the mechanic said it was on its way out. any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. _________________ 1989 Vanagon Westfalia (all original)
Manual Transmission
Air Condition
currently around 95k miles |
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MarkWard Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005 Posts: 17014 Location: Retired South Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:39 am Post subject: |
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Douglas, it is unlikey the two problems are related, so it is best to treat them as seperate problems. AC on a 20 plus year old vehicle is a financial commitment. If the system is all original with original hoses there could be multiple small leaks. If the compressor is failing, it is probably sending peices throughout the system, so if you replace the compressor, you are looking at replacing the drier, and possibly the condensor and expansion valve. At the same time a complete system flush. Without the tools, to do the above, you will need to find a competent shop to do the repairs, but it won't be cheap. Sorry.
Excluding the fan switch, I am not exactly sure, but there may be a fan speed resistor on your system. When they burn out, the symptom is similar to what you describe. There is a full moon bus club campout next weekend at Anastasia State Park. Come out and find us. Details are at the Full Moon Bus Club website. mark _________________ ☮️ |
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douglas225 Samba Member
Joined: February 06, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: St. Augustine, FL
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:58 am Post subject: |
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mark,
thanks for the reply and the invitation. if i can, i will try and stop by on saturday. is there a particular place that you guys will be meeting - the camp sites are so isolated and separated it will be hard to see a bunch of you unless there is a gathering.
anyways, thanks for your thoughts. i do have relay switches for the fan speeds.
will it hurt the system to keep running the compressor until it is dead? _________________ 1989 Vanagon Westfalia (all original)
Manual Transmission
Air Condition
currently around 95k miles |
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MarkWard Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005 Posts: 17014 Location: Retired South Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:13 am Post subject: |
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There should be a low pressure switch that keeps the compressor from running if it is low on freon to prevent damage. I wonder if it has been bypassed? The compressor is a common part even if you need to swap the endplate to match your hoses Sanden 508 I believe is the model. Most parts places require you to replace the drier to have a valid warranty on the new compressor. A system flush when the compressor is replaced, will tell you the extent of the crap caught up in the system. I am not there to say. The expansion valve has a very small orafice and does not take much to get partially plugged.
I just installed an entire new aftermarket AC system in my Vanagon. I just did not want to deal with old used parts. In the long run, it may have been cheaper.
The majority of the campers will be near sites 4,5, and 6. We noticed it late and had to take what was left. We have a reservation for site 24. We have our dog, so will be limited to what we can do with the group. There is talk of a pub crawl into St Augustine Saturday night. mark _________________ ☮️ |
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Alaric.H Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2009 Posts: 2529 Location: Sandy Springs GA
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:15 am Post subject: |
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There are 2 fan resistors on the fan 1 for each motor. I just 2 in because I only had the highest speed #4. I bought good used ones from Terry K I now have all 4 speeds.
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douglas225 Samba Member
Joined: February 06, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: St. Augustine, FL
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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Alaric.H wrote: |
There are 2 fan resistors on the fan 1 for each motor. I just 2 in because I only had the highest speed #4. I bought good used ones from Terry K I now have all 4 speeds.
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thanks...sounds like we have the same issue. what was the part numbers that you got from Terry K, i would like to explore purchasing them.
thanks,doug _________________ 1989 Vanagon Westfalia (all original)
Manual Transmission
Air Condition
currently around 95k miles |
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MarkWard Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005 Posts: 17014 Location: Retired South Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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If you look close at the picture you can see the part number. They used the same resistor in Factory air german rabbits and sciroccos. _________________ ☮️ |
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