1999 Beetle Air Conditioner

[cbillips]

I just acquired a 1999 Beetle from a friend. Bought it as a second car. When I purchased it, the air conditioner compressor was supposedly bad. The car came with a new compressor, accumulator and pressure release valve. I replaced all these compnents, plus made sure to oil the new compressor before replacing everyting. I had an air conditioning expert pull suction, test for leaks and recharge.

The system works OK and blows cold for the first minute of operation. Then the compressor starts kicking in/out rapidly. When the compressor kicks in/out, the engine jerks. When your driving you can really feel this. The compressor will not stay kickin in for more than a few seconds before kicking out.

I've replaced all parts with new ones. Is there anything else to check or replace? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[boschmann]

Are you sure it's fully charged? You need to find what are the high & low side pressures when running.

[veedubmechanic]

New compressors dont need any oil added to them. they should come full of oil from the factory. if you added the 220ml of oil to the system or what it says when replacing the compressor and accumulator, than i am suprised the a/c even works with that much oil in it.

[cbillips]

Originally Posted by veedubmechanic

New compressors dont need any oil added to them. they should come full of oil from the factory. if you added the 220ml of oil to the system or what it says when replacing the compressor and accumulator, than i am suprised the a/c even works with that much oil in it.

Is there any easy way to check this now the the system is reassembled? Any easy way to drain and refill?

To date, I've replaced the pressure switch which has not fixed the problem.

When I purchased the car, the AC was supposedly busted due to a bad compressor. Due to the AC techs recommendation (probably was bad advice), I have replaced the Compressor, Filter/Dryer, Expansion valve and now the pressure switch.

If I jumper the pressure switch, the compressor runs fine and cools the car quite nicely. It also works fine for the first five minutes after a cold start. As soon as it starts to warm the engine, the quick cycle hits in/out rapdily jerking the car.

I talked to the previous owner that sold me the car and he said this was the exact same problem he was having. So I've replaced all these parts only to be back where I started from with the original parts in place.

Any idea what else to try?

[4stripes]

My 2000 Beetle had an intermittant problem with the AC. Turned out to be the 30 amp fuse holder located on top of the battery cover. Maybe corrosion caused a poor contact, but the holder began to distort. When this fuse is out, the fans & AC stop working! It was an easy fix. My holder just needed some contact cleaner and a new fuse (the old one was "fused" on one prong, so it broke on removal).
Cheers Eric

[Rotten Ralph]

Just curious, does the kicking on and off seem to stop or at least be less frequent when you accelerate? My daughter's Beetle has the same symptoms except when she accelerates, it stops, and when she takes her foot off the gas to slow down/stop, or is sitting still at idle, it starts again. The jerking engine is very pronounced.
I'll check the llevel of charge....
Could a vacuum line be the culprit?

[rjhorky]

Not sure if my symptoms are all the sam but .. the system seems ot be full (won't take more freon), both fans start/run when AC switch turned on, compressor clicks on ... no cold air. Vacuum is rock solid at 19. What do I do??