Stuart's Volkswagen Golf Mk 5/V Forum

I have a 2007 1.9 TDI Match. Last week I went to get the air con recharged, but horror struck when it turned out to be a failed compressor and pressure switch. The repair cost £500 from a local garage.

My main point is that the Haynes manual states not to run the aircon without gas as it can overheat the compressor and kill it as it is running all the time.
Looking on the web, no other sites say that damage can be caused like this. It's all very strange. I thought compressors came on and off.

My summary is, that if your air con is not working, get it checked out quickly..
Great site by the way.

Bad luck. I imagine that the Haynes manual is correct in that running a compressor without refridgerant is likely to cause problems. In normal operation the compressor will switch on and off to compress the refridgerant but if there is none, it may furiously try to compress air instead and overheat.

I like your summary. A problem left unchecked will rarely fix itself and will often get worse.

Glad to hear that you like the site,
Stuart