Engine Air Intake

[SilverBeast]

I took out the headlight while I was taking the bits off in preparation for a visit by the mobile  Air Conditioning man to look at both my cars (the others a Fiesta) so he would have better access.  Looking at the attached picture is something missing (apart from the headlight ).  The picture has just the headlight removed.

[attach=1]

The blue circle is the air intake before it passes into the wing.  Should there be some more ducting under the headlight that attaches to this?  The two red circled holes appear to have had screws fitted in the past, so I wondered if there should be more ducting take the intake further forward.

I ask as I had the radiator replaced early last year and the garage that did it did a poor job of putting the front end back together, as well as breaking off the bracket for the air con fill at the top of the radiator.  I got them to sort out the bits I found, but wondered if this is something I may have missed.  When I serviced the car a couple of months later I discovered that the duct into the air filter box from the above inlet was also rattling round in the wing!

Air con stopped working at about the same time and looking at the following picture of the high pressure switch/pipework I think the probably bent it out of the way and fractured the pipe under the headlight where it is fastened by a bracket and tends to corrode. 

[attach=2]

I will have to take off, or ease forward a foot or so, the (fibre glass?) panel that goes across the front of the car in a week or so then the Air Con man comes back to repair the pipework.  Aparently VW use a non-standard pipe diameter (9.5mm for this one) and he needs to order the fittings.

[Mirez]

9.5mm genius!

I think that's how it's supposed to look, I've not got anything attached to mine nor my previous one - they both kinda just sit there though you do wonder why its not ducted to the front grill area!

[SilverBeast]

Thanks for your reply, I knew you'd be about soon!

The Parking Sensor and External Temperature Sensor Connectors (and Bracket!) were just floating round inside the bumper.  I wasn't sure exactly where they should clip onto the bumper as it wasn't particularly clear in the TIS images (and Chris's guide for front bumper cover removal).  This is where I put them in the end.

[attach=1]

Do you recall if that looks right too?

BTW In TIS and Chris's guide there are 4 screws to remove in each wheelarch not just 3 (the fourth is at the bottom and inboard) as there is an "undertray" type piece to reduce the crapdirt and water getting behind the bumper and getting onto the fog lights/wiring/air con bits.  Maybe this was added towards the end of production and that's what it's not in TIS.  I'll probably order a Haynes manual now they are out as it's usually easier for me with pictures ( ) than the TIS drawings.  Of course there are plenty of those on this (and the 'other' site).

[Chrispb]

Have to agree the TIS pictures are really naff most of the time, the temperature sensor is normally visible when you look through the lower grill by the n/s fog light, that way it gets the ambient air directly when the car is moving.

[Mirez]

Yup that looks wrong to me, the AAT sensor should face forward out of the lower grill. The bracket, I think, secures to the front chassis beam.

[SilverBeast]

Thanks Chris.

The bracket the Temp Sensor is fitted to in my picture was attached to the Temp Sensor but was just dangling.  Similarly the Parking Sensor connector wasn't attached to anything.  I assume that the Parking Sensor connector is now in the correct place (at least that appears to agree with TIS) but that the Temp Sensor Bracket fixes to the white plastic clip that is on the back of top right Fog Light fixing screw.  That appears to fit the elongated hole in the bracket, but it then seems to interfere with the Fog Light plastics.

Has anyone got a picture of the external Temp Sensor in-situ?  Preferably from behind as in my earlier picture.  Even through the grill would be OK as it would at least allow me to see where it should sit.

Thanks again for your help.
Richard

[Chrispb]

Just taken these looking through the grill, as far as I can see it does look like it's fixed to the chassis member.
Hope that helps.

[SilverBeast]

That's brilliant. Thanks.

It's a bit weird that TIS shows it being disconnected when you take then bumper cover off.  I guess they must have moved it at some pint and not updated TIS.

I'll reposition it and take a photo when I take the front fibre glass panel off.

[SilverBeast]

Back to my original question.  I was looking at some pictures Bigjeeze took (when repairing his air-con) on another site.   Where he cut a hole in the panel to access the joint under the headlight.  It appears there is some sort of plastic lip that should be parallel to the back of the bumper and would probably use the red fixing holes marked, along with some behind the front edge of the grill.

[SilverBeast]

Bumper off again while Air Con being fixed.  Fitted Ambient Air sensor back in proper location.  Here's a pic for clarification for anyone else.
[attach=1]

[Mirez]

Ahh that looks much more like it

So was it the pipe by the drivers headlight and are you all sorted now?

[SilverBeast]

Yes

Before:-
[attach=1]

After:-
[attach=2]
[attach=3]

Just realised I forgot to take a picture with the Radiator Opening Panel off  .  No I'm not taking it off again, before you ask.  Here it is ready to come off
[attach=4]

Ropes held all the radiators when panel was off - the only pipe that needed disconnecting was the Air-con pipe at the bottom of the drier (bottom left of shot).
Pipe-repaired, pressurised with Dry Nitrogen for 10-15min (Radiator Opening Panel still off in case it leaked circuit temporarily reconnected). 

Drier cartridge re-placed (I know that's a shock - someone had greased the cap so it hadn't corroded and could be removed).  Vaseline put round top of new cap.

Panel refitted using just two screws at top of front wings. System vacuumed down while Panel and pipework fixings re-fitted.  Regassed (+ some oil).

Engine/System run - Front vents down to 8.6C (His S-Max only gets 10-11C when he's just serviced and gassed it!)
Engine off and sniff for leaks around repair and accessible joints (including pipework running to rear evaporator).

Diagnosis Ã,£20 (While he was here checking and regassing and my wife's '57 Fiesta)
Repair, check and regas Ã,£135
Drier cartridge Ã,£10 (He got it some time ago for a Galaxy he couldn't get the cap off, and didn't believe he'd ever find one again as this was his first)

I intend to start a Thread for "Recommended Air-Con repairers" where's the best place for it, as it obviously isn't MKI/II specific?

PS: 3rd attempt at posting as if attachments too big going back after changing size Post doesn't do anything!

[Mirez]

Ahh ok, looks a good job that

Post it in general as "Recommended Specialists" I'll make it sticky then and we can add to it for other things.

Can you clarify the issue with uploading?

[SilverBeast]

Just an update.  No work done on air-con since this.

Centre front vent only open on rear air-con off (fans off).  Air from Centre vent 8.3C exterior temp 22.5C

All vents open front and rear air-con on and all vents open,  fans all on full rear.

Centre Front vent 9.6C, 2nd row centre roof vent 10.6C.

 

[insanitybeard]

I changed the drier cartridge on mine last summer whilst the system was degassed to allow me to carry out some work on the pipework (leaking due to corrosion at a joint), I started doing a writeup but have yet to finish it  , it certainly ain't as simple as you think it might be, that retaining circlip on the cap is an absolute P.I.T.A!