A/C, Engine, Idle problem, can't find a solution ...

[martinllin68]

Hello,

proud owner of a 2000 VW Beetle, 2.0, 117,000 miles. I have a undiagnosed problem with my Air Conditioning Unit (AC), undiagnosed meaning that even a mechanic (non-VW) checked it out and could not find a problem:

My AC works, it blows cold air. However, when I am driving and I turn the AC on, in my estimation it takes away too much of the engine's power. The engine starts shaking and when I am stopping at e.g. a red light the speedometer needle is fluctuating and the engine is not running smoothly in idle speed. After about 10 minutes the yellow check engine light appears - the last time (about 2 weeks ago) the check engine light stayed on for about 3 days and then disappeared again. In addition, after about 5 minutes, the AC unit is making a low pitch humming sound, which comes and goes.

Any ideas? This is what I have have been told so far:
- The clutch of the AC compressor is stuck sinc eI am not using ny AC unit enough
- One of the fuses could be partially blown
- My car needs a tune-up to re-adjust idle speed. That will fix the AC problem as well (what about the check engine light?)
- Compressor is damaged
- AC unit is low on Freon

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by martinllin68

Hello,

proud owner of a 2000 VW Beetle, 2.0, 117,000 miles. I have a undiagnosed problem with my Air Conditioning Unit (AC), undiagnosed meaning that even a mechanic (non-VW) checked it out and could not find a problem:

My AC works, it blows cold air. However, when I am driving and I turn the AC on, in my estimation it takes away too much of the engine's power. The engine starts shaking and when I am stopping at e.g. a red light the speedometer needle is fluctuating and the engine is not running smoothly in idle speed. After about 10 minutes the yellow check engine light appears - the last time (about 2 weeks ago) the check engine light stayed on for about 3 days and then disappeared again. In addition, after about 5 minutes, the AC unit is making a low pitch humming sound, which comes and goes.

Any ideas? This is what I have have been told so far:
- The clutch of the AC compressor is stuck sinc eI am not using ny AC unit enough
- One of the fuses could be partially blown
- My car needs a tune-up to re-adjust idle speed. That will fix the AC problem as well (what about the check engine light?)
- Compressor is damaged
- AC unit is low on Freon

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

2 things from my end.

1, scan your car with a VAGcom or VChecker code scanner and see what those CEL (check engine light) codes are.

2, Take your car to a local Vw Shop or independent mechanic to have it checked out and worked on.