Hey there, ive tried to call 3 Volkswagen dealerships and they of course wont give me an answer. Im having an issue with my wifes 2001 beetle turbo.

If you use the A/C for about 30 minutes while driving then stop at a stoplight or do any extended idling, the compressor turns off and the cooling fans turn on full blast under the hood and it stays that way until i unplug the battery and let it sit for a few minutes. After reconnecting the battery , the a/c works fine and the cooling fans act normal until i hit another extended idling session and then history repeats itself.

As its gotten hotter outside, the problem has worsened, in 100F+ weather, the A/C blows ice cold for about 5 minutes then i hit the first stoplight and boom, compressor cuts out and (both)fans go to full blast and wont turn off until

A) The battery dies
B) The battery is disconnected, then reconnected.

and again, after the battery is reconnected, the ac works fine again for about 5 minutes.

My first suspect was the fan control module under the battery, but since the problem has worsened as its gotten hotter.. I suspect the thermoswitch as i BELIEVE the low setting for the condenser fan is working properly, could a clogged condenser cause this? any additional ideas?

 

ok replaced the thermoswitch and it fixed the constant on problem of the fans. However in 100F+ weather, the compressor still cuts out and leaves me with no AC untill the battery is disconnected and reconnected. So something is causing an ECU lockout. Any Ideas?

 

Thanks for all the informative reply's. Its turned out to be a faulty Fan control module causing an ECU lockout on the compressor. (mounted under the battery) I hope this helps someone.