Ant's VR6

[tony_ack 0]

Another week, more problems. I guess it's becoming the norm now.

 

The door handle repair kit got here on Tuesday, so I fixed the door handle on Wendnesday. It's a little fiddly to manouvere the spring out of the way, but I got there in the end. I did it all without taking the door card off as I didn't fancy wrestling with the weather seal. That said, the weather seal isn't great anyway and I need to do both sides at some point. The biggest danger with the job is damaging the central locking wiring when messing with the clip, but I took it easy and it was fine. The handle now moves nicely (after a good 'grease up') but I'm missing the white plastic clip that keeps the middle of the handle tight on the door. I looked at doing the passenger side, but didn't have the time or inclination to tackle another handle, especially since the mech was still intact, so I just sprayed loads of grease on it, and it now feels a lot better as well.

 

The car has developed a new problem - it really struggles to start sometimes. I noticed it more this week, and then also noticed that I had been subconciously and habitually starting it with a bit of throttle to make sure it starts okay. It cranks and turns over fine, but struggles to start without a bit of throttle (even then it doesn't always start without a fight). I tried starting today with no throttle, and it just cranked and cranked. I could hear a relay clicking in the fusebox, and I heard some misfires from the exhaust while cranking too, accompanied by the smell of fuel. Occasionaly the relay would click, the starter would stop, and the dash display would go out, before coming back a second or so later. Looks like another one to investigate. The car runs fine once started (hot and cold). I really hope it's something simple like a relay as I don't fancy getting to the injectors under the schrick.

 

Today was attempt 5 (FIVE!!) at getting the konis and H&Rs on. I tried cutting the top nut off the front suspension, but it was a job too far for my dremmel, and it kept overheating. I decided to try an impact driver (I had been trying to get a new battery for my impact gun for a while but they're impossible to find). A few hefty bangs (and a numb arm) later and the nut was finally loosened!

 

The hub bolts didn't really give me too much trouble - not sure why VW used 18mm bolts here. I didn't have a 1/2" 18mm socket, so I had to resort to trying a 19mm with the big strong arm - luckily there was more than enough grip and the bolts loosened with zero rounding!

 

Camber looks to be way out now - I thought about getting it booked in for some alignment, but then I saw a thread about making your own alignment tools, and was intrigued...

 

Rears were pretty easy too once I'd worked out the best jacking/axle stand combo (support car on axle stands, use jack on axle to push new struts through the turrets). Bottom bolts came off nice as I did the bump stops a few months ago, and top mount came out nicely as well. I noticed that I had put one of the top mounts together wrong last time (whoops).

 

Then disaster. The VW top mount plates and nuts don't fit the Konis, and as the Konis were second hand, the guy I bought them off hadn't sent the Koni plates/nuts. I called the missus to go to B&Q for some M12 nuts and a 12mm drill bit, but the only nuts they had were the wrong thread. And then to top it off, the drill batterty died on me halfway through drilling the first plate. It was already getting late so I had to call it a day.

 

So the Corrado is off the road again for a week. I've ordered some nuts (M12 1.25 pitch, 19mm thin nut), and have brought the plates and drill home so I can work on them here. In another week, she may just be ready to go?

[tony_ack 0]

Got some nuts yesterday! I also drilled out all the plates and washers. They were fitted in 15 minutes, and the car was road-worthy again.

 

Well, kind of.

 

The car is incredibly skittish over bumps to the point where I'm struggling to keep control over bumps even at low speeds. I lose all feel over the bumps, and bump steer is a lot worse. There are a couple of problems that may be causing this..

 

Firstly, I noticed that the box that was used to post the struts to me had a big oil stain in it. I checked all the struts, and sure enough one of the fronts is leaking from the top adjustor. I bounced all four corners of the car, and the leaky strut offers very little resistance compared to the other three (I've even firmed this strut up as far as it will go, but still no difference..) The guy I got them off is sending another one to me.

 

Secondly, the alignment is probably miles out now. I can see the camber is way out, so that's probably not helping things. There's no point paying for wheel alignment yet though until I change the leaky strut.

 

The back is a bit creaky in reverse, but I think I may have tightened the top mounts too much.

 

It didn't help yesterday with the ABS kicking in every time I braked for the first 10 minutes - it was a relief when the ABS light finally came on (and stayed on), disabling the ABS. ABS is better today though

[CazzaVR 0]

I take it the dampers are adjustable? What setting are they on? If they are on the hardest setting this will make them skittish, especially at the rear. I used to have mine about halfway on the rear and 3/4 firmness at the front. Noticed a huge difference when I whacked up the dial on the rears- horrid- immediately turned them back again!

 

Hopefully the new strut will improve things considerably + alignment is massively important. Good luck!

[tony_ack 0]

I drove it again home from work and it is really shocking to be honest! Every time the left-front (the leaky strut) hits a bit of bad road (and there are a lot of bad roads around here) I feel like I'm going to end up in the kerb. The right front isn't so bad, it doesn't move around quite so much if I hit a bump with that. I'm also getting a lot more wheel spin when moving off, and can hear the tyres screeching a little when in car parks (so doing about 5-10mph!)

 

Settings are currently half a turn from the softest setting all round, except for the leaky damper which is turned up to the firmest (that corner still bounces a hell of a lot more than the others though). Since there is no real difference to the 'bounce' of that corner of the car if I turn that one up or down, I may adjust it to the same as the others, just in case that's causing my problems.

 

All the signs suggest to me that the leaky damper is causing the problems, though running what looks like full negative camber isn't helping! The steering wheel isn't straight when driving straight either so I wouldn't be surprised if the toe is way out too.

 

Shame about all the bank holidays now - looks like I'm not going to get my replacement until next week at the earliest.

[tony_ack 0]

ATTEMPT 7 at sorting out the suspension!

 

I bit the bullet today and got a new set of Koni TAs from Larkspeed in Leeds. Rang them this morning to confirm they had them in stock, and collected this afternoon (in the Golf - I wasn't driving the Corrado further than I had to!). They were the cheapest web price I could find too, so that was a nice bonus.

 

I got round to fitting fronts before it went dark. Driving up to the lock up in the Corrado was a fight to keep the car out of the kerb. The tyres had worn quite a bit on the inside. The new struts were easy to work with, though I forgot to bring the new top mount bearings with me, so I had to fit the old broken ones. So they'll have to come off again soon.

 

I guesstimated the camber somewhere in the middle, and the wheels look a lot better now. I think there's a slight toe-out, but nothing too bad. And it drives better too! It's like driving a normal car again!

 

I've set the fronts at 1.5 turns from soft, and the rears were left at 0.5 turns, and the ride is actually pretty good.

 

I still want to fit the new rears (though the current rears seem okay-ish), and I also need to replace the front top mount bearings. Then I can get the alignment done and finally I'll be able to draw a line under the whole suspension saga!

[tony_ack 0]

A week since the last post, which means that everything is working for once!

 

ATTEMPT 8 at sorting out the suspension took place last Friday. I needed to fit new top mount bearings to the fronts, which basically meant taking the struts out AGAIN, but it didn't take too long. The camber is a bit too negative again now, but that will be sorted soon enough (it's nowehere near as bad as before though!). The rears were really easy to work with and probably took about 1-1.5 hours to do both sides. So now I have a spare set of rear Koni TAs (which seem to be in okay condition, unlike the leaky fronts!).

 

I took the car for a drive and it's good now. The ride is a little harsher than standard, but not bad, and the harshness is partially down to the wheels I think. It's definitely okay for daily duties. I've set the fronts to 1.5 turns from soft, and the rears to 0.5 turns from soft. I have noticed a knocking noise coming from the back, but I suspect the exhaust is knocking against something, as the mounts looked pretty perished when I was under there.

 

I'm looking forward to getting the alignment sorted, so I can see exactly how good the Corrado can handle. I'm getting a new set of tyres next week too - a full set of 205/45/16 ContiSport 2's. They were menat to be V rated, but I got a call saying they could only get W rated tyres in before Tuesday, so they'd have to give me those for the same price. Damn. I'm going to see if the tyre place does 4 wheel alignmenty too - if not then I'll see if I can get it in somewhere in Sheffield.

 

I went to Elsecar on Sunday and saw quite a few Storms with the painted grille and decided I fancy a piece of that! I don't want to pretend the car is a Storm - I just think the painted grille really suits the car well.

 

---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

 

Pictures of the new wheels/suspension combo:

 

 

 

 

 

The difference between the rear top mount plates - standard and Koni-sized (now irrelevant as I had new plates in the kit for the new dampers!)

 

 

---------- Post added at 04:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 PM ----------

 

And... coming up in the next few months... here is a taster of the next jobs I have in store...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[boost monkey 0]

Great updates!! Can't believe I haven't found this thread before, and I can sympathise with the suspension problems. You're right to set the rears stiffer than the fronts, that allows the rears to catch up and stabilise to the fronts quickly after things like speed bumps :D

 

I have just cut out the top suspension plates to remove old dampers before, but then mine are the same as mk2 items so they're 10 a penny.

[tony_ack 0]

The car is now shod in a new set of Continentals. I went via BestBuyTyres, as they were the agent for Dexel who are walking distance from my work. I ordered 4 Continental SportContact 2's in 205/45/16 which came to £414.68 (fitted). I went for 205s rather than 195s as I wasn't too keen on the stretch on 195s. I got a call a day after I ordered to say that they didn't have V rated tyres which I had ordered, and had to supply W rated tyres instead - I of course agreed. However when I picked the car up it had PremiumContacts not SportContacts. Even so, I may stick with them, as the ride on the Premiums is sublime compared to the old tyres. I still need to look at getting a refund, as there's a difference in price between the two tyres.

 

I also asked if they did wheel alignment...

 

'Yes' was the reply

'Toe AND Camber?'

'Yep, we do the alignment'

'Camber too?'

'Yes, we do the camber as well'

 

After I dropped the car off, I came across some stellar advice in another thread

 

DON'T LET YOUR TYRE FITTING CENTRE DO YOUR ALIGNMENT

 

Little did I know how good the advice was at the time

 

Fast forward to picking up the car at lunchtime...

 

I paid for the alignment (£26) and drove off. Something wasn't right straight away. I couldn't seem to turn very far to the left, I'd hit resistance about 1/2 turn from full lock. Nevertheless, I drove off to get some fuel (£91 for a full tank..!). There was definitely something wrong though, so I stopped off at Dexel again on the way back. They drove it on the ramp, looked at it and scratched their heads for a bit before realising that they'd twisted the rubber rack boot when adjusting the l/hand trackrod (yes, I know it's not supposed to be adjusted). They said it was sorted, so I backed it off the ramp... and... the problem was still there (albeit better than it was). By now I had to go back to work, so I left the car with them and asked them to ring me once done.

 

I rang them at 4pm, and they said it was ready, so I went to pick it up. The guy walked to the car with me, explaining that the rubber boot had still been catching but it was now sorted, and the alignment was spot on. But then he said they had noticed something that wasn't quite right. I knew what was coming..

'The camber is out?' I said

'Yeah, there seems to be more camber on one side than the other'

'So you don't do camber as part of the alignment?'

'No, we don't have the equipment for it'

 

So I still need to get the geometry done properly. The car pulls slightly to the left, and the steering wheel is slightly off centre to the right when driving in a straight line, but that could be down to the camber.

Edited May 3, 2011 by tony_ack

[tony_ack 0]

Now that I'm happy with the new shocks and springs, and have some new tyres, I needed to do two things today.

 

First I rang the insurance company to declare the mods. The new wheels and shocks/springs add £100 to my premium over 6 months! My renewal is going to be over £1000 I think, especially since I'll probably do more miles next year as well.

 

Secondly, I rang a wheel alignment place in Sheffield from the alignmycar website. Compared to the converstaion I had at Dexel yesterday, the guy on the phone filled me with confidence (though was a bit vague on his prices). He asked what car it was, and what I wanted aligning - I told him it was a Corrado and that I wanted camber and toe sorting out, and only the fronts were adjustable. I told him it was lowered - he said it would be a problem if he used the standard figures as the lowering would affect the camber, but as long as I told him what camber I needed to run, he should be able to do it fine. Car is booked in for Friday, and I said I'd give him the alignment settings.

 

I've done a search and it appears the -0.8 to -1.0 deg would suit a lowered Corrado? I guess if I give him the Bentley manual alignment data and tell him to set the front camber to the modified value, he should be fine?

[tony_ack 0]

I've now lost faith in wheel alignment specialists.

 

I took it in a week ago to get done - the guy there liked to talk but said some weird stuff.

 

His best quote was 'all the suspension is connected - if you adjust the front, it moves the back'. I think I know what he was trying to say, but he still sounded numb.

 

The first problem is that he said the car being lowered would be a problem, so I just told him to use the normal settings, but to set the camber to -0.8 degrees. The camber was way out as suspected, and the machine told him he needed a special tool to adjust. He wasn't going to do it until I told him it was just a couple of 18mm bolts on each side. As soon as he loosened the bolts, the camber slipped to full negative, and with the weight of the car still on the wheels, he couldn't push the wheels in to were they should have been. I told him the only way he could do it would be to lift the car in that case, and go for a 'best guess', then re-measure when the car was on its wheels again. His jacking technique left a lot to be desired - a load of rubber bricks under the sill, and the opposite ramp kept catching the rear chassis leg when it was jacked up. He got lucky with the first wheel, but the second wheel was out, and he had to do it again. The second time, it was out at first, then fell spot on when the car bounced a little, so he took the plaudits for that. I told him that the other side may need bouncing too then to make sure it settled at the right value, but he couldn't see a problem, as the other side had been right when he measured it (even though he hadn't bounced it). He then did the toe, and realised he'd forgot to tighten the strut>hub bolts on one side, so tightened those... knocking the camber on that wheel out again. Even when he did tighten it I'm sure it wasn't tight enough as he could barely get any leverage, and he was using a standard size 1/2" drive ratchett. When I told him it needed to be tightened to 85lb/ft, he said he just did them 'FT' and it would be fine.

 

He reset the camber on the side he'd knocked out - it wasn't perfect but close enough. I backed it off the ramp and tested the steering lock-to-lock... sure enough I had exactly the same problem as I'd had with Dexel - something stopped the rack when turning to the left. I told the guy and he kind of just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to do. I said it was probably the rubber gaiter on the rack catching as it had been twisted. He had a look under the car, and said he could see the gaiter and it was fine! I had a look myself, and couldn't see anything as the wishbone was in the way - then I realised he was talking about the CV boot!

 

He kind of just left me to it, and I went under the car myself. I could feel the gaiter and it was split - probably by the numpties at Dexel. So I just broke it free as I didn't have the tools to loosen it there and then. So now I need a new gaiter.

 

Best thing about it all is that the steering wheel isn't straight, and the car seems to pull to the left slightly still! And after a week, the right wheel looks like it has too much camber again.

[tony_ack 0]

Well the car has been running well for a couple of weeks so I couldn't resist tinkering!

 

I have had a replacement tailgate sitting in my living room for several months and I decided that with free weekends becoming something of a premium, I would fit it today (I actually booked it into my diary 2 weeks ago!)

 

I got the tailgate from Phat, and it was pretty tidy, except for some light rust where they ALL go, around the number plate lights. I wire brush-drilled out all the rust I could, and followed up with the dremmel in hard to reach places. I treated with Kurust, cleaned and primered. Unfortunately the rust needed grinding beyond the plinth - only about 1sq cm, but enough to make touching the paint up a nightmare! I ended up spraying the whole rear panel below the spoiler and blended into the existing paint on the corner. The colour was from paints4u who I've used before and are always a pretty close match. I lacquered, let it harden, then went over with some 2000 grit to smooth the finish, followed by an hour or so with the DA polisher. I was very pleased with the results - the colour match is spot on. I looked around trying to find the blend lines, and keep thinking I have, only to realise it's just the metallic effect, and the 'line' moves, when I change position.

 

 

That's the way it stayed for a couple of months. I've not had much free time to fit it - it really takes a day to do. I did one on the MK2 a while ago and don't remember the job too fondly! This week though I started to do the finishing touches

 

New number plate lights from VW (plinth is a grind/sand down and respray, but I need another one really as there's a small hole due to the rust)

 

 

 

Also took out the boot lock... I'll be needing to swap mine in!

 

[tony_ack 0]

Oops... forgot to finish the tailgate update!

 

It took me about 6 hours to swap in total... I could probably have done it quicker, but I spent quite a long time swapping bits over from the old tailgate to new - making sure everything was put in exactly right.

 

You have to remove a surprisingly large amount of your interior at the rear to do the swap! Boot carpets, parcel shelf supports, rear headlining support and c-pillar trims all had to come out to get access to the bolts and wiring.

 

And what I learnt...

 

-The tailgate is heavy. Really heavy. Three people-heavy

-Taking out the circlip is the easiest way to remove the hydraulic struts!

-When putting the new tailgate on, those pesky bolts just won't go in without 15 minutes of fiddling around

-Check and check again that the wiper washer pipe is connected

-Lining up panels to get the correct gaps is a nightmare when you can only adjust when the panel is open

 

Some pics of my day...

 

 

[tony_ack 0]

Okay where were we...?

 

I've made a start on restoring the interior. I've cleaned, conditioned and re-dyed all the door cards, and the rear seats, and they've come up great. Just the front seats to go now - they've been cleaned and conditioned, but I need a couple of days spare to do the dyeing. I suspect the fronts have been re-dyed/painted before, as not only are they a darker shade than the rest, but quite a lot of the paint/dye came off when I was cleaning them, revealing the original colour underneath.

 

I'll put some pics up when it's finished :-)

 

While doing the front door cards, I installed some sound insulation, and swapped the front speakers for some Pyles... not the greatest make, but they were leftovers from my old MK2 and rated for 300w (apparently). It's made a bit of a difference to the sound, but I still think I need an amp now to rid me of the distortion.

 

I also spent some time treating the rust on the driver's sill. It was surface rust, but getting worse, and was caused by rust on the inside of the driver's door dripping down when wet onto the sill. I wire brushed and ground out all the rust (I hope!). I was going to use filler to bring the repair back level with the surrounding metal, but the weather was not on my side - plus the repair was only really to stop it getting worse rather than getting it perfect. I sanded, masked and sprayed (using etch primer, colour coat and lacquer), and it's come out pretty well. I also discovered G3 rubbing compound for the first time (where have you been all my life??) so the finish, although not perfectly smooth because of the underlying metal, is shiny at least!

 

I spent a day a couple of weeks ago giving the outside of the car a damn good clean. I attacked some of the light scuffs and scratches with my DA, and most of them have now gone! Looking pretty tidy outside now, I'll get some pic up when the weather improves.

 

Last weekend we went to the Golf MK2 owners club national meet in the Corrado and the missus' MK2 and the Corrado won best other VAG in the show and shine! The first award, though I feel I cheated a little by having a Corrado. I wasn't too impressed though when one guy called it a Scirocco.... he really should have known better?!?

 

---------- Post added at 07:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 PM ----------

 

Then, today was MOT day... I put it straight in with no prep and it... FAILED. But not on much...

 

It failed on a split rubber boot on the steering rack (i.e. the one butchered by the wheel alignment 'specialists'). The MOT place could have done it for £80, but I decided at that price, and since I already had the part, I'd try it myself (so guess what I'm doing this weekend).

 

There were also advisories for play in the rear wheel bearings - I changed these a few months back, so they probably just need adjusting.

 

I've also booked a day off work on Monday for a 'road trip' to Southam, Warwickshire... watch this space :-)

[tony_ack 0]

I changed the steering rack boot today - what a PITA that was!

 

I didn't have too much trouble removing the track rod end, though it was pretty stiff to say it had only been adjusted about a month ago. The old boot had split into two, and both parts came off relatively easily.

 

But then fitting the new one was a nightmare, especially since I was doing it on the floor, with the car on an axle stand. Space in there is very limited, as the subframe is in the way. You have to get the boot to hook onto a little 'nipple' before pushing it home, which, when the boot is a tight fit, and the rubber is new and firm, is pretty tricky. After scratching my hands to pieces trying to get access, I managed to finally coax it on with a bit of grease.

 

I also tightened the rear wheel bearings too, so it should be all set for the retest now.

[tony_ack 0]

Quite a bit of stuff done in the last month or so. The first was a visit to Stealth, who found out my Schrick wasn't working (and I guess never had!). They traced the problem to the vacuum reservoir (i.e. it wasn't holding vacuum), and managed to put together an improvised (but no doubt reliable) replacement. The problem was that they couldn't get the parts until the next day, so I had to leave the car with them and come down to pick it up later in the week.

 

Luckily the train ticket down only cost £12 from Sheffield (it cost more for the taxi!). The car feels great now, and I definitely feel the slight characteristic lag when the flap opens. It sounds fantastic too, especially once you hit the wall of torque between 2.5k and 4k rpm... and then after the lag it pulls and pulls and pulls. It's never going to compare to a turboed car, but I need to keep it reasonable!

 

I also got Stealth to do the alignment while I was there as both front wheels looked to be running full camber despite the 4-wheel alignment from the previous month. I was pretty shocked to be honest. Vince said that the strut bolts on both sides weren't particularly tight, but on one side they were pretty much finger tight. When they jacked the car up, the wheel on that side tilted inwards under its own weight! The car still pulls a tiny bit to the left but I think that's due to the tyre wear, and it has improved a lot over the past month. Also, the new tyres on the front only have about 4mm of tread left (!) after about 2000 miles, but they haven't worn visibly at all since Stealth did the alignment.

 

I got my MOT certificate as well, so all is good for 12 months.

 

Apart from that, most stuff has been cosmetic. I finally finished restoring the leather interior (pics to follow) - it's not perfect but it looks very tidy now. I've also added a cupholder from a Passat - I tried painting it beige with the left over paint from the seats, but the paint was too rubbery and just scuffed off, so I removed the paint again and it's just black. I will paint it again with proper paint one day... It is very convenient though, especially in a daily car.

 

My spoiler started playing up - it would go up and down in stages, so the mech was sticking. When I swapped the tailgate, I just used the mech in the replacement tailgate, even though my original one worked perfectly. Simple answer then - I swapped my original mech back in and it seems to be working perfectly now! I even managed to get rid of a squeak in the boot too (not sure what was causing it!)

 

---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------

 

Whoops...

 

I've gone and bought myself a MK4 Climatronic unit.

 

So the swap has officially begun!

 

I'm going to try to post as much info as I can in this thread to help out others. I've already been nagging Coolrado for info, as the plan was originally to go for a Seat Leon system, but it proved pretty hard to find one from which someone was willing to give me the parts I needed.

 

A MK4 Golf system came up on e-Bay recently, advertised as everything needed to do the swap to Climatronic on a non-Climatronic MK4 except the wiring, so I got the Climatronic ducting, including motors, sensors and blower fan, the Climatronic loom, the control unit, and a 'pigtail' for the sunlight sensor. It's only a start I know, and there are plenty of bits to get.

 

I'm going to try to keep notes for myself and anyone else trying this, feel free to correct me or add any other info!

 

So, to do a swap into a non-aircon Corrado, I think you need the following parts:

-In-dash Control unit (got)

-Climatronic ducting, inc. motors, ducting sensors, evaporator and blower fan. Note that you don't need any additional ducting to go to the windscreen, side vents, etc - you use the Corrado stuff (got)

-Climatronic loom (there is a 12 or 17 pin version) (got - 17 pin)

-Dash wiring loom from the donor car (though I guess you could make your own wiring if you felt brave). Again, 12 or 17 pin versions of the connectors to the climatronic loom are available, so try to get matching if possible

-Sunlight sensor - hopefully this will be attached to the wiring loom of the rest of the car (got but not attached)

-Cabin temp sensor - as above! (actually I think this MAY be integrated into the MK4 Golf control unit?!)

-Aircon pressure sensor

-Outside temperature sensor (the Corrado one won't work)

-Engine loom, including wiring to any climatronic sensors and the aircon relays/compressor

-other engine bay sensors (not sure which ones we need yet, though I am sure there is at least engine temp)

-Aircon compressor (not sure which one to use yet)

-Aircon condenser (ditto)

-Aircon drier

-Aircon pipework (this may need to be custom unless I can find some VAG stuff that will fit!)

-possibly a 4-pin blue temp sender?

 

Parts notes...

-As far as I'm aware, all climatronic control units from the era are interchangeable in terms of wiring, though some are physically different. Seat Leon controls definitely fit and offer a bigger screen, though they cost more. Golf MK3 ones won't fit. Passat B4 controls fit with a little fettling. I'm not sure about the MK4 controls but they look like a good fit. The same controls were used on the MK4, Lupo, Passat B5 and Polo 6N2.

-The MK4 ducting shares its part number with that used in the Seat Leon, Audi TT, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia

-There are two main loom versions, differentiated by the connectors used to plug into the rest of the car. One uses a 12pin + a 10pin connector, the other uses a 17pin + a 10pin connector. The actual wires are the same, they just get routed to different pins between the two plugs. Don't panic if you get a mismatch between dash loom and clima loom - you can always order the correct connector from VW and re-route the wires to the matching pins.

-The A/C pressure switch can be two types - the traditional high/low pressure sensor, or a thrust sensor. It would appear that certain compressors will only work with certain switch types. I'm not 100% sure if it's just a case of changing the switch type to make it work if you've got a mismatch.

-I have a later VR with the later fan controller, if you don't have this it could make things trickier.

 

Physical install notes

-The clima ducting is secured with 4 studs, as opposed to 3 on the Corrado. 3 of the studs line up with the Corrado holes, and for the fourth you can either cut off the extra stud or drill a hole into the bulkhead. However you also need to cut a hole for the evaporator piping, so I say in for a penny...etc. Make sure you at least primer the exposed bare metal once cut.

-The Corrado glovebox and passenger undertray need to be trimmed to fit, or you can get one off an A/C Corrado. I think the first option is going to be easiest to be honest!

 

Electrical install notes

-Some of the wiring to the clima connections are already going to be there in the Corrado, e.g. blower motor feed and dash lighting feed, and it would appear many of the colours match.

 

That's just a start, much more info to come!

[fla 9]

OK good stuff Tony. I'll take some pics of the stuf I've got, plus the looms and connectors, some of the refrigerant pipes to see if that is of any help. It'll be a good starting point for me too, certainly to identify the bits that are missing in mine (eg sunlight sensor!)

[tony_ack 0]

I'm hopefully getting a full MK4 loom this week to give me al the wiring I need. In preparation for this, I've been trying to work out the wiring on the climatronic loom. Here's what I've got so far (colours are on the clima-loom side):

 

17 pin connector:

1 - (Sw/Bl) - Blower motor live feed

2 - NOT USED

3 - (Bl/Ro) - unknown - this connects to an orange connector in the plenum chamber on the Golf MK4, and then on to pin 40 of the ECU - not too sure what this does.. EDIT - think this is the 'Aircon 'on' switch (inside cabin). Conencts to pin 39 on VR6 ECU - OBDI and OBDII, wire is the same colour

4 - (Br/Gr) - think this is the RPM signal, comes from ECU on MK4, but could poss get this from the clocks? EDIT: comes from Pin 22 of VR6 ECU, but can prob tap into feed to clocks.

5 - (Sw/bl) This looks like it may be the live feed for the control unit - it comes via a 7.5A fuse on the MK4... this could poss come from fuse 14 (backup lights/heated washer jets, 10A) on the Corrado?

6 - Earth

7 -(ro/gr) Feed from (or to??) the fuse for the A/C clutch on the MK4. Guessing it is the feed from the A/C signal , and it is routed through the climatronic so that the climatronic controls it?

8 - Outside temp sender pin 2 (this needs the wiring and sensor from the donor, though this is prob the earth)

9 - NOT USED

10 - (Gr/Bl) - panel illumination - use the wiring from the old heater controls illumination

11 - NOT USED

12 - (Gn) - not sure what this is for but again goes through the plenum connector and onto pin 41 of the ECU. EDIT: this could be the 'Aircon 'on' switch (at compressor) - poss a feedback signal to the climatronic that the aircon is on? Pin 37 of the VR6 ECU, wire is the same colour

13-17 - NOT USED

 

12 pin connector:

1 - (gr/ws) OBD II port, pin 7

2 - (Br/Bl) Rad fan controller (T14/8 on MK4 Golf, not sure what it does yet) - EDIT think this goes to the aircon pressure switch then onto the fan controller.

3 - NOT USED

4 - NOT USED

5 - (ge/br) Outside temp sender, pin 1

6 - NOT USED

7 - NOT USED

8 - (gr/ws) Sunlight sensor, pin 3

9 - (sw/ws) Rad fan controller (T14/12 on MK4 Golf) - EDIT: think this actually goes to the aircon pressure switch

10 - (Bl/ws) - Speed sensor - comes from W1 of the fusebox, but I suspect you can tap into the feed to the ISO connectors for the radio.

11 - NOT USED

12 - (bl/ro) - not 100%, but I think this is the outside temp sensor from the MFA?? EDIT: I think this is a feed FROM the climatronic TO the clocks for the outside temp - the MK4 routes the temp sender reading through the clima onto the clocks. This won't be needed on the Corrado if that's the case.

 

I'm still stuck on what the two wires to the ECU are for - are they readings or signals? I've noticed there's no engine temp sensor - could that be one of the readings? Another one could be a signal wire to raise the revs when A/C is activated?

 

I'm also haven't looked into the A/C side of things much yet. Do the climatronic control unit and the rad fan controller do all the clever stuff, without the need for all the extra aircon relays under the dash?

Edited July 27, 2011 by tony_ack

[tonedef 9]

I'm hopefully getting a full MK4 loom this week to give me al the wiring I need. In preparation for this, I've been trying to work out the wiring on the climatronic loom. Here's what I've got so far (colours are on the clima-loom side):

 

17 pin connector:

1 - (Sw/Bl) - Blower motor live feed

2 - NOT USED

3 - (Bl/Ro) - unknown - this connects to an orange connector in the plenum chamber on the Golf MK4, and then on to pin 40 of the ECU - not too sure what this does..

4 - (Br/Gr) - think this is the RPM signal, comes from ECU on MK4, but could poss get this from the clocks?

5 - This looks like it may be the live feed for the control unit - it comes via a 7.5A fuse on the MK4... this could poss come from fuse 14 (backup lights/heated washer jets, 10A) on the Corrado?

6 - Earth

7 - Feed from (or to??) the fuse for the A/C clutch on the MK4. Guessing it is the feed from the A/C signal , and it is routed through the climatronic so that the climatronic controls it?

8 - Outside temp sender pin 2 (this needs the wiring and sensor from the donor, though this is prob the earth)

9 - NOT USED

10 - (Gr/Bl) - panel illumination - use the wiring from the old heater controls illumination

11 - NOT USED

12 - (Gn) - not sure what this is for but again goes through the plenum connector and onto pin 41 of the ECU

13-17 - NOT USED

 

12 pin connector:

1 - OBD II port, pin 7

2 - Rad fan controller (T14/8 on MK4 Golf, not sure what it does yet)

3 - NOT USED

4 - NOT USED

5 - Outside temp sender, pin 1

6 - NOT USED

7 - NOT USED

8 - Sunlight sensor, pin 3

9 - Rad fan controller (T14/12 on MK4 Golf)

10 - (Bl/ws) - Speed sensor

11 - NOT USED

12 - (bl/ro) - not 100%, but I think this is the outside temp sensor from the MFA??

 

I'm still stuck on what the two wires to the ECU are for - are they readings or signals? I've noticed there's no engine temp sensor - could that be one of the readings? Another one could be a signal wire to raise the revs when A/C is activated?

 

I'm also haven't looked into the A/C side of things much yet. Do the climatronic control unit and the rad fan controller do all the clever stuff, without the need for all the extra aircon relays under the dash?

 

I just replied to your PM and then I've had a read through your thread again....there's probably some of those questions above that I can answer, and maybe even more I can make you ask!!! I don't have the right PC with me at the moment with my climate file on it, I do have loads of diags from different models so hopefully we can sort out what goes where. You're right about the A/C relays though and as you say, the climate controller and fan controller run everything between them, there's only one other relay in mine and that's above the relay plate/fuse box and it's a simple system ON/OFF one.

 

I'll get back to you with loads of wiring diags!!!

[tony_ack 0]

Cheers for the reply, having the later fan controller looks like it may make things a lot easier!

[tony_ack 0]

Just got back from picking up the MK4 loom - it looks on first glance like it has everything - and I mean EVERYTHING attached to it - fusebox, inc fuses and relays, dash loom, inc switches, engine loom. Not got chance to look at it properly tonight as I'm tired.

 

I'm also making some progress in working out the remaining unknown wires.

 

First things first though - need to sort out my headlights as they failed on me on the Snake Pass this evening in the dark! Think it's something to do with the uprated loom but I'll find out when I get a chance to look at it.

[tonedef 9]

So here are some drawings and things to, I hope, help with you climatronic installation! These were collected together by krnau and myself while doing our installs.

 

The Passat wiring diagrams are what I used both times doing mine, first with the original Corrado loom and then second time alongside the OBD2 write up by C488ADO when I installed my Golf loom.

 

Next is a Climatronic Manual which is useful as it has a write up plus descriptions of how everything works and a wiring diagram of the complete system laid out.

 

You mentioned that you were getting a Mk4 Golf loom so the diagram for 2001 Golf might come in handy, I never used that one myself as it didn't match my system!

 

Another Golf set this time from 1998.

 

And lastly there's a set of photos krnau sent me which I believe he received from the German guy who sold him his parts, they're for an LHD car but could come in handy.

 

I've got a few more sets of wiring diagrams but they're in German so get a bit confusing.....to me at least! Hopefully these will go you something to get started on anyway!!!

passat climatronic wiring diags.pdf

climatronic-manual-eng.pdf

climatronic wiring-Golf from May 01.pdf

2.8l 24v Climatronic system.pdf

alemany.pdf

[tony_ack 0]

Thanks - some light bedtime reading!

[fla 9]

Might be worth highlighting this to Mr Renshaw - he did a complex climate comntrol swop into his old Corrado, so this will be more basic, i assume?

[tonedef 9]

Might be worth highlighting this to Mr Renshaw - he did a complex climate comntrol swop into his old Corrado, so this will be more basic, i assume?

 

Although Jay's was rather different in that he didn't overlay a Golf loom onto a Corrado loom.....he just squeezed a Golf into a Corrado!!!!!

 

Maybe just wasn't the right word to use there?????

[fla 9]

Good point! I might need to pick your brains somewhat wrt the looms as far as incorporating the changes into an OBD2 setup...