MK5 Golf GTI

All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: alexmccabe on June 03, 2013, 06:05:45 pm

Title: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 03, 2013, 06:05:45 pm
I've always wondered what the ECON button did. I have been using it as this: push it (light comes on) and car gets colder. Press the button to turn the light off and car gets warmer.

After a little research I discovered that the car always has Air-Con on unless you press the ECON button. But here is where I am confused; When the light is illuminated on the button, the blowers blow out colder air, when according to everything I've read, the opposite should be true.

When I use it I turn the heater controls all the way down to LO then press the button to make the light illuminate.

Any insights? I am thoroughly confused by this.
Title: Re: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: RetroRaz on June 03, 2013, 06:11:46 pm
Yes its very confusing indeed. 

On mine it goes cooler when turned off.

Sent From My Samsung S3
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: sanj on June 03, 2013, 06:18:10 pm
Light on=A/C on and Light off=A/C off on mine! :smiley:
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Santaslonecruzer on June 03, 2013, 06:20:12 pm
How bizarre, had mine running just now, no light = chilled air, light on = normal air?????
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Luka on June 03, 2013, 06:29:38 pm
Light on=A/C on and Light off=A/C off on mine! :smiley:

If you have an AC button. If it's ECON, then it's the opposite.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 03, 2013, 06:35:18 pm
Light on=A/C on and Light off=A/C off on mine! :smiley:

If you have an AC button. If it's ECON, then it's the opposite.

See that is the thing that is confusing me. That is all I have read, but mine operates opposite to this...
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: danfalcon on June 03, 2013, 06:43:56 pm
it could be that somebody has replaced the panel at some point for the wrong one? just a though
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: RENNTAG on June 03, 2013, 06:54:00 pm
Yes is confusing. My mate has just bought a 57 plate car and I noticed the button says Aircon so maybe VW changed this as it was confusing. Makes more sense in his car.
Title: Re: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: torque777 on June 03, 2013, 07:01:32 pm
The eco button was changed between 2006 - 2007 to say A/C ...so if yours says econ and you press it the air con is off ...if it works the other way round you either have an incorrect pannel and should have one with A/C on or theres a fault somwhere

sent using my own fingers
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 03, 2013, 07:06:01 pm
It's a 55 plate car, so definitely in the era of ECON. I don't know. I don't suppose there is a way to find out if it was originally ECON do you?
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Polo6n1600i on June 03, 2013, 07:10:28 pm
My 53 plate Touran had an econ button (a/c on all the time unless you pressed the econ button / same with the winter webasto pre-heater)

My 57 plate jetta says a/c (light on, a/c on) - I did wonder about that
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: howler on June 03, 2013, 07:11:42 pm
I was under the impression that the ECON button shut off the A/C compressor
Title: Re: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: torque777 on June 03, 2013, 07:29:07 pm
I would say it should have eco button ..our 56 plate jetta has econ button and my 57 plate golf has A/C button ..and I had the same talk with the other half as when it got warm she pressed the econ button thinking it turned the A/C on but it blew warm when light was on and she thought it needed re gassing ...lol

sent using my own fingers
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Dannyboy88 on June 03, 2013, 07:48:34 pm
Mines a 06 jetta with ECON button, light on = warm, light off = cold, very strange config.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Scrubadub on June 03, 2013, 08:52:00 pm
I red the owners manual, mines a 06 plate, econ ON turns the aircon OFF
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Dubbin on June 03, 2013, 09:01:40 pm
Are you sure your AC is working i.e. in either switch position does your air get really chilled? You say that you turn the heater control down to LO so you may be just getting colder air from the outside. AC compressors are common failures on these cars.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 03, 2013, 11:29:07 pm
I turn the dial to LO then it blows cold-ish air. If I then press the ECON button so that the light is illuminated, it blows even colder air. This is why it's so confusing. Heh.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Scrubadub on June 04, 2013, 09:55:15 am
sounds like your air con aint working.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Kalpsn2000 on June 04, 2013, 10:13:08 am
I was confused at first as the 'normal' way on most cars is, light on = AC on but as others have said the ECON light on = AC off.

Basically it works as AC default on and you press the 'economy button' to turn it off. But this obviously confused people so VW changed it to the standard AC button in the later models.

OP if you're getting colder air with the ECON light on then there could be a fault with your AC system/compressor.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 04, 2013, 06:01:37 pm
Now here is a interesting development...it didn't blow cold air either way today. So that was great driving home in 24° heat... hah.

We've established it is screwed, so where do I go from here?
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Stanipkiss on June 04, 2013, 06:13:33 pm
Now here is a interesting development...it didn't blow cold air either way today. So that was great driving home in 24° heat... hah.

We've established it is screwed, so where do I go from here?

I read this thread last night, as my car also has the ECON button i thought i would see what happened before I posted.
This morning was NO difference driving to work. Gave it another go on the way home and still NO difference!
I think your right Alex!!
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Scottymon on June 04, 2013, 07:06:58 pm
Was the same on the SAAB's, you want Economy press Eco / Econ, if not, don't.

TBH, I very rarely use A/C, but I did today and it was very welcome.

@alexmccabe : have you tried having it regassed?
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: kenGTI on June 04, 2013, 07:25:01 pm
I find that one way to find out if the AC is working is to have a look at your MPGs for that journey, if the AC is on then your MPGs should be lower
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 04, 2013, 07:31:27 pm
Was the same on the SAAB's, you want Economy press Eco / Econ, if not, don't.

TBH, I very rarely use A/C, but I did today and it was very welcome.

@alexmccabe : have you tried having it regassed?

Not as yet as it only stopped blowing cold today, it's £70 for an aircon service at my garage and I don't have the spare money at the moment. I will get that done eventually. Probably at the same time as an actual service.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Stanipkiss on June 04, 2013, 07:40:48 pm
Had a look in the manual and it says
"Button ECON- switches on economy mode. When the lamp in the button lights up, the cooling system is switched off to save fuel. In vehicles with a supplementary heating system the supplementary system is switched off, and in diesel engines the supplementary heater for the engine coolant ia also switched off,giving the heater less heat output."

Hope this helps.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: SRC on June 04, 2013, 08:13:22 pm
I'm going to confuse things a little more.

The GTI (UK model) has automatic climate control.  It's designed to work like this:

If you press 'auto' and set the desired temperature, the smurf inside your dashboard will switch on the air-con system if it thinks it needs it and directs the airflow around the cabin as it sees fit.  There are sensors in the cabin to monitor interior temperature.  If the temperature and humidity dictate, then air-con smurf may decide not to bring in the air-con (although, as far as I can tell, this is rare).  It will turn fan speed up and down to heat or cool the cabin temperature as quickly as possible.

Econ is one of the ways to override the automatic climate control and as others have already said, it stops the air-con compressor from kicking in.  Everything else will still work, but you may never chill the car to the desired temperature on a hot day by using ambient air.  Windscreen de-mist and the directional buttons are other over-rides.  You can speed up the chilling of a car by using the recirculating button, which works by sending the air you've already chilled back round again and again.  Don't leave this feature on for too long - the lack of fresh air may make you drowsy.  A bit like reading to the bottom of this reply, I guess.
:grin:
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 04, 2013, 08:50:01 pm
Right, so to actually engage the aircon you have to turn it to auto and choose the temperature?
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Scrubadub on June 04, 2013, 09:59:01 pm
just turn to "low" and dont have anything lit up.
If you press and light up "auto" it will adjust fan speed to cool car quicker
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Kalpsn2000 on June 05, 2013, 10:26:48 am
Right, so to actually engage the aircon you have to turn it to auto and choose the temperature?

Yeah and make sure the ECON light is off (usually goes off when you press auto).
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: ARV_90 on June 05, 2013, 12:09:31 pm
I'm going to confuse things a little more.

The GTI (UK model) has automatic climate control.  It's designed to work like this:

If you press 'auto' and set the desired temperature, the smurf inside your dashboard will switch on the air-con system if it thinks it needs it and directs the airflow around the cabin as it sees fit.  There are sensors in the cabin to monitor interior temperature.  If the temperature and humidity dictate, then air-con smurf may decide not to bring in the air-con (although, as far as I can tell, this is rare).  It will turn fan speed up and down to heat or cool the cabin temperature as quickly as possible.

Econ is one of the ways to override the automatic climate control and as others have already said, it stops the air-con compressor from kicking in.  Everything else will still work, but you may never chill the car to the desired temperature on a hot day by using ambient air.  Windscreen de-mist and the directional buttons are other over-rides.  You can speed up the chilling of a car by using the recirculating button, which works by sending the air you've already chilled back round again and again.  Don't leave this feature on for too long - the lack of fresh air may make you drowsy.  A bit like reading to the bottom of this reply, I guess.
:grin:
I think you are bang on m8... Although I think it will only stay in recirc for a set time...

Is it possible that the control panel has been changed to the later type but someone has fitted the older type knob that has Econ on it instead of AC ...
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 05, 2013, 12:48:16 pm
I'm going to confuse things a little more.

The GTI (UK model) has automatic climate control.  It's designed to work like this:

If you press 'auto' and set the desired temperature, the smurf inside your dashboard will switch on the air-con system if it thinks it needs it and directs the airflow around the cabin as it sees fit.  There are sensors in the cabin to monitor interior temperature.  If the temperature and humidity dictate, then air-con smurf may decide not to bring in the air-con (although, as far as I can tell, this is rare).  It will turn fan speed up and down to heat or cool the cabin temperature as quickly as possible.

Econ is one of the ways to override the automatic climate control and as others have already said, it stops the air-con compressor from kicking in.  Everything else will still work, but you may never chill the car to the desired temperature on a hot day by using ambient air.  Windscreen de-mist and the directional buttons are other over-rides.  You can speed up the chilling of a car by using the recirculating button, which works by sending the air you've already chilled back round again and again.  Don't leave this feature on for too long - the lack of fresh air may make you drowsy.  A bit like reading to the bottom of this reply, I guess.
:grin:
I think you are bang on m8... Although I think it will only stay in recirc for a set time...

Is it possible that the control panel has been changed to the later type but someone has fitted the older type knob that has Econ on it instead of AC ...

I think a little experimentation is in order (just to clarify, with the control unit...  :wink: ). I thought if you swap out the panel for an A/C one you had to swap some other stuff too...? I dunno.

I will see if I can get it to blow truly cold air on the way home this evening, if not I will have to go for an AirCon service  :fighting: Expensive!
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: ARV_90 on June 05, 2013, 06:31:18 pm
I'm going to confuse things a little more.

The GTI (UK model) has automatic climate control.  It's designed to work like this:

If you press 'auto' and set the desired temperature, the smurf inside your dashboard will switch on the air-con system if it thinks it needs it and directs the airflow around the cabin as it sees fit.  There are sensors in the cabin to monitor interior temperature.  If the temperature and humidity dictate, then air-con smurf may decide not to bring in the air-con (although, as far as I can tell, this is rare).  It will turn fan speed up and down to heat or cool the cabin temperature as quickly as possible.

Econ is one of the ways to override the automatic climate control and as others have already said, it stops the air-con compressor from kicking in.  Everything else will still work, but you may never chill the car to the desired temperature on a hot day by using ambient air.  Windscreen de-mist and the directional buttons are other over-rides.  You can speed up the chilling of a car by using the recirculating button, which works by sending the air you've already chilled back round again and again.  Don't leave this feature on for too long - the lack of fresh air may make you drowsy.  A bit like reading to the bottom of this reply, I guess.
:grin:
I think you are bang on m8... Although I think it will only stay in recirc for a set time...

Is it possible that the control panel has been changed to the later type but someone has fitted the older type knob that has Econ on it instead of AC ...

I think a little experimentation is in order (just to clarify, with the control unit...  :wink: ). I thought if you swap out the panel for an A/C one you had to swap some other stuff too...? I dunno.

I will see if I can get it to blow truly cold air on the way home this evening, if not I will have to go for an AirCon service  :fighting: Expensive!

Just a thought... as it seems to be working like it should have the AC button.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: manc01 on June 05, 2013, 07:12:48 pm
I have ECON button, its 56 plate. When its lit up the AC is not working, when the light is off then AC working. This was also confirmed by VW tech, for whats it worth, as I had to get my compressor changed, luckily under warranty.. :smiley:
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Scrubadub on June 05, 2013, 07:42:31 pm
wish id of pressed "econ" when having car dyno'd, might of got another horse or 2   :evilgrin:
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: alexmccabe on June 06, 2013, 06:10:03 pm
Would it be possible for it to blow warmer air on the aircon setting if the gas was out or the pump was broken? I ask because the difference between econ and non-econ is very minimal, with the econ mode on being a couple degrees cooler.
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: matmk5 on June 06, 2013, 06:28:40 pm
I cant believe I have gone nearly two months without figuring out the Econ button is the Aircon button lol
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Gazza747 on June 08, 2013, 08:56:52 pm
I'm going to confuse things a little more.

The GTI (UK model) has automatic climate control.  It's designed to work like this:

If you press 'auto' and set the desired temperature, the smurf inside your dashboard will switch on the air-con system if it thinks it needs it and directs the airflow around the cabin as it sees fit.  There are sensors in the cabin to monitor interior temperature.  If the temperature and humidity dictate, then air-con smurf may decide not to bring in the air-con (although, as far as I can tell, this is rare).  It will turn fan speed up and down to heat or cool the cabin temperature as quickly as possible.



Econ is one of the ways to override the automatic climate control and as others have already said, it stops the air-con compressor from kicking in.  Everything else will still work, but you may never chill the car to the desired temperature on a hot day by using ambient air.  Windscreen de-mist and the directional buttons are other over-rides.  You can speed up the chilling of a car by using the recirculating button, which works by sending the air you've already chilled back round again and again.  Don't leave this feature on for too long - the lack of fresh air may make you drowsy.  A bit like reading to the bottom of this reply, I guess.
:grin:
I think you are bang on m8... Although I think it will only stay in recirc for a set time...

Is it possible that the control panel has been changed to the later type but someone has fitted the older type knob that has Econ on it instead of AC ...

I think a little experimentation is in order (just to clarify, with the control unit...  :wink: ). I thought if you swap out the panel for an A/C one you had to swap some other stuff too...? I dunno.

I will see if I can get it to blow truly cold air on the way home this evening, if not I will have to go for an AirCon service  :fighting: Expensive!

I would suggest getting an aircon service as if you run without gas you may damage the compressor and that would end up being much more expensive
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: Scrubadub on June 08, 2013, 09:47:03 pm
Matt, econ ISN'T the air con on
Title: Re: The ECON button - What a confusing little thing
Post by: dmac1969 on June 10, 2013, 09:51:42 pm
I cant believe I have gone nearly two months without figuring out the Econ button is the Aircon button lol

Econ lit - aircon off
Econ unlit - aircon ON.

Ive had both versions (and 05 and now a 58) and I dont understand why they didnt do it the AC way from the start!