Technical Service Bulletin
87 Cleaning of the air conditioning refrigerant circuit
87 14 55 2018162/4 August 28, 2014. Supersedes Technical Service Bulletin Group 87 number 11-23 dated
September 20, 2011 for reasons listed below.

Model(s)

Year

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

All

2004 - 2016

All

Not Applicable

Condition
REVISION HISTORY
Revision

Date

Purpose

4

-

Revised header data (Added model years)
Revised Service (Additional tools, generic description of climate systems equipped)
Revised Warranty (Elimination of the warranty table for a statement on claiming
requirements)
Revised Parts and Tools (Additional tools)

3

9/20/2011

Revised header data (Added model years)

2

12/5/2008

Revised header data (Revised title to include Repair Group)

1

8/13/2008

Original publication

There have been repeat repairs of air conditioning system. Debris was dispersed throughout the refrigerant circuit
after air conditioning component damage. During the first repair, the refrigerant circuit was not thoroughly cleaned.
The debris has contaminated the new components.

Technical Background
In cases where an air conditioning system component (such as a compressor or other system component) has
failed and debris from the compressor or component is circulated throughout the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant
circuit must be cleaned of any and all debris. If the refrigerant circuit is not cleaned of debris, damage to the
replacement components will result.
The cleaning method, until now, has included disassembling each part of the refrigerant circuit, blowing out the
debris with compressed air, and drying the components with nitrogen. This method has been ineffective for this
purpose, and is labor-intensive. A more thorough and less time-consuming cleaning method is to flush the circuit
with refrigerant.

© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Production Solution
Not applicable.

Service
Tools
ROB134APF Air Conditioning Service System
with VAS 6337/1A Air Conditioning System
Flushing Device (Figure 1). Used for effective
refrigerant handling and air conditioning circuit
flushing after air conditioning component failure.
Now air conditioning system refrigerant recovery,
evacuation, recharge, and refrigerant circuit
cleaning after component failure can be
performed with a single servicing station.

Figure 1. The ROB134APF Air Conditioning Service
System with VAS 6337/1A Air Conditioning System
Flushing Device.
VAS 6338/1 Adapter Set for Refrigerant Circuits. This adapter set, along with additional adapters
VAS6338/33, VAS6338/36, VAS6338/38, VAS6338/40, VAS6338/41, and VAS6338/42, contains the adapters
necessary to complete a thorough flush operation of a contaminated circuit.
Elsa contains the technical information for each model regarding the necessary adapter applications and
connections of the servicing station for the flush operation. See Elsa Pro >> Heating, Ventilation Air
Conditioning >> Refrigerant R134A-Servicing >> 87 Air Conditioning >> Refrigerant Circuit >> Refrigerant
Circuit, Flushing with Refrigerant R134A.
All other refrigerant recovery, evacuation and recharge operations are performed with the usual procedure
specified in Elsa Pro. An operations manual will accompany each servicing station that will describe operation
of the unit.

Procedure
1.

If an air conditioning component has been diagnosed as the root cause of the failure and the component is
suspected of releasing debris through the circuit, continue diagnosis to determine if this is the case.

2.

Turn the power to the servicing station on and begin by recovering the refrigerant from the system through the

© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
normal service fittings.
Tip: During the entire process, avoid interrupting the power to the station. The station's internal memory
will keep a log of all operations and can conveniently be recalled and printed. If the power is interrupted, the
station will lose the memory of the process, and the oil volume recovered, oil volume added, refrigerant
volume recovered, etc. will have to be manually determined.
3.

Disconnect the service hoses. The refrigerant circuit adapters will be used to bypass the following:
• Compressor.
• Receiver drier (depending on model).
• Expansion valve.
If vehicle is equipped with a restrictor, remove the restrictor and reconnect the line.

4.

Once the appropriate adapters are in place,
connect the service station to the vehicle
through the air conditioning compressor hoses.
The flushing attachment ports are labeled on the
flusher (Figure 2 and Figure 3).

Figure 2. A flushing attachment port.

Figure 3. A flushing attachment port.
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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
This connection strategy allows for a system
flush in the opposite direction of the normal
refrigerant flow (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Connection strategy: Vehicle to service station to
flushing device.
The flush program will begin with an evacuation of the
system and a rate of rise test. This is necessary to test
the integrity of the connections before the flush cycles
begin. If the rate of rise test passes, the program will
proceed into the flush cycles (Figure 5, Figure 6, and
Figure 7). These cycles will occur automatically in
succession.

Figure 5. The first cycle.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Figure 6. The second cycle.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Figure 7. The third cycle.
The debris is then rinsed from the circuit and contained within the filtration in the flusher. After the flush
program, the system will be evacuated.
5.

After the system is evacuated, disconnect the station.

Vehicles with four zone climate control (two evaporator circuit)
If the vehicle is equipped with four zone climate control, the flush process will be repeated for the additional air
conditioning unit in the rear according to the repair information in Elsa Pro. The following illustrations use the Audi
Q7 with a four zone system as an example.

© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
1.

Separate the front and rear air conditioning
systems for individual rinse operations (Figure
8).
The refrigerant circuit adapters allow for
separation of the front and rear systems for the
individual rinse operations.

Figure 8. The location of the connections inside the left
front wheelhouse on a Q7 with four zone climate control.
2.

Bypass the rear expansion valve with an adapter
Figure 9).

Figure 9. Location of rear air conditioning unit and
expansion valve.
3.

When complete, remove any adapters that were installed.

4.

Install components in need of replacement.

5.

Connect the station in the usual manner through the service fittings and perform the normal evacuation, oil fill,
and refrigerant recharge operations.

6.

Recall and print a log of the job. Attach the log to the repair order.

Warranty
© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
This TSB is informational. Refer to Elsa for the specific repair operations, labor operations, and SRTs based on
the vehicle being serviced for the documentation required in the warranty claim.
All warranty claims submitted for payment must be in accordance with the Audi Warranty Policies and Procedures
Manual. Claims are subject to review or audit by Audi Warranty.

Required Parts and Tools
Tool Number

Tool Description

Quantity

ROB134APF

1

Air Conditioning Service System
VAS 6337/1A

1

Air Conditioning System Flushing Device

© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
VAS 6338/1

1

Adapter set for refrigerant circuits
VAS6338/33

1

Refrigerant circuit adapter
VAS6338/36

1

Refrigerant circuit adapter

© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
VAS6338/38

1

Refrigerant circuit adapter
VAS6338/40

1

Refrigerant circuit adapter
VAS6338/41

1

Refrigerant circuit adapter
VAS6338/42

1

Refrigerant circuit adapter

Additional Information
All parts and service references provided in this TSB (2018162) are subject to change and/or removal. Always
check with your Parts Department and service manuals for the latest information.

© 2014 Audi of America, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.