First, having thought about this more - I don't think it is the actual pully hub which has seized (because you said you allways run with the air con turned on), but is highly likely to be the actual compressor itself which has seized. Therefore, there may be a 'temporary' fix. When the engine is turned off, and cold - try to see if the outer flange on the air con pully can free-wheel. If you can get a new multi-ribbed belt fitted, and always keep the air con turned OFF, ie, press the ECON button so that the orange LED is lit - you could still continue to drive indefinately without the air con, and also not have to worry about flattening your battery. Just make sure that the solenoid for the a/c hub engagement is working correctly - with the engine running, if you open the bonnet and watch and listen to the a/c compressor - get a helper to press the ECON button. You should be able to hear the a/c freewheeling pulley engage. Press the econ button again, and you should hear it disengage. You might also be able to see a little movement at the freewheel flange of the pully.
It was on the motorway so wasn't doing too much steering. Didnt notice anything wrong with it till the battery went flat and it stopped altogether jsut was I was coming off mway sliproad. Got the battery fully recharged at garage and the steering and all the elecs work fine now, although I've only driven it to work and back 3 miles since.
OK, you generally don't need much power assistance to the steering when driving in straight, or relatively straight lines - or when driving at speed. But when leaving the m-way, they usually have roundabouts and the likes. Anyway, did you notice the steering warning light come on in the instrument cluster? If it lights up amber/yellow, then you are still OK to drive, but if it lights up red, then you really should stop the car ASAP - simply because the Golf Mk5 only has a beefy electric motor on the steering rack. It doesn't use any pumps or hydraulics or the likes for the PAS, and when the electric motor doesn't have any power (due to a flat battery), then not only do you loose the power 'assistance', but you also have to work against the force of turning a 'dead' electric motor. But if the steering light didn't illuminate, then you probably didn't completely drain the battery.
Wondering what to do next, take it to garage (in 2 weeks!) or get a compressor on ebay and get another mechanic to fit it.
Any idea how much this job would cost at a VW dealer? It it just a case of replacing the a/c pump and regassing?
So do I take it you like in Cumbria? If so, you could try PM'ing (after you boost your post-count above 10
so hop over to the new members section, introduce yourself, and that should get your post count up) Egbert Nosh who is from Kendal - he might be able to tell you some other VW dealers in the area. You could also try a Å koda or SEAT dealer, becuause they are all part of the Volkswagen Group, and all have access to getting the same parts (and might actually be cheaper than a VW garage) - or if you are feeling rich and desparate, an Audi garage might help.
Cost-wise from a VW dealer - I dunno really.
Getting one from eBay . . . . . . you need to make sure you get the right one. On a 2005 Mk5 it should have the Denso one, part number 1K0 820 859 E, but from October 2007, that part was completely discontinued and replaced with part number 1K0 820 859 M (also a Denso one). You will also need to add the correct amount of compressor oil (G 052 300 A2 - and about £50 for a 250ml tin!
) - and this oil is crucial - as a lot of places (like Kwik-Fit) fail to add this when regassing.
You will also need a new multi-ribbed belt (21.34mm wide by 1042mm long - 06F 260 849 E) (but again, there are about 8 different part numbers for different belts - so you really need to make sure you get the correct one, and even on the GTI AXX engine, the belt was lengthened from 2006 [21.36mm wide by 1054mm long - 06F 260 849 L] - maybe to stop the compressor from premature wear
).
