Air Dryer - Audi A6 242 Service Manual

The air dryer
The air must be dehumidified in order to
prevent condensate and the associated
problems of corrosion and freezing. The
system used here is a so-called regenerative
air dryer system. A synthetically
manufactured silicate granulate is used as the
drying agent. This granulate can, depending
on the temperature, store up to 20% of its
own weight in water.
As the air dryer operates regeneratively, and
is only operated with oil-free, filtered air, it is
not subject to replacement intervals and is
therefore maintenance-free.
Because the air dryer is regenerated
only with waste air, the compressor
cannot be used to fill any other
components. As this compressed air is
not fed back via the air dryer, no
regeneration can take place. For this
reason, the manufacturers do not fit a
pressure connection for external
components.
Water/moisture in the system indicates
a fault in the air dryer or the system.
Granulate filling
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