General A/C ?

[KennyN]

Took my other car , Subaru, for a A/C recharge and antibacterial clean and the machine said that it was unable to refill the system , after a pressure check , as there was a leak somewhere.

The system was working properly , just , prior to the above so the leak cant be a biggie.

So , i have been thinking about trying to find the leak myself and have been "You Tubing" various methods of doing so. One of these was to pressurise the system with compressed air through the LP side and then attack the system with soapy water.

Other options are , run dye through the system and check all parts with a U/V torch or stick it in to an A/C specialist and let them find the leak.

Once the source of the leak is discovered i can then make a decision, based on cost and effort , whether to repair it or just put the window down.

Thoughts ?

Kenny

 

[DSM10000]

Take it to a specialist, save time ,effort and money.

 

[alabbasi]

If the system was working properly why did you take it in? WTF is an antibacterial clean?

 

[KennyN]

If the system was working properly why did you take it in? WTF is an antibacterial clean?

It was working , just , as in the compressor was kicking in and the air temp was just a little bit cool but nowhere near as cols as it should have been and completely useless during the temperatures we have been experiencing lately.

The recharge and clean was on an offer through Groupon with ATS for £44 which i figured was a fair price so i went ahead with the deal.

The antibac clean stops the conditioned air smelling of sweaty socks.

Not too fussed if i dont have it but if it is only a reasonable priced repair then i may just get it fixed , once i establish where the gas is escaping from.

K

 

[alabbasi]

The antibac clean stops the conditioned air smelling of sweaty socks.

Any idea what they do and how it's done? You have a leak. you can either add freon with a dye or use nitrogen and soapy water as suggested. First places to look is around the shraider valves and around the condenser. If you see oily grime on the metal near those points, you'll be close.

 

[Landie1]

If the system looses pressure then there is with absolutely no doubt a leak. The good news is that the compressor was kicking so you know the aircon system works. 90% of system leaks are from the condenser as its at the front of the car fully exposed to the elements and corrodes. You might not be able to see the leak as you can't see the whole thing but i bet its there somewhere.

 

[KennyN]

90% of system leaks are from the condenser.

A condenser for the car is >£100 so it shouldnt be too painful if it needs replaced , i will look around for a local specialist and let them see if they can find the leak.

Then i will make the repair / leave decision.

Kenny

 

[Landie1]

I bought mine from these people. Car Air Con Condensers | Air Con Compressors | Auto Air Con Parts

 

[esscee]

Very useful link!

 

[m80]

I've a similar problem with the Vito so might try the soapy water trick.
But first to eliminate possibilities of the 'o' rings passing I'm replacing those, when I've time.
530pcs Car R134a car O-ring repair air conditioning repair rubber sealant Box 8490310775989 | eBay
I thought it was worth the few quids as you never know when an 'o' ring is needed for something,
last night I used one to seal a new valve set up for inflating my tender.

 

[Martin 1]

Bit of a risk involved here, if it's working at all, there's still gas in it, illegal to vent to atmosphere and I can't see a bubble test working, too much of the system isn't visible, take it to a specialist for the dye test. Not fixing it will lead to compressor failure. Good luck.

 

[KennyN]

Bit of a risk involved here, if it's working at all, there's still gas in it, illegal to vent to atmosphere

The system is empty at present , they removed the remaining gas prior to the pressure / vacuum testing and when it failed this test the process stopped.

They even had a printout of how many grams of refrigerant they removed , so at least it cant be a major leak as there was still enough pressure to let the system function, just, before they emptied it.

K

 

[Martin 1]

Aha, one problem fixed.