Air con leak - 09 Fiesta

[Crafty14]

Hi all,

My poor Fiesta has an air con leak - confirmed by a pressure test. Two garages have been unable to locate the source of the leak using a number of methods, UV dye, soap/bubbles etc. They have even removed the condenser to have a more thorough look through it, but no joy. As such I've come to suspect it may be an evaporator leak. I purchased the Haynes manual for the car and in order to get to the Evaporator under the dash seems to be a HUGE task - pretty much removing the entire dash.

I've purchased myself a R134a sniffer tool from amazon and my plan is to see if any leak is evident down one of the air vents. Does anybody have any advice for this? Or knows a way to check the evap without removing the entire dash?

 

Car is a 2009 Fiesta.

 

Thanks!

[iantt]

very unusual for evaporator to leak. ive only known 1 to leak. and yes it is a major job. normaly its the condensor. sometimes it is very difficult to find a leak even with all the sniffers and dye etc. is it a slow leak then? 

[540itouring]

best way is with the system empty , disconnect pipes and blank them off. Then pressure test the rest of the system and see if the leak is cured . The condenser is very common and with the bumper removed and system pressurised brush soapy water all over the front of the condenser and look for any bubbles or foaming to prove where the leak is. I have found many car aircon leaks as most garages do not want to spend the time looking for a leak !. Leak finding is often time consuming but well worth it when found. Do not pressure test no more that 10bar or you can damage the evaporator.

[Stuart35]

An evaporator leak will have evidence of dye in the water drain pipe.

[Crafty14]

Thanks all for your replies. 

Quote

An evaporator leak will have evidence of dye in the water drain pipe.

Where abouts is that pipe located? Under the car?

[Stuart35]

2 hours ago, Crafty14 said:

Where abouts is that pipe located? Under the car?

Yes, it will be in the middle. If you leave the air con running for a while, you should see the water dripping.