Hiya folks,

So after a very long 2k mile trip, my air con is doing something odd:

After about 20 mins of turning the air con on, a very visible amount of steam is blowing in through the air vents!
I had a general air con google, and people were saying this can be caused by clogged drainage, allowing water to build up in the system, if that’s so, where do I look for this blockage?
Otherwise what do we think? Condenser problem?

ps, the air con itself is performing perfectly, still real cold etc :-)

ta


2002 XKR 4.2 SC RHD coupé

 

After driving through heavy fog the other night (ac on outside windshield condensation and fog, ac off inside fogs). I just wanted to check what your weather conditions were?

Hope it's not a dumb question, just want to help eliminate possibilities.

BTW did you smell any coolant?

Ac will shut off if coolant temp gets close to overheating. But then that would show even on a stock temp guage. Guess it'd have to be awfully humid for that to be a factor. Just brainstorming. Happened to me with a 1998 and the defective fans. Half the blades were gone on coolant pump.

John

 

Conditions were daytime, hottish, direct sun etc.
I didn’t think I could smell coolant, I did go close up to the fans and it just kinda smelled like steam/water.
Also all gauges read normal.

I have have zero experience with air con, so I’d be very interested to know where any “drainage” parts are located? Steam needs water, so surely there’s an excess of water somewhere where there shouldn’t be right?

 

The A/C drains are on each side of the center console and drain out above the transmission. When seated they are about where your ankle will be. You will need to dive into the console to repair them. Reverend Sam has a great you tube video for accessing the console.

 

In case anyone was wondering,

The solution was... it was just empty.

Just got it back from the garage, no leaks, no excess liquids, no condenser problems... just no gas.

:-D

 

The vehicle will lose around 5% refrigerant per year but losing the lot is indicative of something more serious. Did the garage do a pressure test to check for leaks and then a refrigerant re-charge or did they go no further than determining there was no refrigerant?

Graham