Major A/C Leak

[Matthew Ross]

My 2009 Civic EX (102,000 miles) has a major A/C leak. I created a vacuum using a vacuum pump and after shutting it off, the gauge quickly returned to zero. It went from 28 inches of mercury to 0 in 2 seconds. I can’t hear the leak. I sprayed soapy water and that didn’t help me either.

What’s my next step? I have the supplies to do a UV dye test, but will it work with such a big leak? Won’t the R134a just evaporate instantly?

Topic

[Its me]

The Dye will show the leak very quickly… Sometimes the compressor itself leaks and lines are good…

Dropping that fast could be a cut or something in a pressure line… I found one that had such a leak, it had rubbed against metal for some time and the vibrations cut a slice in the metal… It was behind some insulation, so a quick visual check did not find it…

Another nice thing to have is the Harbor Freight halogen sniffer… Is only around $55 with a coupon and works great…

http://www.harborfreight.com/electronic-freon-and-halogen-leak-detector-92514.html#.UxuYtYW5ElQ

Good luck..

-Karl

[Lorrin Barth]

A major leak spills compressor oil. This oil looks and feels like honey. So, before investing in dye or a sniffer look for the oil. One of my vehicles had sticky oil in the drain of the heater box – new evaporator time.

[Rick]

I hope you’re not trying to use soapy water with the vacuum pump running.

[Matthew Ross]

So I charged the system with r134a and uv dye. I looked everywhere and didn’t find much. I did see one small spot of due on the fins of the AC condenser. Two or three of the tiny fins were covered in dye. Is this enough to mean it’s the condenser? Should I try again and look in other areas?

[Rick]

Yes, that would be enough. A “large” A/C leak does not have be very big.

[Author]

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