air con refrigerant leak, how to locate leak?

[omodos]

hi, ok temps have soared here and so i tried the air con , alas no joy, just 'normal air' pumping in cabin, vehicle is a 2004 x5 3.0d, took it to a local air con person and they put it on the machine and told me it was all out of refrigerant, so they pumped some in an told me if there is a major leak our machine will show drop in pressure, if not and you find it empties out soon then you need to go get it checked elsewhere....hmmmm cost me 40 euros and to be honest cabin was freezing much better than i have ever felt before, but anyone any ideas?and does the system need to me 'flushed' every 2 years as one of the young lads told me?and the leak any easy way of finding it? thanks,

ps good luck to the u.s soccer team

[Rockmelon]

how soon the loss of cooling is an indication of how bad the leak is. it also depends on when was the last freon refill. i wont flush it every 2 years but will refill as and when nec. however, some folks suggest flushing for better certainty. too much or too little freon affects the cooling. finding a leak is difficult and will require skill. there is a method called something like dye injection to find the leak. otherwise, it can sometimes be visible visually even without dye injection. prob is that the evaporator cannot be accessed without removing the whole dashboard. perhaps, it is better to monitor how long the cooling last after the last refill before spending more $. cheers

[omodos]

ahhh ok thanks for reply, as far as i know it has not been topped up since car was produced nov 2004.....i guess u r right need to monitor it and see if it drops in performance noticeably.....

[01 BMW_X5]

Originally Posted by omodos

local air con person and they put it on the machine and told me it was all out of refrigerant, so they pumped some in an told me if there is a major leak our machine will show drop in pressure, if not and you find it empties out soon then you need to go get it checked elsewhere....hmmmm cost me 40 euros

ps good luck to the u.s soccer team

Take it to a place that knows what they are doing NOT to a Gas & Go.
A place with the expertise will know what leak detection methods to use.

PS. I'm enjoying the 2010 WC here in sunny Durban, South Africa.

[omodos]

out here nobody knows what they are doing.....i am just going live with leak as long as it needs a refill only every 5 years i am happy with that.....car is a nov 2004 build and not had he refrigerant filled since(not that it shouldneed filling) luck w.c in s.africa, looks pretty wet though at some matches, but must be great....cheers

[X5Sport]

I read an article in the motoring press a few weeks back which suggested that A/C systems can lose 10% of their gas every year.

Mine had not been done in 5 years so I took it to a local firm (Halfords for those in the UK) who checked and found it was right on the minimum limit on their test guage (they put a guage on the low pressure side and run the system at its lowest temp) charged me £50 in all to check and regas it (gas was £40). Took about ten minutes. You can do it yourself very easily too with the parts they sell (gas cylinder plus guage and valves) System works much better now.

[omodos]

aha another diesel owner thanks for the reply, if it weren't so hot here i would not bother, but the summer with leather seats and no air con is hell! hmm interesting comments re coolant loss, ta.....

[X5Sport]

If you can find someone who sells this kit - it might do whjat you need.........

Air Conditioning Measure & Charge from Halfords Price £49.99 Free Comma Air Con Cleaner When You Buy Interdynamics Air Con Measure and Charge

[omodos]

wow that is handy will get my brother to bring one over, in - laws offroader always leaks year after year......cheers for the input....

[X5Sport]

As you have the diesel version, the low pressure valve is the lower one of the two to the LHS of the engine as you look from the front.