Leak from V8 Vantage
Discussion
Getting home today noticed some drips on the drive as I got was leaving the garage. It was coming from the front corner of the heat shield under the passenger side front. There were no drips on the inside or the outside faces of the shield but coming from inside it (it looks like its two layers).
It appears to be water and not coolant and the temp gauge for that is in the middle where it should be. It looks like the tank for the washer fluid is on the drivers side but could be that. Today is the first time I've ran the air con for a while. Looking under the bonnet there is no sign of any drips at all.
Not too worried as its under warranty at the moment but I might not have much time to get it in before Le Mans. But any ideas of what it might be?
It appears to be water and not coolant and the temp gauge for that is in the middle where it should be. It looks like the tank for the washer fluid is on the drivers side but could be that. Today is the first time I've ran the air con for a while. Looking under the bonnet there is no sign of any drips at all.
Not too worried as its under warranty at the moment but I might not have much time to get it in before Le Mans. But any ideas of what it might be?
As air is cooled it's ability to retain water as humidity falls and the water condenses out. Hence when ever you use the AirCon you will end up the water that needs to drained away. I'm not sure where the drainage is on the vantage but I expect what you are describing is perfectly normal. If the condenser ices up slightly this may only melt when you stop running the car and you can end up with quite a puddle in the garage.
You see this frequently in hot and humid countries.
I might actually have been useful on a forum.
You see this frequently in hot and humid countries.
I might actually have been useful on a forum. lewisco said:
Spoke to the garage yesterday and they say its fine. Its not a constant drip so will just keep an eye on it and make sure the A/C stays cold.
I wonder if you're a little confused about the a/c system? What is leaking isn't from any fluids contained within the car. The a/c system is filled with pressurised gas and if it escapes will revert back to being a gas and will not drip.The water dripping below your car is essentially condensation. The same atmospheric water you get on windows in cold weather where you have wet glass but it's not the actual glass leaking. All a/c systems have a way of managing this condensation and in a car it's channelled via pipework to dump it out underneath the vehicle.
Rather than being a fault, it's a sign that the a/c is working effectively.
Drips will continue to pool and subsequently flow through the pipework even after the engine is switched off simply because the surfaces are still cool and condensation will still be happening. Usually it just evaporates, but sometimes residual water can drip through the pipework days after you last used the car if its pooled somewhere within the route to the outside world.
Impasse said:
I wonder if you're a little confused about the a/c system? What is leaking isn't from any fluids contained within the car. The a/c system is filled with pressurised gas and if it escapes will revert back to being a gas and will not drip.
The water dripping below your car is essentially condensation. The same atmospheric water you get on windows in cold weather where you have wet glass but it's not the actual glass leaking. All a/c systems have a way of managing this condensation and in a car it's channelled via pipework to dump it out underneath the vehicle.
Rather than being a fault, it's a sign that the a/c is working effectively.
Drips will continue to pool and subsequently flow through the pipework even after the engine is switched off simply because the surfaces are still cool and condensation will still be happening. Usually it just evaporates, but sometimes residual water can drip through the pipework days after you last used the car if its pooled somewhere within the route to the outside world.
Thanks. I know it condenses. Just didn't think it would last that long.The water dripping below your car is essentially condensation. The same atmospheric water you get on windows in cold weather where you have wet glass but it's not the actual glass leaking. All a/c systems have a way of managing this condensation and in a car it's channelled via pipework to dump it out underneath the vehicle.
Rather than being a fault, it's a sign that the a/c is working effectively.
Drips will continue to pool and subsequently flow through the pipework even after the engine is switched off simply because the surfaces are still cool and condensation will still be happening. Usually it just evaporates, but sometimes residual water can drip through the pipework days after you last used the car if its pooled somewhere within the route to the outside world.
Thanks all
lewisco said:
Impasse said:
I wonder if you're a little confused about the a/c system? What is leaking isn't from any fluids contained within the car. The a/c system is filled with pressurised gas and if it escapes will revert back to being a gas and will not drip.
The water dripping below your car is essentially condensation. The same atmospheric water you get on windows in cold weather where you have wet glass but it's not the actual glass leaking. All a/c systems have a way of managing this condensation and in a car it's channelled via pipework to dump it out underneath the vehicle.
Rather than being a fault, it's a sign that the a/c is working effectively.
Drips will continue to pool and subsequently flow through the pipework even after the engine is switched off simply because the surfaces are still cool and condensation will still be happening. Usually it just evaporates, but sometimes residual water can drip through the pipework days after you last used the car if its pooled somewhere within the route to the outside world.
Thanks. I know it condenses. Just didn't think it would last that long.The water dripping below your car is essentially condensation. The same atmospheric water you get on windows in cold weather where you have wet glass but it's not the actual glass leaking. All a/c systems have a way of managing this condensation and in a car it's channelled via pipework to dump it out underneath the vehicle.
Rather than being a fault, it's a sign that the a/c is working effectively.
Drips will continue to pool and subsequently flow through the pipework even after the engine is switched off simply because the surfaces are still cool and condensation will still be happening. Usually it just evaporates, but sometimes residual water can drip through the pipework days after you last used the car if its pooled somewhere within the route to the outside world.
Thanks all
If the evaporator coil gets blocked with fluff or the system is low on refrigerant gas, the condensation tends to freeze on the coil. This can build up into a solid block. When the car is turned off the aircon ceases to maintain the ice condition which then over a period of time melts and leaves the car via the condensate drain.
That may be why it's dripping for a long time after the car is parked up and is probably a sign of low gas/coil contamination. Either that or the condensate drain pipework is partially blocked in which case the water will stay in the car. I don't know where the evaporator coil is in the car but that could give rise to soggy carpets/musty smells.
If you are planning a long journey I'd have the system checked for gas pressure/cleanliness as knackered aircon can make life pretty miserable.
Condensate will generally stop draining within a very short period of time after switch off on a correctly functioning system. (think minutes not hours)
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