AC leaking and water stains on dashboard

[Idatenkichi]

I have a S14. Last year when the summer came, I noticed the AC was not cool at all so I refilled the Freon. Right after the refilling, water was leaking from bottom of my car. I don’t remember quite clearly, water probably was leaking near the tail of the car. My mechanic said it’s just AC water. Also there were water stains on top of the dashboard (maybe from defrost vent). Even if I cleaned them, the next day the stains would start to appear, and the issue had been going on for quite some time, probably before last summer.

When this summer came, the AC was not cold again. It must be leaking. The funny thing is the stains stop to appear. My mechanic checked the car, probably without dye Freon. He said the condenser is dusty and the compressor is greasy and that’s where the leaking problem is.

I am wondering if the stains and the AC leaking have any connection. Maybe the evaporator or the tubes around dashboard are leaking. The mechanic said unlikely. I googled and could find almost nothing. Does anyone know or have similar experience?

[brndck]

if you charged it last year, and it is empty now, it must be leaking somewhere. either an o-ring or one of the fill ports, or a crimp fitting. have your mechanic evacuate the system and put a vacuum on it and monitor for leaks. If you recharge it, definitely use the UV dye.

AC water is usually near the firewall, not the back of the car.

[Idatenkichi]

if you charged it last year, and it is empty now, it must be leaking somewhere. either an o-ring or one of the fill ports, or a crimp fitting. have your mechanic evacuate the system and put a vacuum on it and monitor for leaks. If you recharge it, definitely use the UV dye.

AC water is usually near the firewall, not the back of the car.

I am sure he didn’t use the UV dye. He just visually inspected my car and told me there is dust at the bottom of the condenser and the compressor is wet/greasy. So those two parts are the problem.

[jedi03]

there usually are no connections in the car so unless the unit is leaking in the car the points he suggested are usually the only ones...the water at the rear of the car can be condensation from the engine running while its cold...normally will go away after ~15-20min of driving...do you have pictures of the water "stains" on your dashboard? that's a new one to me unless you are running it super cold...also do you smell anything when it is working inside the car?

[Idatenkichi]

there usually are no connections in the car so unless the unit is leaking in the car the points he suggested are usually the only ones...the water at the rear of the car can be condensation from the engine running while its cold...normally will go away after ~15-20min of driving...do you have pictures of the water "stains" on your dashboard? that's a new one to me unless you are running it super cold...also do you smell anything when it is working inside the car?

https://imgur.com/xe0N0vJ

https://imgur.com/xe0N0vJ
I have cleaned the stains so only those near the windshields are left. Coincidentally the stains stop appearing when the AC was not cold.
I don’t smell anything. The AC airflow does seem weaker than before.

[S14rebuild]

Maybe the cold air escaping the ducting and blowing up thru to the glass, then condesing and leaving water droplet/marks on the dash....idk thats weird. But first thing i would do..is add dye to the system and check for leaks, or better a high quality sniffer to source the leak and then repair it. One issue at a time

[Idatenkichi]

Maybe the cold air escaping the ducting and blowing up thru to the glass, then condesing and leaving water droplet/marks on the dash....idk thats weird. But first thing i would do..is add dye to the system and check for leaks, or better a high quality sniffer to source the leak and then repair it. One issue at a time

After I cleaned the dashboard, stains would again start to appear without turning on AC/heater at all.

Quite sure my mechanic didn’t use dye to check for leaks. And I already had him special order the OEM condenser and compressor, and they are not cheap.

[S14rebuild]

Why would you order parts for the car if you dont even know those are the issue?

[S14rebuild]

Post better pics of these "stains" please so we can get a better idea

[Kingtal0n]

Inside the car, I think there is an "AC coil" Which can become frozen if the blower-fan is weak (or the seal is weak for the blower). The coil gets very cold and the fan is supposed to blow cold air through it into the car. However if the AC coil freezes up, that means it has collected water from the air I think, and then it can drip into the car

but this would only happen if the A/C is running for a while and the fan is not blowing well

Honestly since its a 240 I would clean everything and replace anything cheap. The A/C drier for example. If the system is empty or nearly empty you may as well refresh it, by giving a full vacuum to the system for a long time (30+ minutes at max vacuum) then check for leaks (with vacuum pressure test) and finally re-fill with oil and refridgerant, cleanly. I bet you find leaks to fix.
Use the opportunity to clean everything. You can take off the a/c lines and wash them out, then blow them out. The vacuum suction will dry it later when u pressure test for 30+ minutes. Clean the condenser and compressor with degreaser or simple green or something.

Main thing is cleanliness, inside and out, so you can detect problems easy and so the system can operate properly.
And the pressure test (vacuum test 30+ min) for leak detection and to remove water from the system fully before filling.

[Idatenkichi]

Why would you order parts for the car if you dont even know those are the issue?

My mechanic said from the appearance they are the issue.

https://imgur.com/mSgDH0V

https://imgur.com/mSgDH0V

[Idatenkichi]

Sorry Kingtal0n I couldn’t reply for some reason. Is there a limit of 10 replies for a newbie’s thread?
Cleaning the AC system is out of my league.

My mechanic said that he couldn’t find the parts, so maybe I will search for rental leak detector later.

Funny thing is the stains reappear again, so freon isn’t the culprit.