V70: General Air con leak 2009 D5

[Uksojourn]

Hello,
I have had my Air Con re-charged 3 times in 9 months. For the last 2 they added UV dye but did not find any evidence of leakage around the engine bay and rad (Also placed up on the ramps and under-pan removed for visibility. As was the headlight to see pipe ends to condenser.)
Once recharged, system is truly artic in power but loses it in side of 3 months. Bad for penguins and bank balances. There should be a lovely luminous green puddle under the leak.
What we did not find was the evaporator, which i take is buried behind the dash near the blower.
Any suggestions on access to the evap or probable leak points that we have missed?
Cheers

[Waynedance]

Have you checked for dye in the water dripping from the drain tube or around the drain tube. Could indicate the evaporator.

[donutdobermann]

The condenser on my 2007 S80 was leaking and it was regassed last year. The leak was found behind the intercooler and its being fixed on Wednesday.

[Uksojourn]

Cheers Wayne and Donut,
I will have a look later.

[KBB]

Compressor front shaft seal is another location of leacks

[Uksojourn]

Tried again today still no sign of the florescence. No tell tale green puddles under the car. Booked into specialist on Thursday. Thanks all.

[Waynedance]

Have you checked the obvious, the low and high pressure ports? Could be the valves leaking. You would see dye in them as that's where it's filled.

Clean up the valves and check for tightness and check for dye after running air con.

[Uksojourn]

Cheers Wayne, I only see one port behind the headlight its clean. Wheres the second?

[donutdobermann]

Had my condenser replaced today and it took 3.5 hours from start to finish. The front bumper had to come off as the intercooler had to be removed from the front plus many other bits to get the condenser out. You had a job to see the leak on the old condenser ( probably 2 leakes and one larger and a smaller leak ) which appeared to be a slightly darker patch on the front. Not being a betting man you could have the same problem as the system was devoid of any gas when it was originally tested. The leak showed up when he put some gas in the condenser.Hope this helps in finding your problem. The air con is ice cold and never has been as cold since i had the car and when it was regassed last year.

[Waynedance]

Originally Posted by Uksojourn

Cheers Wayne, I only see one port behind the headlight its clean. Wheres the second?

Underneath the scuttle panel to the right of the brake fluid bottle. Need to remove a few clips and raise the panel a little to see it.