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Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:03 pm
by Cosmic Bus
Hi All,
Had a re-gas the other week and gone from no aircon to lovely cool air once again which was great as I was worried something else may be afoot. However after a weekend away (1st one

), I noticed on the drive a small puddle from, upon closer inspection, directly underneath the rear aircon pipes.
Not a big puddle and I have asked the aircon company if the gass/oil contain a bright green in it to identify which is confirmed. Now the question is....is it a simple gasket leak?
A re-gas will be done for nowt, and I have checked the tightness of the bolts.
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:12 pm
by jaylee
May just be nothing more than water from the condenser...? Normal.
The condensers just above the pipes you pictured..
See here too!
http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... mgno=.html
& here...
http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... mgno=.html
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:20 pm
by helen&tony
Hi
That may be a leak of refrigerant by the looks of it...I shouldn't think it's too dear to fix. I think coolant would be a little paler, but check for fluid loss anyway, and ask again...the fact that it has colourant looks unlike the condensate from the A/C
Cheers
Helen
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:28 pm
by jaylee
I must admit after my recharge i've had no puddles Helen...
Cosmic Bus wrote:
Not a big puddle and I have asked the aircon company if the gass/oil contain a bright green in it to identify which is confirmed. Now the question is....is it a simple gasket leak?
After angling my screen to view the puddle pic??

Certainly a green hue?!!
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 1:01 pm
by Cosmic Bus
yeah sorry about the pics...must be a saturday resize/post issue
Helen, am I right thinking there's a gasket between that little lot then? The garage will remove and re-gas, but how flexible are those pipes in putting in a new gasket? Are they available anywhere?
I think this only happened after switching on A/C and switching on the rear. I reckon it allowed refrigerant into the rear pipes.
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 1:55 pm
by 321Away
No gasket but there is a rubber O ring there, the pipes are flexible enoght to move them down a couple of inches or so to change it over, the green stuff is UV dye that they pump into the system when they re-gas to check for leaks.
Julian
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 3:24 pm
by helen&tony
Hi
There you go...may be a cheap fix...I haven't fiddled with my aircon...but remember to run it regularly to keep it all working.
Cheers
Helen
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 3:46 pm
by Cosmic Bus
Excellent that it's an 'O' ring. I suspect it's just perished then. I can get them to empty the gas then just see if they will drop it down to put a couple of new ones in. Can't see that costing much, feww quid for beer hopefully
I wonder, does the gas have to be emptied first though, i.e can I just drop it down with it all in? In theory then, I am guessing it's closed off electronically to the rear if rear heating not activated?
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:07 pm
by jaylee
Cosmic Bus wrote:Excellent that it's an 'O' ring. I suspect it's just perished then. I can get them to empty the gas then just see if they will drop it down to put a couple of new ones in. Can't see that costing much, feww quid for beer hopefully
I wonder, does the gas have to be emptied first though, i.e can I just drop it down with it all in?
In theory then, I am guessing it's closed off electronically to the rear if rear heating not activated?
The rear AC will always come on with the front.. Its just the recirculating fan that kind of gets isolated.. The heater matrix gets hotter with the van.. It's only the flap that controls the temperature!
This may help!?
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =rear+flap
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:41 pm
by Cosmic Bus
Well after today I think it's all gone gas wise. Quick run today and didn't seem as cold and a look on the sight glass showed nothing.
Thanks for the link Jaylee.
Back to the garage when I can get the time off for investigation and top-up. I had 700g put in (or was it 750g?, can't remember off hand) for the digital climate control system we have. A quick read seems the figures are a matter of debate

Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 12:15 pm
by Cosmic Bus
Going in tomorrow for leak repair and re-gas but is it better for to be filled from the low side as well?
And where is it? I read it's under some plastic ducting I think but is that visible without taking anything off?
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:28 pm
by missfixit70
The recognised figure for the twin ac system seems to be 950g of gas & 14ml of pag46 oil, which most of us have used with success, but at the bash I noticed on the lip of Cabte's new shape 2l bongo (still the same twin ac) had the figure of 750g +/_ 50g for the refridgerant on an official looking sticker ?:?
The LP valve is located behind the rad under the plastic ac/heater intake scoop, just two scrivets holding it in if anything.
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 2:53 pm
by Cosmic Bus
I have the digital climate control. No idea if that's the twin setup or not. Not sure on oil amount either but I had 700g put in a la fact sheet. With that amount in it seemed ok. Better less than more though?
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 9:08 pm
by missfixit70
Do you have rear ac? that's the twin set up which 99% seem to have, very few seem to have left the factory without, but it was an option apparantly & backed up by lushprojects drawings.
If it's running cold enough for you, then that's good enough, I don't think it's possible to put too much in if it's done right.
Re: Rear Aircon pipes.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 9:33 pm
by Cosmic Bus
No I don't think so...at least there's no button for it. I think it's one of those that comes through the top vent when the front AC is on. It's manual (levers) in the back but that's normal isn't it?