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Hi guys, I’ve been lurking for a while working on my son’s Fit. This group has been super helpful.
His AC is losing refrigerant somewhere. And searching with a UV light leads no clues around the compressor or condenser or connecting piping. So I’ve turned my attention to the inside. I’ve been able to remove the blower assembly, but I am completely stumped on how to mobilize the evaporator. This is what I see:
There are these clips, which seem to hold that back section where the evaporator is to the front section, but even releasing the clips both are very tightly together
And this is a separate top section where I suspect the pipes go up and through the firewall in the engine compartment. Everything is held together very tightly.
My 2018 Fit was losing coolant. Dealer put dye in and when I came back a week or so later they still couldn't find it. I took it home and found it fairly quickly. The low pressure valve core was leaking. The Honda tech missed it because that's where he put the dye in, so a week later when he was looking for dye stain to identify the leak he completely ignored the dye staining the valve since he expected to see some there. The valve core incidentally was defective - the spring on it was shot and obviously had been right from the time it was manufactured. I verified the leak by taking small balloons, squeezing the air out and then putting them over the low and high valves. A few days later the balloon on the low pressure valve was standing upright, pressurized.
My 2018 Fit was losing coolant. Dealer put dye in and when I came back a week or so later they still couldn't find it. I took it home and found it fairly quickly. The low pressure valve core was leaking. The Honda tech missed it because that's where he put the dye in, so a week later when he was looking for dye stain to identify the leak he completely ignored the dye staining the valve since he expected to see some there. The valve core incidentally was defective - the spring on it was shot and obviously had been right from the time it was manufactured. I verified the leak by taking small balloons, squeezing the air out and then putting them over the low and high valves. A few days later the balloon on the low pressure valve was standing upright, pressurized.
Interesting…
I also took both schrader valve caps off and did notice the slight staining of the dye on the low port. But it is slight and it is to be expected since that’s where the dye goes in. I’ll check it to be sure. Thanks for the tip.
Here is the last few steps of evaporator removal...
The procedure entails removing the entire heater/AC box which means even removing the the entire dash... I'm packing it in and looking elsewhere for the problem.. not pulling the dash. If it is the evaporator he will have to bite the bullet and get it done by the dealer.
Hi guys, I’ve been lurking for a while working on my son’s Fit. This group has been super helpful.
His AC is losing refrigerant somewhere. And searching with a UV light leads no clues around the compressor or condenser or connecting piping. So I’ve turned my attention to the inside. I’ve been able to remove the blower assembly, but I am completely stumped on how to mobilize the evaporator. This is what I see:
There are these clips, which seem to hold that back section where the evaporator is to the front section, but even releasing the clips both are very tightly together
And this is a separate top section where I suspect the pipes go up and through the firewall in the engine compartment. Everything is held together very tightly.
Looking forward to any and all ideas…
Thanks in advance, Luis
Honda's tend to lose refrigerant from the seal at the compressor pulley.
What you could do is evacuate the system.. and pull a vacuum on the system.. Check overnight if its still holding a vacuum at the same measurement.. If it didn't change then you should be good to go.. then recharge the system to the appropriate amount of refrigerant.
If it did lose some vacuum overnight then you have a small leak somewhere.
If it does not have any vacuum overnight then you have a large leak.
Last edited by mykizism; Jul 31, 2023 at 01:45 AM.
My 2018 Fit was losing coolant. Dealer put dye in and when I came back a week or so later they still couldn't find it. I took it home and found it fairly quickly. The low pressure valve core was leaking. The Honda tech missed it because that's where he put the dye in, so a week later when he was looking for dye stain to identify the leak he completely ignored the dye staining the valve since he expected to see some there. The valve core incidentally was defective - the spring on it was shot and obviously had been right from the time it was manufactured. I verified the leak by taking small balloons, squeezing the air out and then putting them over the low and high valves. A few days later the balloon on the low pressure valve was standing upright, pressurized.
Not trying to be an arsehole here.. but coolant is what goes in the radiator to cool the engine block.. refrigerant is what goes into the A/C system.
Honda's tend to lose refrigerant from the seal at the compressor pulley.
What you could do is evacuate the system.. and pull a vacuum on the system.. Check overnight if its still holding a vacuum at the same measurement.. If it didn't change then you should be good to go.. then recharge the system to the appropriate amount of refrigerant.
If it did lose some vacuum overnight then you have a small leak somewhere.
If it does not have any vacuum overnight then you have a large leak.
Thanks for the suggestion. The system is for sure losing their refrigerant and losing it quickly. I put about 5 Oz. of R134 and it lost it (pressure switch activating) within a couple of hours.
The refrigerant sniffer indicates massive amounts of gas inside the cabin around the evaporator area, nothing around condenser and compressor.
I’m just really surprised that Honda would’ve made replacement of the evaporator so incredibly difficult.
Thanks for the suggestion. The system is for sure losing their refrigerant and losing it quickly. I put about 5 Oz. of R134 and it lost it (pressure switch activating) within a couple of hours.
The refrigerant sniffer indicates massive amounts of gas inside the cabin around the evaporator area, nothing around condenser and compressor.
I’m just really surprised that Honda would’ve made replacement of the evaporator so incredibly difficult.
Hmm that really sucks.. and yes removing the evaporator is a major pain in the arse.
