Dripping

B

Broads

Member
 Melksham
Morning all,

I wanted to check with you guys if this is something to be concerned with, or if this is normal operation.
This morning I pulled into my parking space at work, and hapend to notice a trail of spots of something leading to where I parked the car,
I looked underneath and there was a dripping of clear liquid coming from mid point in the car.

I had the air con on last night, and forgot to turn it off this morning, so I am wondering if this is the case? I vividly remember a holiday in create where the hire car was running a small stream on a really hot day. So thought it likely.

Thanks in advance.

Mark
 
Broads said:
Morning all,

I wanted to check with you guys if this is something to be concerned with, or if this is normal operation.
This morning I pulled into my parking space at work, and hapend to notice a trail of spots of something leading to where I parked the car,
I looked underneath and there was a dripping of clear liquid coming from mid point in the car.

I had the air con on last night, and forgot to turn it off this morning, so I am wondering if this is the case? I vividly remember a holiday in create where the hire car was running a small stream on a really hot day. So thought it likely.

Thanks in advance.

Mark
Click to expand...

Hi Mark, sounds like the air con to me :wink:
Rob
 
Why turn it off? Mine is on all the time. I never turn it off.
They live a lot longer if they are used all the time.
 
Ok so it sounds like its normal running then. I guess air con has come on someway since my inital aircon days where it would zap your mpg. I Never really feal like I need it unless its really hot. Last night being one, and I didnt have the boot divider down and couldnt be bothered to stop :P
 
I rarely but really rarely use the ACs on my cars and so far, in 12 plus years and about 200K miles the ACs on my two Volvos still work perfectly. Some years I use them only for a couple of hours the entire year.
 
If you dont use it the lubricant is not circulated and the seals etc will start to harden,
Just pop it on for a few minutes a month, its all you need.
If you never use it most people will encounter problems along the line.
 
From memory a car's air con compressor chews through about 5 HP when under load. Anyone going to notice?

You also run the risk of bacteria breeding in the evaporator if used infrequently, manifesting itself as nasty smells in the car's cabin area as you drive. There's another good post on here somewhere about cleaning it all out if you suffer from this.

Years ago Mythbusters did a trial of 2 identical cars (could have been Ford Explorers?) driving around a racetrack at steady speed. Myth was "Open Windows, No Air Con" vs "Closed Windows, Full Air Con". Which gives better MPG?

Can't recall the exact result but remember it was marginal (might have been in favour of the closed windows but I'll stand corrected).
 
I'm sure using the ac from time to time is better than almost never using it, it's just that, on our Volvos, not doing so hasn't caused any problems whatsoever in more than 14 years. Those are back in France where it's less hot, here in California we use the AC regularly anyway.

Back to the original post, one thing to do if there's any sort of drip is to just taste a bit of it. Coolant, engine oil, trans oil and plain water taste very differently. Of course oil will also look differently.
 
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