Edlebby

AC parts in engine compartment fully condensing and sweating like crazy - assume this is not normal and a sign freon is low? (ac blows cool in the cabin)

if so, does anyone have a link to a diy to top off the freon?

thanks

Carlo_Carrera

I am pretty sure if you live in a humid climate the AC parts sweating is normal.

Edlebby

thanks

i do live in a very humid climate, so maybe it is OK

Just to be clear on what i am talking about, here are some photos:

RngTrtl

That normal for humid climates. Lines are cold and air is hot and humid thus the moisture in the air wil condense on the cold lines Just like taking a glass of air water out side and then all of a sudden the glass is dripping water. On a side note you can pick up a set of AC gauges from harbor freight for pretty cheap and check the functionality of the AC system pretty easy. There are plenty of tutorials online.

Edlebby

Great

Thanks RngTrtl

Kevin

That's a clean engine compartment. Near new!

Have you replaced your cabin pollen filter? Plugged filter can impact A/C performance.

Edlebby

thanks Kevin

I agree...not sure what to attribute it to

the car has been driven 26K + miles, so i think the only answer is the car was very professionally detailed or was continually cleaned throughout its life - i can't find grime even in bolt heads and metal parts - wish i knew how they did it...suspect in another 6 months it will look very different!!

Edlebby

I have not - thanks for the suggestion

is this the correct spot/process for that?


separately, is there a good source for consumables like this? (or is it through the dealer only?)

thanks!

EDIT: just found this - is this the correct part? https://www.amazon.com/Mann-Filter-C...e+cabin+filter

SteveMFr

I have to disagree. I am the quintessential DIY believer - so much so that I am part of a company that offers diagnostic tools for DIYs (not Porsche, though) - but I have seen so many people fack up AC repairs that I feel it's best left to someone who knows what they are doing. This even goes for mechanics not trained in aC work.

Yes, there are good tutorials online, and yes ACs are not rocket science, but people do not pay attention to what is said in the tutorials or don't even bother reading up.

Edlebby, read about your purchase in the other thread. Quit worrying and start enjoying

Edlebby

in between the worrying, i have done some robust hwy driving - so basically worrying with a huge grin on my face!!

one final (ok...probably not) piece of worrying:

how do i found out if the car has been overreved and if so how often/how much?

do you need a OBD reader?

Carlo_Carrera

Yes, his AC is fine. Do not mess with it. Most systems never need freon to be added. Drive and enjoy.

Edlebby

got it...driving and enjoying!

dprantl

While the above can be said about most automotive work and even mechanical work in general, I have to agree that A/C work is an area that you really have to mentally prepare for before starting the job. Everything must be done in the correct order, and one must fully understand what they are doing and how a refrigerant system works and what can go wrong. You also need a set of specialized tools to do it right. Never buy those top-up can-type things in auto parts stores because the system will have an unknown amount of refrigerant when done. Also, never EVER put any kind of stop-leak into a refrigerant system unless you like buying expensive A/C components.

That said, it looks like the OP's system is working very well when it can condense so much water out of the ambient air. A very easy way to immediately check the general health of the system is to feel the difference in temperatures of the thin (high pressure) and thick (low pressure) refrigerant lines at a point close to the A/C compressor after the system has run for some time. Depending on ambient conditions inside and outside the car, the thin line should be warm/hot and the thick line should be very cold. And water on the thick line is good, in fact sometimes the line gets so cold it can temporarily freeze the water on it.

Dan

Edlebby

Dan - thanks for your thoughtful advice

Macster

An OBD2 code reader/data viewer/logger can't access the overrev counters.

To read these a PST2 or PIWIS (Porsche diagnostics computer) is required. Generally there will be a charge for reading this info as my info is the computer has to perform a full scan of the car's electronics/controllers and this can take some time.

While the tech doesn't have to stand over the car while this is going on it does tie up the computer and these computers are pretty expensive pieces of equipment. It costs like the dickens to buy and there is a big monthly fee just to keep the thing alive so dealers generally just have one and it is in constant use. So if you want this info read you'll likely have to pay for it.

A Durametric can read this info but there seems to be some kind of an issue with the higher range counters having none-zero values in them.

I'm not saying the Durametric is faulty only that these overrev counters and what they contain, or don't contain, is very very important to Porsche and the mechanism by which these are accessed (read) is Porsche proprietary and Porsche doesn't share this with anyone.

Frankly, I think you are better off not having this info read. There is nothing you can do if the engine was overreved at some point in its past. If you bought the car used and failed to obtain these overrev counter values at that time then why bother now?

If the car has been your's since new either you remember when you overreved it or you don't. Reading the counters will not change the fact the engine was overreved if in fact it has been overreved.

When (if) you go to sell the car then at that time you can have the overrev counters and engine run time read and have this so show prospective buyers.