Dave The Hippo

Hello everyone. Today I added enough refrigerant to get the compressor turning and then UV dye. After letting it circulate through, I was surprised to find that the inside of the alternator lit up like a Christmas tree. In between the engine and the alternator I believe there is a A/C line, I was just wondering you know anything more about it or where the leak could be coming from in a more accurate spot. The line appears to have a sort of heat shield that is preventing me to see the actual line, making only the alternator light up. Any answers would be greatly appreciated, my car is a 2002 E430 4matic.

kajtek1

You need to go under the car to inspect it.

Dave The Hippo

Yep, thats gonna be next on the list.

Tall Giraffe

Out of curiousity, I went outside just now and looked. My alternator also lights up - so does my washer tank and note for future reference, so does pollen.

Your AC lines are all on the driver side. One from the condenser on the under side to the drier and the other 2 are (1) from compressor and (1) from the drier that connects to the expansion under the plastic wiper cowl. You wont be able to see those connectors unless you dismantle the wiper. So, inspect from front to back. Inspect the condenser from the front, again be cautious not to mistake specs of road debris, dead bugs etc. If you can see the hose from the condenser from the top check the connections. You may have to remove the splash guard to see the drier connection. The compressor will show failure on the back half where the seal is and check those connections on top. Evaporator will show in the drain line on either side of the footwell or from the drain pipes underneath.

My seal failed and sprayed pretty well on the splash guard and surrounding areas.

GL