1.0 BMax steam coming into cabin
Discussion
Last night, after leaving work, I noticed the windows were steamed up. Put the heaters on and steam starts pouring out straight into the windscreen. First thoughts, Heater matrix is goosed. Stops the car, opens the bonnet and the coolant is bubbling away and the fans are on. I was 80 miles from home.
It’s a 125ps 1.0 ecoboost. I know how critical the cooling is on these.
I called Ford Assist at 1am, no answer then I called the AA who are linked to Ford assist. They said they’d be a minimum of 3 hours. F##k that! Let it cool down, found a couple of bottles of fizzy water and headed off towards home stopping every 10 miles or so to check the coolant. Temp gauge stayed constant but don’t trust those digital readouts. Coolant didn’t drop and I set the A/C to low and switched on the heated front screen.
Got home and took it to the ford dealer this morning. Explained everything as clearly as possible. Showed my video to the tech of the bubbling coolant. The diagnosis; the coolant is overfilled. We’ve drained it off and everything is fine sir! What about the steam? no it’s fine.
I collects the car, starts it up and put it on full demist. Straight away steam fills the cabin. Straight back in. This time I write everything down.
Second diagnosis. The air con drain is leaking into the car. It needs a new drain pipe and bracket. Parts will cost £35 and labour will be £670.59. The dashboard needs to come out.
Why’s the coolant bubbling? Don’t know sir.
Can I have my car back please. I will update as I get a good look at it myself.
It’s a 125ps 1.0 ecoboost. I know how critical the cooling is on these.
I called Ford Assist at 1am, no answer then I called the AA who are linked to Ford assist. They said they’d be a minimum of 3 hours. F##k that! Let it cool down, found a couple of bottles of fizzy water and headed off towards home stopping every 10 miles or so to check the coolant. Temp gauge stayed constant but don’t trust those digital readouts. Coolant didn’t drop and I set the A/C to low and switched on the heated front screen.
Got home and took it to the ford dealer this morning. Explained everything as clearly as possible. Showed my video to the tech of the bubbling coolant. The diagnosis; the coolant is overfilled. We’ve drained it off and everything is fine sir! What about the steam? no it’s fine.
I collects the car, starts it up and put it on full demist. Straight away steam fills the cabin. Straight back in. This time I write everything down.
Second diagnosis. The air con drain is leaking into the car. It needs a new drain pipe and bracket. Parts will cost £35 and labour will be £670.59. The dashboard needs to come out.
Why’s the coolant bubbling? Don’t know sir.
Can I have my car back please. I will update as I get a good look at it myself.
Right, I’ve sussed the bubbling coolant. The 1.0 ecoboost runs a secondary electric water pump after switching the engine off.
The steam is definitely from the air con as diagnosed by Ford. Taken some lower trim off and I can see it dripping off the heater box. Cannot find the a/c drain for the life of me. Jacked it up and went underneath. No joy and run out of time for today. Anyone any idea?
The steam is definitely from the air con as diagnosed by Ford. Taken some lower trim off and I can see it dripping off the heater box. Cannot find the a/c drain for the life of me. Jacked it up and went underneath. No joy and run out of time for today. Anyone any idea?
Ok, as no one has a clue and that includes various Ford forums I thought I’d have a real good look this morning while the kids were at nursery. Took the heat shield off attached to the exhaust tunnel and below the heater box. Ta Da, there it is. Poked it with some wire and got soaked. I’ve run the air con for a good hour now and it’s dripping away as it should. Car is back together and no more steam when the heaters are on.
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