I just saw a post over at Edmunds from a 2006 FEH owner who had the pipes going into the Aux A/C (battery cooling) corrode. I had thought those pipes were aluminum?

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@@.f20397e/0

 

Steve, I can't get the link to work. I'd like to see what happened there with the corrosion.

 

The link works for me, but here is the post: "On our 2006 Escape Hybrid, we noted a leak near the left, rear wheel from what appeared to be a coolant line. After 2 visits to a dealership, they said it was the auxillary a/c lines leaking for the battery cooling. The lines were corroded through and the vehicle has 36k miles! The service manager said this could be an overheating problem and could cause a fire! But this is not covered by warranty and the cost would be $1000 to $1500! What is Ford's backup to the a/c lines if they leak and don't cool the battery? Why wouldn't Ford cover this item and protect the consumers from the potential safety issue? "

 

If the service manager was implying that the lack of A/C to the battery could cause a fire, I disagree. The FEH battery control system has programming to reduce/prevent assist/regen if an overheat condition exist. I expect this is the reason why people who have had their battery fan (inside the battery casing) go bad have noticed reduced EV assist/regen and higher RPM.

The factory 3yr/36,000 mile warranty would have covered the rear A/C but obviously the 3yr time limit has been reached. This is one example where and extended warranty would have been beneficial.

Let's not forget that Ford did away with the rear/battery AC on it's newer hybrid models and now uses cabin air for battery cooling.

 

Appears the owner has posted their issue on relavant, existing thread:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ne-leak-14842/

 

They are aluminum and alumimun will corrode just fine.

It only won't "rust".

I got a pin hole leak in mine.
Lucky for me ( knock on wood ) a can of stop-leak actually stopped the leak.

 

any reason not to just fabricate one with a\c barrier hose? seems to be cheaper

 

You got me interested so I looked it up. Yes, it corrodes, but the oxide that forms does not continue to corrode, so under most conditions it will last far longer than steel or iron.

http://www.usmotors.com/Products/Pro...rnaluminum.htm

 

Good info--- included was this info:

"Magnesium Chloride: solutions, below 1% in concentrations, cause only staining of aluminum at room temperature. Dilute solutions above 1% by weight cause moderate pitting on aluminum."

Mag Chloride is the preferred road salt over sodium chloride ( table salt ) because it melts ice to lower temperatures. Mag Chloride is used extensively in Colorado and many western states as it is generally less harmful to plant life in runoff / over spray areas.

I wonder if this caused or contributed to the pin hole in my tube since there was no visible impact damage. The salt will dry on the underside of the car ( which will be a strong concentrate ).

Also, I have seen by expereince, aluminium will corrode rapidly when in contact with dis-similar metals, especially where there is an electrical current present.