The pinhole leak is in the rubber freon hose, in the rear undercarriage, the narrower of the two hoses. The the short hoses ( I think ) are there just to form a flexible union. I'm really surprised at this pin-hole leak. There is no evidence of impact or other damage. The hoses are clean and like new looking.

Really sounds like a manufacturer defect to me.
I just hit 61K and my Ford ESP was to 60k.
I have not called the dealer yet, I was too busy today.
I was just curious if low pressure would have caused the sounds I reported to the dealer 3 weeks ago when I was still at 58.5k miles.
Thanks,
-John

 

Refrigerant oil collects in dips and in cold spots in the refrigerant circuit. If there is a leak where it collects, the oil could leak out before the refrigerant. Thant would leave you with refrigerant, but no oil.

 

Question Please. When your battery pack gets warm enough that the A/C is commanded on, can you detect the compressor kicking in while driving? Since purchasing our 08 FEH last Oct, I've never seen a SGII-xg Tav reading above 80F, so I don't think the A/C has kicked on for battery cooling?? I do hear the rear cooling fan(s) running and behave as I've read about.

If batt temp rises enough to command A/C on, do the cooling fans in the pack run simultaneously, or are they independent cooling loops?

I haven't investigated the entire A/C circuits yet. I assume there is only one compressor, two condensers, and of course two evaporators (1 ea. cond/evap for cabin and HV battery). If there is only 1 compressor, how does the freon loop get circulated properly? Or are there two compressors?

 

One compressor, one condenser, one accumulator/filter, one expansion tube (front), one expansion valve (rear) and one isolation valve to shut off flow to the front system when you don't have a/c selected but the battery needs cooling. The freon flow is a parallel system after the condenser and returns from the rear to the low side before the compressor. This is a fairly standard dual unit arrangement ( like big SUVs and Vans) with exception of the isolation valve.

 

There is one compressor, with two freon loops, controlled by a zone valve.
There are two evaporators, but only one condenser.

The battery uses A/C for cooling above Tav 85'F only when the ICE is on for other reasons.

The battery forces A/C to run ( and ICE to run no matter what ) when Tav is above 95'F.

The same blowers are used in the battery compartment for both fresh air cooling, and A/C cooling. There is a diverter door in the side wall by the rear window vent that opens and closes to the outside air.

P.S. when you are standing still, you can both hear the A/C compressor kick on, and you can also hear the engine lug down a bit. I also installed my own red LED on my dash, so I can tell when the compressor runs at highway speeds and with the radio on. I did this before the ScanGauge Xgauge came out. Now you can detect A/C comoressor on with a ScanGauge.

 

Rubber section leaks are somewhat common. Looks like there is a connector just above the rear tire so maybe you wont have to buy the whole line from the front. You might still have the noise after the repair as the clearances have widened inside the compressor. But they can make some noise before they let go and may last a long time. This is when you will be GLAD its not a electric compressor like the Priuys uses! Its just a standard Ford compressor.

 

Mark/John, Thanks for the A/C explanation. I can see that the isolation valve is what allows you to share the one compressor / condenser & accumulator filter. Makes sense.

By late spring I'm going to install a 12V LED somewhere in the dash area so I can see when the compressor is running. I know that X-gauge can be programmed for this, but with only 4 displays.... the LED can substitute for this one!