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Old 16th January 2025, 20:22   #1
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DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

The Problem:
With more than 110K on the odo in the 8.5 years of my 2016 Tiago, it started to show AC issues in the past few weeks. While the unit itself appeared to be working fine, there would be suddenly no air from the vents after about an hour of driving (read AC running). I could hear the blower motor noise as well as the compressor kicking in but no sign of air or cooling from the vents. There was also ice formation in the passenger footwell area where the air filter and evaporator coil are located.

DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_192325831.png

Workshop Visit:
As with most Tata owners, I was afraid to visit the ASC and took the car to an FNG AC workshop along with a friend of mine. The moment they heard my car's age & odo, they were certain that the evaporator coil (also called as cooling coil) would have clogged with dirt and needs cleaning. This has more to do with TML using a mesh filter which allows fine dust to pass through, unlike paper filters used in most cars these days. They also hooked up a pressure gauge to the low pressure port and found the pressure be fine:

DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_185726665.png
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_185715779.png

A quote of 6K was given to us, requiring 3 to 5 days to remove the dashboard, then remove the coil for a thorough cleaning. I was apprehensive of getting scratches & damages to the dashboard plastics in this process. After some discussions with the FNG owner, we left the place, asking some time to think about getting the repair work done.

DIY Idea:
Later that day, my friend looked up a few YT DIY videos and shared one of them where a coil cleaning liquid was sprayed onto the coil from the "air circulation" vent located near air filter. Rather than using a spray, my friend suggested using just air compressor to clean the coil before finalizing the FNG visit. One fine evening, I drove up to his place where he had access to a small industrial air compressor and attempted the process.

Cleaning Process:
First we removed the air con air filter using the Taparia 974 stubby screw driver which I had bought only for my regular filter cleaning activity. Then we used the compressor gun from the air circulation vent (from the side) and air filter opening (from the bottom). Since I had driven ~10km to his place, the coil already had moisture on it thereby helping with the dirt to loosen up and fall down on the carpet area. We placed a waste cotton cloth on the floor to prevent stains on my stock carpet which had no floor matting. After about 10 minutes we inspected using phone camera and found the coil it to be much cleaner than before. Tested the AC for few minutes and again used compressed air for a final ~5 minutes before re-installing air filter.

Before (missed to click a clear picture):
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_192814716.png

Air gun (from the side):
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_195339291.png

Air gun (from the bottom):
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_200457779.png

Notice the dirt on the floor area from the cleaning process:
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_194654359.png

After:
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-image_20250116_192828787.png

Here is a pic from another Tiago owner from our social media group with his 6 year old Tiago:
DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)-whatsapp-image-20250112-16.50.49_907ee024.jpg

Outcome:
Right after the cleaning process, I observed much better air flow (almost 2X) through the vents and felt happy about our attempt, despite not being the permanent solution. To ensure I did not feel a placebo effect, I did not inform this activity to better half who immediately felt the chilling air flow and even reduced the temperature knob that was never touched for a long long time .


Learnings:
I learnt a few basics of car AC systems and got an opportunity to get my hands dirty in the process of cleaning the evaporator. Also saved ~6K and avoided scratches on the dashboard. I have driven around 1000 km since then and did not face the issue yet. Will continue to observe the performance, especially during long drives and update this thread.

While this may be a temporary solution, it worked quite well for me and and went ahead with creating this thread, which might help others. Looking forward to BHPians' comments on this approach and pitfalls if any so that corrective actions can be taken.

Drive safe!
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Old 17th January 2025, 10:17   #2
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Re: DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

Thread moved to the DIY section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage this weekend
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Old 17th January 2025, 13:41   #3
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Re: DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

The fins are not as close as that of the current domestic Inverter ac coils. That is a good thing in this case as compressed air can easily dislodge the accumulated dust.

In case if it becomes stubborn, you can use a battery operated pressure washer to clean with water.
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Old 18th January 2025, 13:32   #4
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Re: DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prowler View Post
The fins are not as close as that of the current domestic Inverter ac coils. That is a good thing in this case as compressed air can easily dislodge the accumulated dust.

In case if it becomes stubborn, you can use a battery operated pressure washer to clean with water.
Sir, using a pressure washer inside the car isn't recommended. What a mess it will make, apart from soaking all electricals in the vicinity
I have a Tiago as well, my next DIY will be to air blow the gunk, and then use ac cleaning foam to dissolve as much as what remains

Last edited by lemedico : 18th January 2025 at 13:34.
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Old 18th January 2025, 15:17   #5
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Re: DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

Doing this exercise even without having an estimate of price, time and process by Tata ASC does not seem to be a complete research done before picking this DIY unless I am missing something here.
Or may be your experience with Tata ASC has been so bad that you did not bother asking them

Last edited by steadfast : 18th January 2025 at 15:18.
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Old 18th January 2025, 17:45   #6
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Re: DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

Using pressure gun on AC coils is contra indicated. These run on very high pressure. You are lucky you did not damage your coils as this high pressure can easily deform the fins and even the tubes of the evaporator.

A pressure water gun would be even more dangerous. Better would be to get a can of the AC evaporator coil cleaner which contain some kind of Mild acid which causes the dirt and grim to bubble out of the coil.

Since your car coil is relatively easier to access (read visible) try spraying some of that coil cleaner and you will get much better results. All cautions for using the acids apply. Spread lots of newspaper on the floor before proceeding.
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Old 20th January 2025, 11:43   #7
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Re: DIY: AC Evaporator Coil Cleaning (Tata Tiago)

Quote:
Originally Posted by steadfast View Post
Or may be your experience with Tata ASC has been so bad that you did not bother asking them
It is the latter

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ravi Parwan View Post
You are lucky you did not damage your coils as this high pressure can easily deform the fins and even the tubes of the evaporator.
Thanks for the tip. We did discuss the possibility of damage before using air pressure. We proceeded with the DIY only after verifying that the gun cannot actually get too close to cause any damage.
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