A/C drips water into cabin.

[twiki]

Hi Guys,

My 2003 Echo has an A/C that drips into the passenger footwell.

What's the most common thing I should look out for?
Is there a disconnected hose? Or am I possibly looking at something far more serious?


Thanks.

[Dave's]

Most common is a clogged drain hose. Usually a black rubber hose which normally extends just thru the floor board near the center of the car slightly behind the firewall. Debris blocks it and the A/C then overflows. Best to get under the car, locate it and clear it with a small wire, wire tye, etc. If this isn't it then it's possible the hose came loose if someone was under the dash or really kicking their feet around under it as the hose typicallly runs under the carpet where it ends going up the firewall. Worst is a leaking heater core. But you can use white paper towels pressed against the wet carpet to test what type of 'water' is leaking.

[twiki]

Hi,

The stuff dripping/leaking looks and smells like plain water. It dries off cleanly and leaves no residue or smell.

I'll run the A/C with my head under the passenger dash and look for the origin of the leak.

Originally Posted by Dave's

But you can use white paper towels pressed against the wet carpet to test what type of 'water' is leaking.

Thanks.

[twiki]

Hi All,

After 'moving' the drain tube (passenger footwell) around, squeezing it and examining it for obvious leaks, none were found.
Rather, I'd noticed that the water now dripped out the drain hose, to the undercarriage of the car. This is good.
This was with short and infrequent use of the A/C.

Now that it's warmer and I'm running the A/C for longer periods, I've noticed the cabin drip/leak is back.
When stopped, I've looked under the hood (where I can observe the drain hose) and only seen it start to drip after the car has stopped.

So it's not draining under the car while the A/C is in use.
I've attempted to trace the source of the cabin leak, and noticed that it's dripping off a bundle of electrical cables in the passenger footwell.

I'll take a snapshot of this later.

Thanks.

[Dave's]

The hose can become clogged even tho the hose itself is fine. It may be partially clogged allowing some water to drip thru but more builds up in the A/C and overflows which may be what you're seeing. I would still suggest running something up the hose long enough to reach the whole length of the hose. Imagine a box with a drain stem in the bottom to which the hose is attached. The blockage could be in the box where the drain hole is located- like wet leaves in the gutter right where the downspout comes down. The downspout may be clear but you have to remove the blockage at the top to keep the gutter from overflowing.

[twiki]

Rather than trying to access this from under the car (end of the drain hose), I'll disconnect it from the HVAC unit and use that to gain access.
From there, I should be able to clear any blockage in the hose (downwards) and in the housing (upwards).

Thanks.

[Dave's]

If you can access it, get it off and back on securely that should be fine. Let us know if it fixes your problem. Good luck.

[twiki]

Hi All,

With the engine cold, I squeezed the tube and observed water dripping out under the car.

I pulled the hose off, and about a cup-full of clear water gushed out, and into the passenger footwell!

Using a stiff-ish wire (with no sharp edges), I ran it down the drain hose, and up into the plastic housing.
There was no obstruction, or obvious debris clogging either one, so I'm still not sure what might have caused the problem.

I've reconnected the hose securely, and also laid newspaper on the floor-mat, to better observe any drips. I'm also watching for water draining out under the car after the A/C has been run. If nothing appears, then there might be another clog.

So far, so good...and I've been running the A/C for well over 30 minutes.


Thanks.

[Dave's]

It's usually just moldy wet 'dust/dirt' and not difficult to clear at all. Sometimes some 'floats' over the drain hole and you can push it out of the way until it floats back. That's more rare however, so if it's draining good now you should be ok.

[auxmike]

I just dealt with this same issue on my 2008 Yaris Hatch. I placed a thin sponge and towels under the point where the hose goes in and drained the water out SLOWLY onto the sponge and the towels thus keeping my carpet dry. I removed the whole hose out of the car after and saw it was blocked by what looked like spider webs! Cleaned it out and reinstalled it, easy job. Now my A/C drips OUTSIDE the car...