Hi Folks
I’ve read loads on here about leaking windscreens but I felt mine was a leak from elsewhere.
It seemed to come from under the bottom of the glovebox on the right hand side, by the Pollen Filter.
It was colourless and odourless so I decided to taste it. It tasted of nothing. It was therefore not coolant nor had any screen wash in it. It had to be condensation from the Air Con system.
I ran the Air Con and looked under the car for the tell-tale sign of dripping water to see if the drain was working and sure enough it was. Where was this water coming from?
I’d ruled out the windscreen etc and even though the drain pipe was working, I still felt it must be blocked or part blocked in some way.
I’d seen options on the internet of how to clear this:-
1. Find the end of the drain pipe and fire compressed air up it to clear
2. With a hosepipe, squirt a small jet of water up the pipe. The problem with this is that the water will exit onto the passenger floor and under the floor is the ECU, CCU and loads of electrics. DO NOT TRY THIS ONE!!
3. Use a VAX or similar to suck the blockage out and any excess water (DO NOT USE A NORMAL VACUUM CLEANER)
Options 1 and 2 would only push any rubbish back into the Air Con system giving it chance to block again. Option 3 seemed the best to do.
VAX ready and waiting so here we go.
Remove the mat and carpet from the front footwell. See picture (a) for the Air Con drain pipe. Gently pull this out from the bulkhead. There is no pipe behind, just a space between the bulk head and sound insulation. (If you look in the engine bay for the pipe you will not find it as it is hidden behind the sound insulation (took ages to work this out…Grrrr)
Make sure you have a towel or cloth to catch any water released, as you MUST protect the ECU and electrics.
If you look through the hole in the bulk head you will see the sound insulation. Push the insulation away from the bulk head with an appropriate tool, making sure not to put a hole in it. See picture (b). The reason for this is to ensure that when you re-fit the drain pipe there is sufficient room for it.
There is a little flap over the mouth of the pipe, lift it to see if the pipe is clear. See picture (c). Mine was most definitely not clear. See picture (d).
With a cloth or towel in place, run the Air Con system on LOW temperature with MAX fans and all the vents open. Wait for a little while until you see water dripping from the end of the pipe. See picture (e). Once it’s dripping attach the VAX to the end of the pipe and suck. Keep removing the VAX to check that the pipe mouth is clear. Repeat until it is. See picture (f).
I think the reason for so much rubbish in my system is that the previous owner at some stage removed the Pollen Filter and didn’t replace it. I only found this out when I decided to replace it myself with a charcoal filter. See picture (g) for rubbish removed. There was also wet rubbish in the VAX pipe.
To refit, push the drain pipe back into the bulk head from the bottom first and then push around the circumference until a snug fit. Run the Air Con on LOW with MAX fans again and check under the car for the dripping water. Recheck the drain pipe at the bulk head inside the car to make sure there are no leaks. If all good, dry any wet areas and refit carpet etc.
Good luck!
I’ve read loads on here about leaking windscreens but I felt mine was a leak from elsewhere.
It seemed to come from under the bottom of the glovebox on the right hand side, by the Pollen Filter.
It was colourless and odourless so I decided to taste it. It tasted of nothing. It was therefore not coolant nor had any screen wash in it. It had to be condensation from the Air Con system.
I ran the Air Con and looked under the car for the tell-tale sign of dripping water to see if the drain was working and sure enough it was. Where was this water coming from?
I’d ruled out the windscreen etc and even though the drain pipe was working, I still felt it must be blocked or part blocked in some way.
I’d seen options on the internet of how to clear this:-
1. Find the end of the drain pipe and fire compressed air up it to clear
2. With a hosepipe, squirt a small jet of water up the pipe. The problem with this is that the water will exit onto the passenger floor and under the floor is the ECU, CCU and loads of electrics. DO NOT TRY THIS ONE!!
3. Use a VAX or similar to suck the blockage out and any excess water (DO NOT USE A NORMAL VACUUM CLEANER)
Options 1 and 2 would only push any rubbish back into the Air Con system giving it chance to block again. Option 3 seemed the best to do.
VAX ready and waiting so here we go.
Remove the mat and carpet from the front footwell. See picture (a) for the Air Con drain pipe. Gently pull this out from the bulkhead. There is no pipe behind, just a space between the bulk head and sound insulation. (If you look in the engine bay for the pipe you will not find it as it is hidden behind the sound insulation (took ages to work this out…Grrrr)
Make sure you have a towel or cloth to catch any water released, as you MUST protect the ECU and electrics.
If you look through the hole in the bulk head you will see the sound insulation. Push the insulation away from the bulk head with an appropriate tool, making sure not to put a hole in it. See picture (b). The reason for this is to ensure that when you re-fit the drain pipe there is sufficient room for it.
There is a little flap over the mouth of the pipe, lift it to see if the pipe is clear. See picture (c). Mine was most definitely not clear. See picture (d).
With a cloth or towel in place, run the Air Con system on LOW temperature with MAX fans and all the vents open. Wait for a little while until you see water dripping from the end of the pipe. See picture (e). Once it’s dripping attach the VAX to the end of the pipe and suck. Keep removing the VAX to check that the pipe mouth is clear. Repeat until it is. See picture (f).
I think the reason for so much rubbish in my system is that the previous owner at some stage removed the Pollen Filter and didn’t replace it. I only found this out when I decided to replace it myself with a charcoal filter. See picture (g) for rubbish removed. There was also wet rubbish in the VAX pipe.
To refit, push the drain pipe back into the bulk head from the bottom first and then push around the circumference until a snug fit. Run the Air Con on LOW with MAX fans again and check under the car for the dripping water. Recheck the drain pipe at the bulk head inside the car to make sure there are no leaks. If all good, dry any wet areas and refit carpet etc.
Good luck!