a/c water dripping down firewall

[lbw]

Greetings,
Anyone have wet carpets from a/c? Seems that if there is a weap hole for a/c water to drip down and outside of vehicle it must be plugged up. I've got the carpet, remote cd housing/console, etc out of the way. The black mat has many wires running through it and will have to stay. I can reach up under the black mat to where the cold side of the a/c comes through firewall, but can't feel a weaphole. Any suggestions?
Thanks, lbw

[GregA]

Originally Posted by lbw

Greetings,
Anyone have wet carpets from a/c? Seems that if there is a weap hole for a/c water to drip down and outside of vehicle it must be plugged up. I've got the carpet, remote cd housing/console, etc out of the way. The black mat has many wires running through it and will have to stay. I can reach up under the black mat to where the cold side of the a/c comes through firewall, but can't feel a weaphole. Any suggestions?
Thanks, lbw

What you are looking for is the "Evaporator Drain" and it is a pain to get to (at least on my 2001).

The drain comes from the lower half of the HVAC assembly (plastic case that holds the evaporator & heater core) and goes through the firewall. I doubt that you will be able to feel it from inside without removing the assembly.

There have been a couple of TSBs for later model Ventures (2000+) that mentioned "Wet Carpet" when driving for a long time in high temp high humidity conditions (like Florida). It seems that the water that is supposed to drip on the outside of the firewall can "wick" back inside and get the carpet wet. That TSB mentions adding a 90 degree elbow (rubber tube - P/N 22542866) pointing down to fix this. You MAY already have this elbow and it may be plugged.

If you can, try to locate the drain on the outside of the firewall and make sure it is not plugged up. If you don't have the elbow, you can get one for about $5 from the dealer.

Hope this helps,

[lbw]

Originally Posted by GregA

What you are looking for is the "Evaporator Drain" and it is a pain to get to (at least on my 2001).

The drain comes from the lower half of the HVAC assembly (plastic case that holds the evaporator & heater core) and goes through the firewall. I doubt that you will be able to feel it from inside without removing the assembly.

There have been a couple of TSBs for later model Ventures (2000+) that mentioned "Wet Carpet" when driving for a long time in high temp high humidity conditions (like Florida). It seems that the water that is supposed to drip on the outside of the firewall can "wick" back inside and get the carpet wet. That TSB mentions adding a 90 degree elbow (rubber tube - P/N 22542866) pointing down to fix this. You MAY already have this elbow and it may be plugged.

If you can, try to locate the drain on the outside of the firewall and make sure it is not plugged up. If you don't have the elbow, you can get one for about $5 from the dealer.

Hope this helps,

Greg,
Thanks for the info. It seems that our Venture does not even have the elbow. So the water has been running out the tube and then comming back in between the tube and the firewall hole. ordered the tube from local dealer.
Loren

[ChoochCharlie]

Bump.
I just ordered my elbow.
Man there was a lot of water on the floor. Totally soaked the pad. Rusted the duct support too.
Everyone should pull the kickboard up at the front doors and check their pad UNDER the carpet. I think I caught my rust in time, but I have heard of worse.

[lbw]

Originally Posted by ChoochCharlie

Bump.
I just ordered my elbow.
Man there was a lot of water on the floor. Totally soaked the pad. Rusted the duct support too.
Everyone should pull the kickboard up at the front doors and check their pad UNDER the carpet. I think I caught my rust in time, but I have heard of worse.

Same here. got it under control though. Sent the wife up to Chevy dealer to pick up the rubber elbow. I put a couple dabs of gasket glue on it before installing it. Don't want to lose that five dollar part and have to go through all the wet carpet again! My arm just fit between the motor and the firewall to reach up and put it on. Wife loves the van, we're planning a trip to California this winter. We bought this '98 with only 40k on it, so it's just broke in! Thanks for the info.

[ChoochCharlie]

I unwrapped the wire harness that lies under the carpet on both sides. Found the power locks wire, double white to green? fusible link to single white, was burned through. A little solder and wrap and the power locks work again.
Funny thing though, they only unlock. The lock button does not work.
Everyone, check your wires.

[GregA]

Originally Posted by ChoochCharlie

I unwrapped the wire harness that lies under the carpet on both sides. Found the power locks wire, double white to green? fusible link to single white, was burned through. A little solder and wrap and the power locks work again.
Funny thing though, they only unlock. The lock button does not work.
Everyone, check your wires.

I believe the unlock wires are white & the unlock wires are light blue. You might want to look for that one.
See Schematic Here.

Take Care,

[ChoochCharlie]

Thank you. I will check again tomorrow.

[ChoochCharlie]

I mic'd up my elbow. Thought it looked suspiciously like a boot off a spark plug wire.
Both ends are 15mm inside diameter.
Each leg is 40mm long.
Maybe one could find a part laying around that fits in a pinch.