I found a lake of water on the passenger side floor!

Today, I noticed that my defrost and vents were not working properly. The air is now coming from underneath the glove box along with a strange, loud whistling noise and an awful smell. I also found a huge puddle of water on my passenger side floor... my car was soaked! My check engine light also came on. I looked underneath my passenger side dash, below the glove box and noticed that one of the filters was completeley drenched in water along with the rest of the areas under the dash. The motor (looks like a hamster wheel) was only operating when my climate control was set at 4. Some people think it may be the "heat core", possibly the water pump?? I recently had a system installed, I wonder if maybe something could have gotten disconnected? Any ideas, please help!

Sorry to say it sounds like the heater core to me also. Was there the water "slick" feeling? The water pump is turned by your timing belt on the engine.

If the fan only works on 4, then it's likely the resistor pack for the HVAC fan. 4 is wide open, and settings 1, 2, and 3 are reduced voltage going through this resistor pack.

Kind of sounds like you may have two problems here though.

Well now, the fan works on all settings 1-4. What do you mean by "water slick"?

I think he's asking is it anti-freeze or rain water.

Engine coolant feels slippery. It sounds like your heater core, or related plumbing, has sprung a leak.

-mickey

awful smell = mildew?

Filter under the dash? what is that?

what 'system' did you have installed?

Was the liquid pink?

It did not look like antifreeze, to me, it looked and felt like water. Many people are telling me the heater core. Under the passenger dash, beneath the glove box, there are two things that look like filters, maybe just insulation. one is small rectangular and blueish, the other is bigger and white. i was just mentioning that they were completely soaked with water. the smaller one seemed to be broken as well, did not lay flat on the grid, easy to move, etc. I have a feeling it has to do with the heater core, but I believe there may be other problems as well. My coolant level has not decreased, and the smell is not "mildew", it does in fact smell like it could be antifreeze, but I have not noticed any so I am not sure. Would this heater core problem cause my CEL to come on? Is the heater core and related covered? If not... any idea on how much it may be to fix?

P.S. when i mentioned system, I meant that I had installed an audio system a few days ago...2 subs and amp. I was wondering if maybe something could have been disconnected accidentaly, etc. to be causing this problem??

your heater core uses coolant from the engine.. so if the coolant level is ok..its not "pink" foul smelling antifreeze.. then.....

it could be the a/c condensation drain hose got knocked loose.. and water from the fresh air vent is draining into the carpet.. or

or in running wires for the stereo,, some of the gaskets/plugs/whatever got messed up and your getting water in from outside....

but the heater core itself uses antifreeze coolant from the engine... so if that level is ok.. its definately not antifreeze..

I have had to clean out several cars' cowl drain holes. They get filled up with debris like leaves, and then the water builds up in the cowl and eventually works its way through the cabin filter into the HVAC system.

Also, coolant is pink and slippery (as mentioned above) and kinda smells sweet.

Sounds like you need to remove the cowl cover (open up the hood, look up near the wipers) and remove that big plastic piece and look around under there.

The heater core is towards the left side of the car. It sounds like the seal beneath the pollen filter (or the filter itself) has been compromised (as oilhammer was alluding).

Simple test to determine if it's anti-freeze...Give some to the family pet, if it keels over, it's anti-freeze...

Originally posted by San-Man:
Simple test to determine if it's anti-freeze...Give some to the family pet, if it keels over, it's anti-freeze...

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually it would get silly for a bit, then keel...

Back on topic,

What do you have in your radiator? This should look the same. The heater core is "like" a little radiator that works off of the engine coolant. The fluid in it is the same as what you see in the resevoir. Do you have a sunroof? Has it rained lately? On our 02 it has drain hoses that go to the outside of the door frame, but it wouldn't be impossible if the hose had a break in it to allow water where it shouldn't go. Usually this results in a mildew smell, but stranger things have happened.

almeizy ,

This happened to my corrado yesterday too (in MA). It's the cowl drain that was previously mentioned. That just needs to be cleaned out. Open the hood and move the cowl cover and clean out the drains (where the cowl meets the inside fender). Then go to a car wash and vacuum all the water out of your car. I had to do this TWICE! Last night and this morning.

Hope that helps.

But if that is the case, why is the defrost, heat and vents not working properly. When directed towards windshield or face, the air still comes form underneath passenger side dash along with a strange whistling noise and that smell (which gives me a headache)??

Rotting vegetation? You may have to pull the whole system apart and clean the crap out.

That's really weird.

-mickey

As weird as it sounds, I had the same problem on my old 1991 Plymouth Acclaim. If I wanted air flow through the dash vents, it came out the passenger floor. If I pushed defrost, it came out the passenger floor. It backfired water (that smelled funny) onto the front passenger floor. The problem was the drain hose from the A/C. I unclogged the end of the hose and probably a gallon of water poured out.

I got rid of the weird smell by buying a bottle of unscented (repeat *unscented*) Lysol and sprayed the whole can through the cowl while running the A/C (remember to turn recirc off).

I know it's hard, but define 'wierd smell'.

Mildewy? Rotten leaves? Dead mice? Channel #5?

Antifreeze if pink in this car (or yellow/green if you're using the old stuff). If the liquid on the floor is clear, then it isn't antifreeze.

Which means it's rainwater.

which means the drains up under the wipers near the pollen filter are blocked. Bet your pollen filter is soaked.

Water would come into the vent system and screw up the fan, screw up the resistor pack (the thing that controls fan speeds), and probably screw up the vent flaps. Normally, the A/C drain would be the bottom part where the water would go, but if it is stopped up as well, then (as that song about Seattle goes) you get your feet wet.

Weedeater: you are exactly right. i checked out the pollen filter today and boy was it SOAKED! I called the dealer and they told me that the drain hoses were probably backed up... which is what you and others have said already. The smell is definately a mildew rainy water smell. The flap/vent door thing is completely soaked as well. Basically everything is soaked. Now, is that flap door (the small rectangular blue one supposed to move up and down so easily, just by pushing, pulling it, etc? Also... my check engine light is on and my vents seem to be all screwed up. I have an appointment to go to the dealer tomorrow because i do not exactly know how to fix this problem... hence "new member". Any suggestions on what I can do... is this an easy fix? Will it cost me some big bucks at the dealer?

The Bentley CD outlines how to adjust the cables going from the knobs to the flap levers. Adjusting a couple of them requires removing duct work.

I suspect that the cables have slipped in their holding clips. That would affect the range of operation. Although you can turn the knob through its range, the cable isn't operating the flap at the other end through its range.

The flap you may be moving could be the fresh/recirculating air door. This is operated by an electric motor when the recirculate button is operated.

My guess is at least 2 hours of labor.

If the control cables have gotten wet for a while, they may be rusted. Else, they've slipped as stated.

And it will take a while to get everything aired out and the smell away. Lysol, among other things, can kill the mildew.

It could have messed up the blend doors if the HVAC case was full of water...they are not flood gates, they are just designed to move air

...and the lessen here is...?

Routinely check to be sure no gunk is getting built up under the cowl cover!

what exactly is this "cowl cover?" is it just the long black cover beneath the wipers, the cover that you must remove to get to the pollen filter? how can you tell if there is junk in there and whether or not the hoses are clogged, i dont even know which hoses to look at!

Originally posted by almeizy:
what exactly is this "cowl cover?" is it just the long black cover beneath the wipers, the cover that you must remove to get to the pollen filter? how can you tell if there is junk in there and whether or not the hoses are clogged, i dont even know which hoses to look at!

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">First, pull the cover off that you would normally remove to get to the pollen filter. Look down in the very front corner of the cavity, behind the strut tower area...should be a little hole. they get full of dead leaves, bugs, debris, etc. If it is really bad, you'll need to remove the rest of the cowl cover, going over on the driver's side. Then, after removing any gunk, carefully rinse it all clean and replace the pollen filter if it got wet. If you park under a tree, this is more problematic.

thanks oilhammer, but what about these "drain hoses"? where are they located?

What is that small panel called, i dont know if its some type of filter or insulation, directly beneath the glove box. i think it is broken because it easily moves when touched, but it remains open at all times (i dont know why) allowing excessive air to come out underneath the passenger dash. it is the blueish, rectangular padding resting on a black grid