AC drain problem? water on driver side floor

Gang, I searched/read many threads. They were all about actual water (rain, etc.) leaks. Not my problem. My 97 Sport 4dr has cold, cold AC for a few hours but then (e.g., long trip) it blows less cold but worse: water appears in the driver side footwell. Lots of water. Appears to be AC condensate draining inside as opposed to under the car. Is there a drain pipe that might be blocked? Once I had a Trooper with an undersized AC system that would simply freeze up every so often. Shut it off, ice would melt...worked fine for another hour or so. My problem seems related, but different. Ideas?? Thanks.

You got it. Make sure the drain is clear of debris. You could carefully work a wire into the drain to make sure it is clear or maybe blow it out with an air hose.

Our Jeeps seem prone to evaporator freeze up. This is most common in very humid climates. Running on coldest setting and turning the fan down makes this worse as does running it with a window open like many smokers do. Using the recirc mode (MAX AC) helps prevent freeze up because you are recirculating drier air instead of taking in new humid air.

where is the drain to clear? i have this same problem not as much with the water but with on long trips it freezes up and almost no air blows through the vent but u can hear the fan trying real hard to blow the air through. i always keep mine on recirc but it still does it on the long trips even on low fan settings. i have after long trips found water pooled in both sides of the jeep floor board if the jeep wasnt on a near flat surface.

drain exits the passenger compartment directly below the blower motor and looks like a 1/2"-9/16" hose that just terminates at the "frame rail."

Several years ago I had a similar problem on my '98.
The condensate pan for the evaporator has a 90* bend that penetrates the firewall several inches below the blower motor and (as posted above) it has a 1/2" or 9/16" rubber 90* that terminates an inch or so above the frame rail.
DON'T try to clear the obstruction with a metal coat hanger or similar item. You risk the chance of puncturing the evap coil.
What I used was a couple short shots of pressurized air to clear the drain line. This will allow the condensate pan to drain freely.
Might need to do this a couple times to purge the pan of debris while the condensate flows thru the line.

OOPS.... Missed that he posted driver side footwell...
As posted below; water on the drivers side footwell is not generally caused by the A/C system.

If you have water on the drivers side floor (assuming it's a LHD) then it's not the a/c drain as that would only put water on the passenger floor. The main causes for water on the drivers floor is coming from the seal at the bottom of the windshield, the seal for the firewall harness connections, or seals for any of the other cables that run through the firewall.

Thanks for all of the tips. Nice to know I'm not the Lone Ranger. Excuse my ignorance, but using air to try to clear the line = blowing from the drain exit into the car? or can one get into the tray assembly above to push air out the drain?

Jim D. said:

Thanks for all of the tips. Nice to know I'm not the Lone Ranger. Excuse my ignorance, but using air to try to clear the line = blowing from the drain exit into the car? or can one get into the tray assembly above to push air out the drain?

Click to expand...

I would tend to use some kind of soft plastic and break up the blockage and vacum it out, just blowing it in will only allow it block again.

Jim D. said:

Thanks for all of the tips. Nice to know I'm not the Lone Ranger. Excuse my ignorance, but using air to try to clear the line = blowing from the drain exit into the car? or can one get into the tray assembly above to push air out the drain?

Click to expand...

Outside in is all you can do without removing the HVAC box (pull dash, etc.)

Got it. Thanks.