Problem with AC water drain - question

2000 XJ Limited, stock, all options but birth control

It has finally gotten warm enough here that I need the AC. When I turned it on yesterday, it cooled fine for about 20 minutes, then it felt like it was not as cool as earlier. Today, when I drove to work, same thing. I came out for lunch 3 hours later and there was a puddle of standing water under the Jeep. I would have expected it to have dried in this time. While driveing to the restaurant, it was cold, then got warmer over the next 15 minutes. I came out of the restaurant about 45 minutes after I shut the Jeep off and it was still dripping water.

My suspicion is that the drain is plugged and water is backing up covering the evaporator, so it can't transfer heat to the freon. Is this possible?

My questions are:

If this compartment collects a lot of water, will it hold it without leaking into the passagner compartment?

Where is the drain, and what is the best way to clean it?

Where is the evaporator and how much of a PIA is it to access?

TIA
MoFo

Was it humid out? Sounds like it's icing up after 15-20 minutes of use and blocking the fins and that puddle is the ice slowly melting. Sounds like it's draining out like it's supposed to. You can feel the carpet on the passenger side floor and see if it is damp or wet to be sure.

the drain exits the firewall on the passenger side just below the vapor canister. what usually happens is there is no extension hose on the end, so when the moisture drips out of the tube, it trickles down the underside of the tube and seaps back into the passenger compartment. the repair is to buy a drain tube from the dealer and install it on the end of the tube sticking out of the firewall. this diverts the water away from the firewall and down towards the ground. there is a tsb for this and a jeep dealer should have the part.

jneary said:

the drain exits the firewall on the passenger side just below the vapor canister. what usually happens is there is no extension hose on the end, so when the moisture drips out of the tube, it trickles down the underside of the tube and seaps back into the passenger compartment. the repair is to buy a drain tube from the dealer and install it on the end of the tube sticking out of the firewall. this diverts the water away from the firewall and down towards the ground. there is a tsb for this and a jeep dealer should have the part.

Click to expand...

I even extended mine so it doesn't drain in the frame, so it now drains straight to the ground.

mark

Check the drain line while running the A/C to see how well the condensate is draining.... Drain lines can get plugged up.....

Charles

You may want to read THIS THREAD as it sounds very similar to what you are experiencing.

Ivan