Hey everyone,

My friend stopped by my house just now and told me that there was some sort of fluid leaking from her car. Upon closer inspection, I determined that it was water coming from the firewall on the passenger side. The water is leaking through a hose that sticks out about 1 inch from the firewall on the passenger side. There is nothing connected or coming out of this hose. The water is dripping consistently at short intervals. Does anyone have any idea what this is?

BTW it is a 99 Accord Sedan V6. I thought it might have been the A/C, but she didn't use it all day. Not sure what it could be, as I didn't want to take apart the whole dash since it is late here and I needed a flashlight to see. I have no idea what that 1 inch tube is for, it is just sticking out of the firewall into the engine bay and dripping water. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

if it is clear water, it's condensate from the A/C unit in the car (water will condense on the cold evaporator core) and it is going out through the drain hole located just behind the firewall on the passenger side


Edit: are you SURE she was not using the A/C ? because there are only 2 reasons you would leak clear water privided that your cooling system is not 100% water

you just washed the car

A/C was used

 

First thing I would check it to make sure it's 100 percent water. Then see if the cooling system is 100 percent water (or mostly water). If you find the two fluids match, you'll have to check the hoses that feed the heater core.

But if it's water and the cooling system looks like it has a healthy amount of antifreeze in it, it's most likely due to the A/C. Otherwise, there's either water collecting in there or like YeuEmMaiMai said, the car just got washed (or it rained, etc.)

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Those two things were the only things I could think of last night (A/C condensation and washing her car), but she said her A/C was not on at all yesterday nor has she washed her car in a while (bird poop evidence[X(]).

I am 100% sure that it is pure water and not any coolant of any kind. That was my final concern, but that tube is nowhere near the engine or cooling system. It's just some random 1 inch tube sticking out of the firewall. Like I said, I thought it was condensation from the A/C or maybe some water collected during a wash, but that is not the case. Also, it did not rain yesterday or the day before, so it couldn't have collected any rain water. I told her the Accord should be OK to drive, and that this doesn't look like a serious issue, but I told her to keep an eye on her temp gauge and let me know if anything was to change.

 

Do you live in Florida, by any chance?

My wife and I used to, and sometimes we'd get up in the morning and there was so much water on the car we thought it must have rained - but it had not.

In high-humidity environments weird things can happen - even "rain" in the car. All it takes is an cool night after a hot, high-humidity day. For example, on a 90 degree, 95% RH day, if the night-time temp drops to say 75 degrees, your car will look as if it was rained on. If you did not have the AC on prior to stopping, the inside of the car will also be at least very damp - so damp that you may think something's leaking.

Anyway, just a thought.

 

Dew collecting & dripping, like Tony says. I get that here in Ohio also. Especially these days when it's really humid.

Otherwise, remember that the AC turns itself on when you set the air direction to 'defrost', even tho you didn't turn it on.

 

I had a similar problem with my 94 Accord. I did have my A/C on, I took a corner and heard a loud thinking sound, like a fan blade had broken off. Then I noticed water dripping into the front passenger footwell. The '94s also have a tube in the front footwell - it's the drain for the evaporator. It had clogged from leaves and other various debris (the bird poop indicates to me that your friend has the potential for debris collecting in the evaporator drain). When I took that corner, some of the water that had collected must have hit a fan blade causing that noise. Anyway, I stopped using my A/C for a couple days after that (before I had a friend look at it and help me fix it) and it still dripped. When I finally pulled that hose loose tons of water spilled out. I think I filled two cans with water. My point is that the dripping could be from residual water that had collected from previous A/C use. All you have to do is detach that hose and clear the debris. Be prepared to get a little wet.

 

This is off the wall but I seldom think inside the box. First, are you sure she is running a water antifreeze mix.....you know how gals & cars go. Second, a pipe /hose fitting sticking out from the firewall is sometimes to the heater (there are usually two). Is it possible that the connection is loose or the hose itself needs to be replaced? Just an off the wall thought but it might be worth checking.

 

If there is nothing connected to the hose ,and it was a leak in the cooling system, the drip leak WOULD NOT be at short intervals , it would leak all the time till system was empty,

I have to agree with other members , it sounds like it is from the a/c system , ( condensation )
Also, remove the radiator cap and chk the coolant level to be 100% sure it is not low..make sure car is COLD before removing cap