Page 1 of 1

A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:27 pm
by hawkjet
I just drove from Santa Rosa, CA to Seattle. On arrival, I noticed water on the passenger side front floor. It wasn't raining so it isn't likely a leak. It doesn't smell like coolant so I surmise it is condensation from the A/C evaporator.

Does anyone know the location of the drain tube?

I just serviced the blower motor also. Is there anything I could have done while servicing it that could have affected the drain? I only R/R the blower motor.

Re: A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:21 pm
by Archon
I believe it is on the passenger side, and is part of the HVAC housing. However, so far I have been unable to find any detailed information about it.

Re: A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 7:13 pm
by hawkjet
Some interesting developments:

The water condensing on the evaporator found its way into the blower motor. :sad5: I was amazed how quickly this caused corrosion and disintegrated the wires to the brushes.

I will be hunting down the evaporator drain and will post pictures. Also, I have rebuilt the motor brush block twice already and if it were not for the water, I would have an operating motor for only $3.29. Once the drain tube is clear I'll rebuild the brush block again and will post pictures of that too.

Re: A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:12 pm
by chevychev
Something similar happened shortly after I purchased my 2000 SE last year - I heard water moving in the HVAC system while turning. I found the evaporator drain off a site for the Grand Prix but ours is basically in the same place. From under the car follow the exhaust down along the firewall - the evap tube is on the passenger side - you may have to move the heat shielding out of the way. I used a section of weed whip line to free the clog - I could not believe how much was in there! So far have been lucky as fan still operates as normal.

Re: A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:17 am
by hawkjet
Thanks for the help pointing to the drain. :wink: I tried taking pictures to post but the camera didn't focus in the right place. Even if it did, the drain was amidst so many other things, it was difficult to locate it. So the pictures didn't turn out. :???: I think I unpluged the drain though.

Also, I rebuilt the motor brush block (including adding new brushes). Those photos didn't work either! :sad5:

Anyway, I got some brushes at at the local Ace Hardware (not all have them). They were not exactly the right size so I modified them. The brushes in this model motor are 5mm x 7mm. The brushes at Ace were not big enough in the 7mm dimension so I glued two together. I have a small machine shop so I used my mill to machine them to the correct dimensions. The brushes have a wire and spring, but the spring is not needed here so I cut the keeper off the end to remove the spring. I then soldered the wires to the anchor post and reassembled the motor.

I tested the motor and it worked for about a minute and stopped. Apparently I didn't make one of the brushes quite the right size and it stuck. A little sandpaper and reassembly and it works fine now.

While I had the motor apart, I took the opportunity to clean the commutator also. I mounted it carefully in the lathe and took a light cut to make it round and concentric.

So basically I did what a motor shop would do to refurbish the motor. I also added a few drops of oil to the rear bushing while was at it.

All that's left is to reinstall it into the car. :banana:

Re: A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 7:40 pm
by XxBluecometxX
anybody got pics? i have the same problem

Re: A/C evaporator drain

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:29 am
by harofreak00
This is a 6 year old thread, please don't dig up old posts. Start a new thread and link back to the one you are talking about.

Here are some pics of the evap drain location: http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 72705.html

Image
Image
Image