View Single Post
  #1  
Old 02-10-2003, 11:41 AM
The Warden's Avatar
The Warden The Warden is offline
Certified diesel nut
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pacifica (SF Bay Area), CA
Posts: 2,946
Question Humidity in car/What are these hoses?

I actually posted this in another thread, but am re-posting it since the topic for that thread was originally something else; I'm hoping to get some more responses.

In an attempt to find out why the interior of my car gets very humid whenever the a/c's not on, I pulled the foam drain hose to check for a blockage...and killed it in the process (not a surprise, but still...actually, I think there was a wedge missing on it in the first place). What diameter's the nipple? I know that the foam hose is cheap, but I'd feel better with a short length of rubber hose (especially as it only needs to go a couple inches). Any suggestions on getting to the nipple to make sure it's clean? On mine, there's a plastic bar that bisects the nipple in the center, so I can't get my finger up in there...and I can't get more than one hand in there, so trying to get a toothpick up in there without losing it doesn't seem feasible.

Also, in my explorations of the ACC system, I found a couple things. First, with the car cold and the system on "EC", the bottom vents (at least on the passenger's side) aren't coming open. Does the ACC wait until the coolant temperature's warm enough before opening the vents, or could this be a problem? Also, on the passenger's side, I saw 3 hoses that go through the firewall. Without pulling the battery, I was able to trace two of them; they appear to be the a/c intake and return lines. What's the 3rd hose? It leaves the ACC system towards the front of the car, is a small diameter (about the same as the smaller a/c hose), and appears to be "normal" rubber. In addition, in the engine compartment, I found two hoses that appear to be drains of a sort (they just exit out, near the anti-sway bar). One's near the monovalve; the other's near the throttle linkage. My first guess is that they're drainage hoses for the cowl intake vents.

Also, how difficult is it to get to the heater core? Although I'm not smelling coolant, it's certainly possible that it's leaking slightly, which could explain the humidity...

BTW, when I'm talking about humid, it happens whenever the a/c's not on, regardless of how long it's been since I last had it on, and it gets considerably more humid in the car (in general; the windows fog ou but things get sticky as well) than it is outside.

Thanks!
__________________
2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999
Reply With Quote