CTCarGuy

I noticed a small trail of fluid coming from under the car and trailing away (driveway has a slight incline). I looked at the fluid and it appears it is just water...looks clear on a white paper towel and no real smell. From what I could tell it appears that the dripping, which it continues to do, is coming from above and just in front of where the catalytic exhaust cover is located.

My TL is an 05 with 104K miles. It has been well serviced and I had the TB and water pump replaced at 98K miles. No AC used today, no rain today, and the coolant resevoir is a little below the low line but has fluid. No idiot light on.

Any thoughts, questions or help would be great. Thanks.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

is it staining the drive way or does it evaporate?

nfnsquared

Probably just the drain tube from the A/C condensation. The outlet (IIRC) is on the passenger side near the firewall...

CTCarGuy

just looked at the driveway and it appears to be evaporating with no staining.

thanks for the reply...

CTCarGuy

I didnt use the AC today, but did have the temp setting on "Lo" for a bit on the ride home. Does that engage the AC?..

nfnsquared

Unless you hit the "A/C" button to turn it off, the compressor would be running on occasion.

CTCarGuy

The car has been parked for almost 4 hours now and it continues to drip. I just looked under the car with a flkashlight and it is still dripping. It is a cool night in CT, with no humidity, so would the AC unit continue to drip condensation/water for hours?

Thanks...

scubasteve05

It sounds like condensation from your A/C unit. When I first got my car I noticed the same thing, but noticed that after I drove for a while I would have condensate under my engine as well. I thought it was oil, but noticed that it was clear and that it evaporated. If you have the air on in your car, no matter what level and you don't specifically have the A/C Off button pushed in, then the A/C is on and will gather water in the condensate line.

I would think you are ok unless you start seeing anything other than clear fluid and it not evaporating.

Let us know how it goes.

nfnsquared

Well, like I said, if the source of the drip is on the passenger side near the firewall, then it's most likely the A/C condensation drain.

The fact that it's still draining after 4 hours could be a sign of a partially blocked drain tube. If you haven't heard, the TL is somewhat notorious for getting blocked drain tubes. The result is water backing up which in many cases resulted in the ECU getting fried.

In other cases, oil change techs have plugged the tube to keep it from dripping on them during an oil change and then forgot to unplug it.

You might want to get that checked just in case.

Steve 21

I actually saw this on my car today, scared me a bit but i drove the rest of the day with the A/C completely off and just had the windows open and it hasn't dripped yet. My garage I saw when I got home and looks like water also. I checked all my fluids and everything is still good, you might want to check all your fluid levels tomorrow to be on the safe side, but try driving with the windows open tomorrow and turn A/C completely off.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I suspect the drain as well.

CTCarGuy

Here's what I found this morning...

The "trail" was gone with no staining so it appears to be water. However, there was a still small amount of fluid right under the car so it continued to drip all night albeit much slower over time. I cannot check this out today because it is raining pretty hard in CT today. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days and let you know what I find.

I think you guys are correct that it is just a slow (partially blocked?) condensation hose from the condenser. I'll make sure to have the AC in "off" for a while to see if that does the trick.

Thanks guys for the thoughts and feedback...

shocka04

Anyone have a picture of where the drain is? I tried looking using other people's descriptions of where it is but wasn't able to find it. Just trying to make sure it's not plugged