What's this green adapter and water leak?

So out of nowhere I see water leaking out from underneath the passenger side dash. I have been running the AC for about an hour before i noticed it (condensation?) and it did rain a little in the morning. However, it has been raining on and off all week and i never noticed it. Also, while I was feeling and smelling to check if it was indeed water, i notice 2 green adapters next to each other that can plug into each other. I thought it got loose and plugged it back in, next thing i know while I'm driving, the CEL goes on and turbo would not kick in. Unplugged it later on and now everything is back to normal....What the?? Any idea what this green adapter is for or why the car is leaking on the inside?

 

Weird....

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/nachowang/IMG_0489.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/nachowang/IMG_0490.jpg

Looks like you've got a coolant leak from the heater core perhaps.

 

The green connectors on 05's are only plugged together when you want to put the car into diagnostic mode when for example you may want to install a cobb accessport for the first time or for flashing a new base map using a cobb accessport. Otherwise the green connectors should not be connected when normally running the car.

The water is most likely the condensation coming from your AC evaporator. The drain is most probably blocked.

Those are the D check connectors. Do not plug them up unless you want a flashing CEL with 10 codes. They come plugged from the factory and when we PDI the cars, we unplug them.

 

Good possibility the drain tube is clogged from the evaporator.

Yeah its probably form the AC, I know someone who had the same issue

Any updates from the OP ?

Just took care of it this weekend...dealer said clogged AC drain so they blew air through it and added a cleaning agent down the drain. I had a bunch of leaves/debris on the passenger side floor probably blown out with the air. Cost me $49 to fix it.

Ahhh....so it was the drain. From the picture I was pretty sure the green connectors came apart and were leaking.

 

I went ahead and glued my connectors together so they won't leak!

...dealer said clogged AC drain so they blew air through it and added a cleaning agent down the drain. I had a bunch of leaves/debris on the passenger side floor probably blown out with the air. Cost me $49 to fix it.

 

The Search feature is a wonderful thing. I had this same problem the other day. There was literally a puddle of water on the passenger floor and the mat was soaking wet. When I first got the car and did my cabin air filter retrofit and took the back off the glove box I noticed that there had been water where it shouldn't be but couldn't find the source. If the dealer is only charging about $50 this has to be an easy thing to fix if only I know how. Does anybody have any guidance on finding the drain and getting it cleared?

Two years ago I had the exact same problem........drove to Subaru , told the tech. He said "that's your condensate tube leaking into the passenger compartment". He opened the front passenger door , laid down under the dash (half in the car/ half out of the car) , pulled back the floor rug , reached in and pushed the condensate hose back through the floorboard to once again drip outside the car. Took him all of 45 seconds. No lie........45 seconds.

Means that $50 probably is a bit on the high side.

Means that $50 probably is a bit on the high side.

 

If the problem in nachowang's car was identical to mine , yes.......a "bit" on the high side.

When we hear of stuff like this happening at dealers it makes us call them stealerships. One has to hope that in this particular case , nachowang's tube really was clogged with debris , requireing a more time consuming fix.

 

It's a great thing to have our forum so that future searchers have someone elses experience to learn about and try ---before having to leave the problem at the door of a possible "stealership "

Two years ago I had the exact same problem........drove to Subaru , told the tech. He said "that's your condensate tube leaking into the passenger compartment". He opened the front passenger door , laid down under the dash (half in the car/ half out of the car) , pulled back the floor rug , reached in and pushed the condensate hose back through the floorboard to once again drip outside the car. Took him all of 45 seconds. No lie........45 seconds.

 

I'll have to have a look at this tomorrow. In the clogged vs. misplaced category I'm suspicious that mine may be the former because the wetness I observed when I did the filter retrofit was up in the middle of the back of the glovebox. In any case thanks for the tip on what to look for. I'll report back after I do some investigation.

I just did a bit more research and found this:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/water-inside-car-39796.html?t=39796&highlight=water+inside+dash , which included this info:

There is a drain hole for the ac. it is near the down pipe. looks like a rubber hose poking out the fire wall. it is blocked and the water condensation has backed up and is now coming out the blower motor.

I'll have to have a look at this tomorrow. In the clogged vs. misplaced category I'm suspicious that mine may be the former because the wetness I observed when I did the filter retrofit was up in the middle of the back of the glovebox. I'll report back after I do some investigation.

 

Took apart the glovebox area today after finding the hose underneath the car. As near as I can tell the lower end of the hose is open and not plugged. When I pulled the panel down, which covers the blower motor, like before it had sitting water on the pad that is glued to it as a damper between the motor and the panel. I could not find the upper end of the hose so have no idea where it's hiding. I've got some bigger issues for the dealer to take care of so if I don't get time to search through my pdf version of the service manual I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and have them do it.

Damn ! That sucks man. When you discover the root cause , let us know ! (Just because it hasn't happened on my car recently doesn't mean it won't happen next week ! ). Thank you for the update Subadozer.

(Just because it hasn't happened on my car recently doesn't mean it won't happen next week ! ). Thank you for the update Subadozer.

 

I did get a chance to search my pdf manuals (2004 and 04-08 versions) and couldn't find anything other than an exploded draing that did show a drain hose (but not where it attached or even if it was the hose that's giving me problems). This shows the down side of the non-print manual since it's hard to find something like this that doesn't have a definite category. So until Friday I guess it's avoid running the AC and keep towels on the floor to minimize water getting into the carpet and matting.

As mentioned before, I had my car at the dealer yesterday for what was supposed to be under-aftermarket warranty CV boot replacement, but that's another story. I had left the glove box and lower dash shroud off to make access easier for the technician. When I mentioned that I couldn't find the upper end of the drain hose the service adviser told me that it's behind the blower motor. In any case she said they cleaned it out and let the AC run for a while with no evidence of water. It wasn't nearly as humid as the day I had the puddle on the floor but the water did seem to be evident previously on a day with less humidity. They left the parts off just as I had and there was no charge. I'm beginning to like this dealer almost as well as the previous one I have used that's a little farther away.

Yeah.....it's good to mention when we have a positive experience at a dealership. The "stealership" stories seem to predominate. . I love my Subaru dealer.....they're open 7 days a week for service ! (Curry Subaru in Peekskill , NY )

I want to thank you guys - this thread is exactly what is happening to my wife's car.

 

She brought it the dealship once, they charged her 40 bucks to clean the hose, leaked again. She brought it back, they didnt refund the 40, and charged an additional 180 on top. 90 to clean the hose "better" 90 to change the air cabin filter. leaked again.

 

She got me involved. i found this thread, played with the hose. 3 hours after she last ran the car, when i palyed with the hose, water spilled out under the car. We brought it back to the "stealership" today. they told us they woudl look at it again, and the service manager will contact us. lets just say i was not nice to them.

 

I will update after the story ends.

I want to thank you guys - this thread is exactly what is happening to my wife's car.

 

She brought it the dealship once, they charged her 40 bucks to clean the hose, leaked again. She brought it back, they didnt refund the 40, and charged an additional 180 on top. 90 to clean the hose "better" 90 to change the air cabin filter. leaked again.

 

She got me involved. i found this thread, played with the hose. 3 hours after she last ran the car, when i palyed with the hose, water spilled out under the car. We brought it back to the "stealership" today. they told us they woudl look at it again, and the service manager will contact us. lets just say i was not nice to them.

 

I will update after the story ends.

 

Write to Subaru of America (they're in New Jersey ). Demand a refund and an apology , that's just not acceptable.

(and we'll be looking for your update . )

I just encountered this problem today, havent had a chance to get to it, but I will report back once I find the issue, I'll try and snap a few pictures as well.

Write to Subaru of America (they're in New Jersey ). Demand a refund and an apology , that's just not acceptable.

(and we'll be looking for your update . )

 

 

well, i actually let them look at the car after i possibly fixed it myself. they said its fixed. They did not refund any money.

 

I am considering calling the credit card company and telling them, they charged me, but never fixed the problem

I had the same problem!! Except, before I realized the water on the floor, I was hearing an odd sound (it resembled stuck paper towels) coming out of the air vent on the right side of the dash. BUT it would only make that noise when I turned the steering wheel to the LEFT. Three days later in 100 degree heat my car smelled like mold. Then I lifted the all weather floor mats and the floor was saturated!

 

Now, I only have 19,000 miles on the car. My dealership told me that it was caused by spiders getting in there and clogging the drain. They tried to charge me 250.00 to replace the air filter and for labor. I refused becuase I thought it should have been covered under warranty.

 

I spoke to several other legacy 07/08 owners and they had THE SAME PROBLEM. If this is an extensive problem then the manufacturer should be responsible because of a defect, not the owner.

 

ps. i'm allergic to mold so this is going to be a huge problem if they don't fix it and clean the car properly.