Blocked Air-Con Drain

[Ext User(Graham Fountain)]

G'day,
My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain
blocking. This causes it to start pouring water over the inside of the
car. It did it once last summer, and I unblocked it by sticking a cable
tie up the drain pipe from underneath the car. That seemed to fix it.
This summer though it has started it again, and unblocking it only seems
to work for a day or two before it is blocked again. The little rubber
cover over the outlet is still intact (i thought it might have had
hornets or something up there, but seems unlikely). Any clues on how to
unblock it permanently?
BTW, I decided to use a cable tie because it was convenient, fairly
stiff, and plastic - I was reluctant to shove anything metal up there in
case I ruptured something I shouldn't (unlikely I know).

[Ext User(OzOne)]

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 18:57:31 +1000, Graham Fountain <ask@and.find.out>
scribbled thusly:

>G'day,
>My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain
>blocking. This causes it to start pouring water over the inside of the
>car. It did it once last summer, and I unblocked it by sticking a cable
>tie up the drain pipe from underneath the car. That seemed to fix it.
>This summer though it has started it again, and unblocking it only seems
>to work for a day or two before it is blocked again. The little rubber
>cover over the outlet is still intact (i thought it might have had
>hornets or something up there, but seems unlikely). Any clues on how to
>unblock it permanently?
>BTW, I decided to use a cable tie because it was convenient, fairly
>stiff, and plastic - I was reluctant to shove anything metal up there in
>case I ruptured something I shouldn't (unlikely I know).

Clean it out properly!



Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.

[Ext User(The Red Krawler)]

Perhaps a bottle brush of similiar diameter to the drain?

I normally clean out a/c drains with compressed CO2. Blow from inside out at
great force and its enough to send anything out the other side.

Whats the "little rubber cover" you refer to?


"Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
news:_FEbf.111$Co5.3972@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> G'day,
> My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain blocking.
> This causes it to start pouring water over the inside of the car. It did
> it once last summer, and I unblocked it by sticking a cable tie up the
> drain pipe from underneath the car. That seemed to fix it. This summer
> though it has started it again, and unblocking it only seems to work for a
> day or two before it is blocked again. The little rubber cover over the
> outlet is still intact (i thought it might have had hornets or something
> up there, but seems unlikely). Any clues on how to unblock it permanently?
> BTW, I decided to use a cable tie because it was convenient, fairly stiff,
> and plastic - I was reluctant to shove anything metal up there in case I
> ruptured something I shouldn't (unlikely I know).

[Ext User(Murray)]

I had a similar problem with a refigerator. Seemingly
there was a 'growth' of algae in there and after poking a wire
down the drain i flowed a little Betadene down the hole.
That killed them real quick.

Strange cures for strange problems. :-)

Murray

Graham Fountain wrote:

> G'day,
> My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain
> blocking. This causes it to start pouring water over the inside of the
> car. It did it once last summer, and I unblocked it by sticking a cable
> tie up the drain pipe from underneath the car. That seemed to fix it.
> This summer though it has started it again, and unblocking it only seems
> to work for a day or two before it is blocked again. The little rubber
> cover over the outlet is still intact (i thought it might have had
> hornets or something up there, but seems unlikely). Any clues on how to
> unblock it permanently?
> BTW, I decided to use a cable tie because it was convenient, fairly
> stiff, and plastic - I was reluctant to shove anything metal up there in
> case I ruptured something I shouldn't (unlikely I know).

[Ext User(Graham Fountain)]

The Red Krawler wrote:
> Perhaps a bottle brush of similiar diameter to the drain?
>
> I normally clean out a/c drains with compressed CO2. Blow from inside out at
> great force and its enough to send anything out the other side.
>
> Whats the "little rubber cover" you refer to?
Underneath the car where the drain comes out it has a little
semi-spherical dome of rubber that has a slit in it. Presumably this is
to stop dirt or insects getting up into the drain and causing a blockage.
How would you blow it out with compressed air from the inside? I have
dismantled a fair portion of the dash assembly around the evaporator and
can't get remotely close to the collection area. It must have a pretty
big volume in there, because when I drain it, about 2L comes out.
>
>
> "Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
> news:_FEbf.111$Co5.3972@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
>
>>G'day,
>>My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain blocking.
>>This causes it to start pouring water over the inside of the car. It did
>>it once last summer, and I unblocked it by sticking a cable tie up the
>>drain pipe from underneath the car. That seemed to fix it. This summer
>>though it has started it again, and unblocking it only seems to work for a
>>day or two before it is blocked again. The little rubber cover over the
>>outlet is still intact (i thought it might have had hornets or something
>>up there, but seems unlikely). Any clues on how to unblock it permanently?
>>BTW, I decided to use a cable tie because it was convenient, fairly stiff,
>>and plastic - I was reluctant to shove anything metal up there in case I
>>ruptured something I shouldn't (unlikely I know).
>
>
>

[Ext User(Clockmeister)]

"Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
news:_FEbf.111$Co5.3972@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> G'day,
> My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain blocking.
> This causes it to start pouring water over the inside of the car. It did
> it once last summer, and I unblocked it by sticking a cable tie up the
> drain pipe from underneath the car. That seemed to fix it. This summer
> though it has started it again, and unblocking it only seems to work for a
> day or two before it is blocked again. The little rubber cover over the
> outlet is still intact (i thought it might have had hornets or something
> up there, but seems unlikely). Any clues on how to unblock it permanently?
> BTW, I decided to use a cable tie because it was convenient, fairly stiff,
> and plastic - I was reluctant to shove anything metal up there in case I
> ruptured something I shouldn't (unlikely I know).

Poke it through thoroughly with a bit of wire looped on the end. You can
poke it through a fair way and the loop makes sure you don't pierce
anything.

You really have to give it some. The rubber flaps designed to keep dust out
also bond together over time so if you don't run your A/C periodically
during winter it tends to happen more often. Running your A/C in the winter
from time to time in short bursts may help, and it's good for the system
overall especially the compressor seals... the A/C is great for defogging
windows.

[Ext User(budgie)]

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 22:58:06 +1000, Graham Fountain <ask@and.find.out> wrote:

>The Red Krawler wrote:
>> Perhaps a bottle brush of similiar diameter to the drain?
>>
>> I normally clean out a/c drains with compressed CO2. Blow from inside out at
>> great force and its enough to send anything out the other side.
>>
>> Whats the "little rubber cover" you refer to?
>Underneath the car where the drain comes out it has a little
>semi-spherical dome of rubber that has a slit in it. Presumably this is
>to stop dirt or insects getting up into the drain and causing a blockage.
>How would you blow it out with compressed air from the inside? I have
>dismantled a fair portion of the dash assembly around the evaporator and
>can't get remotely close to the collection area. It must have a pretty
>big volume in there, because when I drain it, about 2L comes out.

Holy shit batman - are you sure you didn't perforate the heater core? ;-)

On my aging VL, I periodically crawl under and open the slit end of the drain
pipe in the engine bay, letting out all sorts of dry debris. Note DRY, because
I do it before the season starts.

If you're getting anything like even 100mL out, you have a seriously blocked
pipe under normal opconds. You need to further investigate why it isn't
draining down to the slit freely.

[Ext User(moon)]

"Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
news:_FEbf.111$Co5.3972@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> G'day,
> My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain blocking.
pain in the rear.
There was a service bulletin from around 97 I think which described a way of
cleaning out real problem child heater cases that kept blocking the drain.
It seemed that if too much shit got in all poking did was push the leaves
etc. up out of the way only too fall back again. It was still a big job
involving removing the dash and cutting a hole in the side of the case which
could be plugged later with a grommet. Try your friendly(?) holden dealer-
they might give you a copy if your lucky. Also make sure the ends of the
black plastic cover below the wiper arms are sealed with silicon to stop
more getting in.

[Ext User(The Red Krawler)]

"Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
news:xbIbf.176$Co5.6557@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> The Red Krawler wrote:
>> Perhaps a bottle brush of similiar diameter to the drain?
>> I normally clean out a/c drains with compressed CO2. Blow from inside out
>> at great force and its enough to send anything out the other side.
>> Whats the "little rubber cover" you refer to?

> Underneath the car where the drain comes out it has a little
> semi-spherical dome of rubber that has a slit in it. Presumably this is to
> stop dirt or insects getting up into the drain and causing a blockage.
> How would you blow it out with compressed air from the inside? I have
> dismantled a fair portion of the dash assembly around the evaporator and
> can't get remotely close to the collection area. It must have a pretty big
> volume in there, because when I drain it, about 2L comes out.

When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C... Never
played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then again so does
any A/C, but thems the breaks.

The last A/C I dismantled was on a KA Laser, and that was easy to get
into... If it had of worked, and it had of blocked up, I could quite easily
have blown it out with CO2 :P Obviously you own something with "ergonomics"
(read: a pain in the arse lot of plastic covering all the important stuff)
;)

FWIW, 2L sounds incredibly excessive, are you sure its that much? I doubt
the drain pan could hold anywhere close to 2L :S

[Ext User(Smee R1100s)]

budgie wrote:

> On my aging VL, I periodically crawl under and open the slit end of the drain
> pipe in the engine bay, letting out all sorts of dry debris. Note DRY, because
> I do it before the season starts.
>
> If you're getting anything like even 100mL out, you have a seriously blocked
> pipe under normal opconds. You need to further investigate why it isn't
> draining down to the slit freely.

On my old VL I used draino and hot water in the pipe that led from the
airconditioner drain using a funnel to pour the dissolved stuff in.
It worked a treat.

[Ext User(Clockmeister)]

"The Red Krawler" <redkrawler@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:UkYbf.11580$Hj2.6814@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> "Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
> news:xbIbf.176$Co5.6557@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
>> The Red Krawler wrote:
>>> Perhaps a bottle brush of similiar diameter to the drain?
>>> I normally clean out a/c drains with compressed CO2. Blow from inside
>>> out at great force and its enough to send anything out the other side.
>>> Whats the "little rubber cover" you refer to?
>
>> Underneath the car where the drain comes out it has a little
>> semi-spherical dome of rubber that has a slit in it. Presumably this is
>> to stop dirt or insects getting up into the drain and causing a blockage.
>> How would you blow it out with compressed air from the inside? I have
>> dismantled a fair portion of the dash assembly around the evaporator and
>> can't get remotely close to the collection area. It must have a pretty
>> big volume in there, because when I drain it, about 2L comes out.
>
> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C... Never
> played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then again so
> does any A/C, but thems the breaks.

Working on automotive A/C is fun and easy.

> The last A/C I dismantled was on a KA Laser, and that was easy to get
> into... If it had of worked, and it had of blocked up, I could quite
> easily have blown it out with CO2 :P Obviously you own something with
> "ergonomics" (read: a pain in the arse lot of plastic covering all the
> important stuff) ;)
>
> FWIW, 2L sounds incredibly excessive, are you sure its that much? I doubt
> the drain pan could hold anywhere close to 2L :S
>
>

They hold a shitload of water.

[Ext User(Clockmeister)]

"moon" <notachance@home.com> wrote in message
news:dkpdcj$gb5$1@news-01.bur.connect.com.au...
>
> "Graham Fountain" <ask@and.find.out> wrote in message
> news:_FEbf.111$Co5.3972@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
>> G'day,
>> My commodore has developed an annoying habit of the aircon drain
>> blocking.
> pain in the rear.
> There was a service bulletin from around 97 I think which described a way
> of cleaning out real problem child heater cases that kept blocking the
> drain. It seemed that if too much shit got in all poking did was push the
> leaves etc. up out of the way only too fall back again. It was still a big
> job involving removing the dash and cutting a hole in the side of the case
> which could be plugged later with a grommet.

Not that hard at all really. You only had to remove enough to access the
HVAC unit to get the holesaw in there.

Try your friendly(?) holden dealer-
> they might give you a copy if your lucky. Also make sure the ends of the
> black plastic cover below the wiper arms are sealed with silicon to stop
> more getting in.

I thought I was everybody's friendly Holden dealer rep... ah well ;-)

[Ext User(The Red Krawler)]

>> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C... Never
>> played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then again so
>> does any A/C, but thems the breaks.

> Working on automotive A/C is fun and easy.

You're welcome to it :D

But when you want a frozen coke machine installed, lemme know. We'll hook
up.

[Ext User(athol)]

The Red Krawler <redkrawler@hotmail.com> wrote:

> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C... Never
> played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then again so does
> any A/C, but thems the breaks.

With the local electricity lot wanting to charge for power at different
rates at different times of day, I'm seriously wondering if it would be
possible to build an LPG-powered reverse cycle split or ducted system,
using the same principles as a caravan fridge...

Could be a market for such gear in areas where power is by generator.
Why generate electricity to power 240V A/C when the A/C can be directly
powered by LPG...

--
Athol
<http://cust.idl.com.au/athol> Linux Registered User # 254000
The state of infrastructure in New South Wales is a disgrace.
I'm a Libran Engineer. I don't argue, I discuss.

[Ext User(The Red Krawler)]

>> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C... Never
>> played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then again so
>> does
>> any A/C, but thems the breaks.

> With the local electricity lot wanting to charge for power at different
> rates at different times of day, I'm seriously wondering if it would be
> possible to build an LPG-powered reverse cycle split or ducted system,
> using the same principles as a caravan fridge...

I dare say the costs of LPG would far outway the costs of electricity....
LPG powered (I suspect you're refering to ammonia systems that use LPG to
heat the flute?) is fairly inefficient, although it probably would have a
use in areas where there is no power. But surely the generator would be
running to provide 240V to more important items (like computer + internet
:P), so why not crank up the juice to provide enough for A/C as well? New
410A systems especially are incredibly efficient compared to the old 22
systems (or the new 22 systems for that matter, be it only ~10% more).

[Ext User(budgie)]

On 09 Nov 2005 07:56:11 GMT, athol <me@privacy.net> wrote:

>The Red Krawler <redkrawler@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C... Never
>> played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then again so does
>> any A/C, but thems the breaks.
>
>With the local electricity lot wanting to charge for power at different
>rates at different times of day, I'm seriously wondering if it would be
>possible to build an LPG-powered reverse cycle split or ducted system,
>using the same principles as a caravan fridge...
>
>Could be a market for such gear in areas where power is by generator.
>Why generate electricity to power 240V A/C when the A/C can be directly
>powered by LPG...

Absorbtion airconditioning was the brainchild of an engineer under whose
supervision I started work back in '68. Big collector on the roof to power the
thing. CSIRO apparently went off to look into it but nothing more was heard.

[Ext User(Clockmeister)]

"The Red Krawler" <redkrawler@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:EAhcf.12751$Hj2.4197@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C...
>>> Never played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then
>>> again so does any A/C, but thems the breaks.
>
>> Working on automotive A/C is fun and easy.
>
> You're welcome to it :D
>
> But when you want a frozen coke machine installed, lemme know. We'll hook
> up.
>

Our coke and lolly machine has never worked properly since day one. The
chick (with the nice arse) that fills it hasn't managed to fix it either...
but I'll put up with it :-)

[Ext User(Kieron)]

On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 05:34:22 +0800, "Clockmeister"
<no-one@nowhere.com> wrote:

>
>"The Red Krawler" <redkrawler@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:EAhcf.12751$Hj2.4197@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>>> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C...
>>>> Never played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then
>>>> again so does any A/C, but thems the breaks.
>>
>>> Working on automotive A/C is fun and easy.
>>
>> You're welcome to it :D
>>
>> But when you want a frozen coke machine installed, lemme know. We'll hook
>> up.
>>
>
>Our coke and lolly machine has never worked properly since day one. The
>chick (with the nice arse) that fills it hasn't managed to fix it either...
>but I'll put up with it :-)

Sure you arn't breaking it so she has to come back clock? :)

[Ext User(Clockmeister)]

"Kieron" <kieronm302@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4372c0e8.5972250@203.50.2.233...
> On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 05:34:22 +0800, "Clockmeister"
> <no-one@nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>"The Red Krawler" <redkrawler@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>news:EAhcf.12751$Hj2.4197@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>>>> When I said A/C, I was refering to home/office or industrial A/C...
>>>>> Never played much with car stuff, cause quite frankly it sucks. Then
>>>>> again so does any A/C, but thems the breaks.
>>>
>>>> Working on automotive A/C is fun and easy.
>>>
>>> You're welcome to it :D
>>>
>>> But when you want a frozen coke machine installed, lemme know. We'll
>>> hook
>>> up.
>>>
>>
>>Our coke and lolly machine has never worked properly since day one. The
>>chick (with the nice arse) that fills it hasn't managed to fix it
>>either...
>>but I'll put up with it :-)
>
> Sure you arn't breaking it so she has to come back clock? :)

No, I'm not sure :-)