Recently I've noticed some water leaking onto my passenger's side footwell. Originally I thought it would be a clogged AC drain tube, which is pretty common, but water *is* draining out of the tube under the car next to the sway bar. I tracked the secondary source of water down to a seam in the plastic box above where the AC drain tube goes into the floor. See photo for details:

Water is leaking from the indicated area, along the seam in the plastic.


Wider view of the leak area. You can see the drain tube in the left middle of the photo. The leak is coming from above that.

Anyone know what this plastic part is (part # if applicable) and whether it would make sense to replace it, or just seal the plastic with something waterproof?

Thanks!

 

Quick update. I spread some LOCTITE silicone sealant over the area that appeared to be leaking. Water has stopped leaking from there, but it’s now leaking from above and behind that area.


I don’t have much visibility to the back side… I can try blindly spreading some silicone up there, but I might be better off removing the plastic and repairing it outside the car or just replacing it.

Any idea what this part is called so that I can find instructions on replacing it?

 

I would suggest looking at a parts diagram on an online Honda dealer parts website. You might have better luck, knowing more about the location and part identification.

I would say it is part of the AC system.

Mark

 

This might help. May be considered part of Heater.
https://www.bernardiparts.com/honda/...assembly=17382

 

Thanks. Based on the diagram, I think that #16, the drain hose, is the hose in the center-left of my second picture above. In the diagram, it connects to the bottom of #7, the heater unit, and there's a drip tray underneath the evaporator, #14 which directs the water down to the hose. t looks like the place that I *thought* was a crack is *actually* a joint between #7 the heater unit and #11 the duct set, which I believe connects over to the blower. So my guess is that #2, the seal between the evaporator side of the heater unit and the duct to the blower, is failing and needs to be replaced. I'm thinking I might be able to remove the screws holding the heater unit to the duct, pull them apart, and replace the seal. Of course I did just seal the joint together but I think I should be able to clear it off easily enough....

 

Update: I replaced seal #2 in the diagram above (there is only one seal despite it being listed 3 times - I think that's it bridges several different assemblies). I removed three of the four screws running up the joint between the heater module and the duct to the blower motor (listed as screw #22) - the top one was too difficult to reach. I also removed the blower motor and several of the nuts bolting the blower fan enclosure to the firewall (not on this diagram). This made it easier to spread the ductwork apart and replace the seal. The seal is also a bit tricky to get in place due to it being way up in the business and having to work upside down.

But now, no leaks!

 

I dealt with muggy ac for a friend just the other day! It was an 03 dodge grand caravan. We squabbled over seals while dissecting the thing, but in the end the fault lied with the plastic windshield cowl. It had warpage and broken clips, allowing water and wet leaves to seep beneath it, down into the intake for the cabin air system. We used his borescope to see into the ducting. It had an actual pool of water down in there before even entering the cabin. We addressed the matter by "fabricating" some new fasteners for his cowl and adding weather stripping beneath it to divert water away.

In consideration of your situation, cheers for resolving the leak! But there shouldn't be water in there. Dunno your actual situation from what I've gleaned so far, but I'd urge you to consider chasing the source of the water in your ducting.

In any case, good job chasing it down and addressing it

 

Good advice - my gut was telling me that it was condensation and not windshield drainage, based on when it occurred (hot, muggy days with no rain where I was running the AC a lot). But I'll take a look at the cowling just to make sure there isn't an issue.

 

I think that's a solid idea, if only because there should be no water in the duct work above the footwell, even if it's muggy out :/