RichieB5

I am hoping that this is a "common problem" !!!

Went through the car wash a few times before and never thought much of it, but this last time was the worst!

You could slightly hear the blower motor sounding a little different, however the biggest indication is the water dripping out of the lower (floor) vents of the ventilation system... The car wash managed to pump so much water into the system that it dripped not only inside the car but underneath the car (when I got home, a 2 minute drive away from the wash) for another 5-10 minutes or so....

Once the whole "system" was dry today, I removed the cowl under the hood to checkout to see if I saw anything unusual. Only thing I noticed was that the trapdoor on the condensor box was open and the valve that I would imagine is there to be able to close/open the assembly was not attached to anything, so the door is open at all times. Other than that, nothing looked unusual. I put the cowel back on and sprayed the car down with a hose with it running and the same thing happened after about 2 minutes of spraying..

Where should I look first? Is the trapdoor being open the source of my problem? Is that the fresh air source??

Thanks for any help guys!

tonyj

It is the fresh air Recirculation door and should not be open when the car is not running.

There is s spring that must be off or broken and needs to be fixed.

Search for LOTS of help on this. Search string: Recirc door or flap.

RichieB5

Thanks! I will search!

However, the springs are there, they are just holding it in the open position. If I manually move it closed, it springs right back to open. I believe it is the vacuum assisted valve that is responsible for closing it which is the culprit.

However my second wonder is why water is dripping outside the car on the passenger side, hours after it was "rinsed". It has to be filling up somewhere....

RichieB5

So from what I've researched, there are 2 recirc doors, one accessible from inside and one from outside...

My donut/servo assembly is loose and the evaporator housing I guess has come apart as there is no more keyed hole to lock the servo into. Not to mention no visible vacuum hose.

My question is, how do you gain proper access to the inside of this box in order to repair it? Is this accessible from inside the car behind the glove box, or am I getting confused about another INSIDE recirc door with an identical servo type thing?

Thanks!

CARSNPLANES

The are drain holes on the outer edges of the plenum area where the corners meet the fenders. If they are blocked, packed with leaves, pine needles, etc, the plenum will not drain and water will rise up to the level of the recirc door. If the drains are woking properly, even an open recirc door shouldn't bring in rain water or car wash water.
On the pass side, you don't even have to remove the cowl, take a wood dowel and fish around the outer corner of the plunum next to the fender. There should be a drain area that commonly gets plugged. Clear it and shoot water down the hole where it exits down the fender. The bottom area gets clogged too. Clear the lower end as well. Do the same for the opposite end near the fuse box. That one when blocked, pools around the fuse box and enters under the fusebox to the carpet below.

Hope this helps too.

tonyj

Couple of screws removes the glove box and then access is quite easy.

The two doors are actuall connected so closing one opens the other.

You are right. The default position for the outside door is open.

You can remove the inner door with a 90 degree twist of a plastic connector you will see when you are lying on the passenger floor.

At that point, check the spring.

You should figure a way to re attach the vacuum servo.

Attaching the vacuum hose is important for the entire vent / heat / ac system operation.