Evaporator Drain Hose Connection

[smartRRparts]

This week in our smart center we had a customer come in with a very sick smart. The evaporator case drain hose that drains condensation from the a/c to the outside of the car was not connected. This in turn filled up the battery compartment with water and shorted out the transmission contol unit and the SAM unit. Very expensive fix for such a simple item. I encourage all to check this on their smart. The battery compartment is in the passenger's footweel and the drain hose is on the left side of the compartment. It should be securely attached to the bulkhead. Please check it so you aren't left stranded somewhere.

[SuperGeek]

Paul, once again ... you rock.

I just checked mine... the hose looked and felt good, even the hydrogen gas vent hose was good. But I did sop up about an ounce of water from next to the battery. Maybe that's where the rain went when I left the windows down a month ago... any thoughts on other chassis lowpoints I can check for water? It's probably evaporated by now unless there's a deep well like the battery compartment. I thought the floorpan had drain holes. Don't most cars?

[Periclaws]

Pics? can you look under car or must you check in this compartment?

[smartRRparts]

Originally Posted by SuperGeek

Paul, once again ... you rock.

I just checked mine... the hose looked and felt good, even the hydrogen gas vent hose was good. But I did sop up about an ounce of water from next to the battery. Maybe that's where the rain went when I left the windows down a month ago... any thoughts on other chassis lowpoints I can check for water? It's probably evaporated by now unless there's a deep well like the battery compartment. I thought the floorpan had drain holes. Don't most cars?

Most cars to my knowledge have holes in the drain pan that are still plugged by rubber inserts. I hope the ounce of water you found was indeed rainwater and I can think of no other low points to recommend to you. I'm glad this post help you possible head off any future problem.

[smartRRparts]

Originally Posted by Periclaws

Pics? can you look under car or must you check in this compartment?

Digital camera issues again so I can't post pictures at this time. I thought about recommending folks to just look under their smart to check for that a/c drip, but it occurred to me it might still drip from overflow into that elbow and not direct drainage from the evaporator compartment. I do recommend the extra time at this point for a more in depth inspection of the area.

[smartRRparts]

Kid's digital camera picture with arrow pointing to elbow of evaporator drain hose. That long hose connected to it is the part I'd like people to check. This one is connected properly. Hope this helps.

[kannonvaggon]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by classicsmarts

Digital camera issues again so I can't post pictures at this time. I thought about recommending folks to just look under their smart to check for that a/c drip, but it occurred to me it might still drip from overflow into that elbow and not direct drainage from the evaporator compartment. I do recommend the extra time at this point for a more in depth inspection of the area.

I definitely get the normal A/C drip under the car, pretty well centered. If it's been raining hard (several inches) and I crank up the car with A/C to dehumidify, I've noticed what appears to be steam coming from the front. It looks like when the AC triggers the radiator fan, some built up rainwater splashes onto it and gets blown upwards. Not sure if that matches design, but I never sensed a problem. Scared the heck out of me though, to see what looked like smoke coming from a non-engine compartment.

[SuperGeek]

One week later, more water in the battery well... soaked 6 Bounty paper towels to wring-out stage, so a few more ounces... my AC has been on 100% lately due to humidity even if it's not hot out. I poked around a bit and found what I believe to be a hole in the elbow that drains A/C drip to the outside. I'll call my dealer in the morning to get official word on how they want to handle this, but it looks to me like a part I can install if they'll just ship me a replacement. Or I could apply Southern repair ingenuity to the French assembly of German Engineering, a'la Duct Tape and Nylon String. How exactly do I seal a small hole in a soft rubber elbow like that?

[smartRRparts]

Originally Posted by SuperGeek

One week later, more water in the battery well... soaked 6 Bounty paper towels to wring-out stage, so a few more ounces... my AC has been on 100% lately due to humidity even if it's not hot out. I poked around a bit and found what I believe to be a hole in the elbow that drains A/C drip to the outside. I'll call my dealer in the morning to get official word on how they want to handle this, but it looks to me like a part I can install if they'll just ship me a replacement. Or I could apply Southern repair ingenuity to the French assembly of German Engineering, a'la Duct Tape and Nylon String. How exactly do I seal a small hole in a soft rubber elbow like that?

Because of the severe consequences, I'm am going to recommend no "southern engineering" be applied. Get smart to fix it before the condition deteriorates. Replace the faulty part, definitely.