Condensation underneath driver-side floot mat?

[SummerallGuard04]

Hey guys,

Searched but could really find the answer.

I just drove about 2 hrs. in my '99 4Runner with the AC on. I just so happened to pick up the floor mat on the driver-side and the bottom of it was covered in condensation. I'm thinking it has something to do with the A/C...

Anyone?

 

[eric70412]

Check to make sure your condensate drain on the outside, under hood, passenger side, on firewall is draining. If its not its probably plugged and is backing up spilling on the inside. Needs to be unpluggeed! Thats what my truck was doing also!

 

[SummerallGuard04]

Check to make sure your condensate drain on the outside, under hood, passenger side, on firewall is draining. If its not its probably plugged and is backing up spilling on the inside. Needs to be unpluggeed! Thats what my truck was doing also!

:shrug: I'm not the "savviest" of guys when it comes to DIYs. Would I be diving in under the hood for all of that? I have no idea what to look for here...

 

[SummerallGuard04]

Ok, so I just went outside and cranked up the car and let it run for 5 minutes with the AC on full blast. I noticed that the AC was draining properly underneath the car so that's a good sign. The passenger-side is dry--another good sign. When I went to lift up the carpet on the driver side though, I noticed that it was all wet underneath and smelled (a little bit) of mold. I just bought this car last weekend. Is this going to turn out to be a headache for me? I'm beginning to think so. I feel like, at some point, I'm going to need to get the bottom lining replaced b/c it feels water-logged. There's a trip to an upholstery shop.

:dammit:

 

[theizzardking]

Ok, so I just went outside and cranked up the car and let it run for 5 minutes with the AC on full blast. I noticed that the AC was draining properly underneath the car so that's a good sign. The passenger-side is dry--another good sign. When I went to lift up the carpet on the driver side though, I noticed that it was all wet underneath and smelled (a little bit) of mold. I just bought this car last weekend. Is this going to turn out to be a headache for me? I'm beginning to think so. I feel like, at some point, I'm going to need to get the bottom lining replaced b/c it feels water-logged. There's a trip to an upholstery shop.

:dammit:

probably just a bad grommet under the hood, pop the hood and look against firewall (that's the sheet metal that separates the engine from the drivers compartment ) and look for a rubber plug in the wall, it should look something like this minus the blue/green and yellow wire

(firewall/drivers seat at top of photo, drivers side fender to the right of photo, engine to bottom left/bottom passengers side of photo)

make sure that black bushing/grommet is there and is not punctured, what probably happened is someone had some aftermarket fog lights installed (the blue/green and yellow wires in the pic above) and put a couple of holes in that grommet for the wires so when they removed them left a place for water to flow through .....basically check the firewall for holes....otherwise yes...yes, you could have a headache on your hands.

 

[SummerallGuard04]

Getting closer!!!!

So, here is a pic of the firewall plug:

Just as you described, a giant monster cable interfering. I pulled it and re-sealed it. So, you're telling me that water was able to get through that? Everything around it was dry...

I pulled up the floor lining on the driver-side and this is what I found:

There was water on top of that plug. I have NO idea where it came from. I searched all inside the car and couldn't find a source from where water could come. Is it coming up form the bottom?

 

[spitvenom]

Check your heater core!

 

[LittleCaesar]

If you pulled off the rack, as I think I remember, reseal it with clear silicone around the holes as well as a small dab around the screw threads themselves.

If you have a sunroof, check the drain lines as well for obstructions.

 

[eric70412]

So it is only getting wet on the drivers side? My AC drain was dripping slightly but was still plugged up enough that it was causing it to back up and drip on the passenger side and a little on the driverside as well! I think mine only dripped when the AC was running!

I got under my hood on the passenger side on the firewall. I reached down there and grabbed the lil drain pipe (mine looks like a lil alluminum pipe comming out of the wall in the shape of a hook kinda facing down to the ground) and I was able to turn it upside down. That way I was able to put a hose on it.

But becareful not to remove it from the firewall it will turn if its like mine just becareful! Its kinda a pain to get to but I managed to do it from top. I used one of those long tools used to retrieve lost bolts and stuff not sure what they are called. I just reached down in there with it and squeezed the handle and the little fingers came out and grabbd a hold of it and i gently turned it upside down so I could attach a hose over it. (I found an old cut garden hose & thats what i used)

Then I just put the hose in my mouth and blew a shot of air into the hose for about 5-10 sec. As I was doing that i felt/heard something break lose and then I removed the hose and turned the drain back as it was and it drained steady for about 10-20 min.

Sure enough that was the problem and my floors have been dry ever since!

Good luck bud and keep us posted!

 

[SummerallGuard04]

If you pulled off the rack, as I think I remember, reseal it with clear silicone around the holes as well as a small dab around the screw threads themselves.

If you have a sunroof, check the drain lines as well for obstructions.

We haven't had much rain and it sits in the garage.:shrug:

There's no way it can be that. The underside of the mat was dry this morning before I drove it 2 hrs. Good thinking, though.

 

[eric70412]

There are also lots of threads on here about this particular issue. I just did a search and thats how I found out how to fix my problem. I would try what i said above first and then go from there. It was pretty easy to do!

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

I have to remove my kick panel every time i wash my 99 to clean up the water that gets in there. Every time, it's dry towards the firewall. I think it may be my weather stripping as I changed my old one out about the same time it started happening.

Ugh it's really starting to piss me off. Sealed off the little rubber plugs and still water. I had to cut up the carpet/remove the underpadding. Moldy and everything. I want to buy a new carpet but not before this is fixed...

 

[rjaudi]

A few years ago my father sold me the 4runner he bought new. He really didnt use it much the last couple years he owned it. Anyway, when I would drive it I could always get this faint mildew smell. When I bought it from him I ripped the carpet completely up. When I got to the drivers side floorboard it was wet. We finally figured out that the factory alarm (which was a dealer installed accessory) was installed wrong. The ran the wires like yours are on the outside of the grommet. If you pour water over the windshield you can watch it slowly trickle down and hit that grommet. I recommend pulling the drivers seat out (4 bolts) and pulling the carpet up. You should then replace the under carpet insulation with some generic sound deadening. I disinfected all the area under the carpet. Rerun your wires through the middle of the grommet and you will never have the problem again. I fixed mine almost 3 years ago.

 

[SummerallGuard04]

A few years ago my father sold me the 4runner he bought new. He really didnt use it much the last couple years he owned it. Anyway, when I would drive it I could always get this faint mildew smell. When I bought it from him I ripped the carpet completely up. When I got to the drivers side floorboard it was wet. We finally figured out that the factory alarm (which was a dealer installed accessory) was installed wrong. The ran the wires like yours are on the outside of the grommet. If you pour water over the windshield you can watch it slowly trickle down and hit that grommet. I recommend pulling the drivers seat out (4 bolts) and pulling the carpet up. You should then replace the under carpet insulation with some generic sound deadening. I disinfected all the area under the carpet. Rerun your wires through the middle of the grommet and you will never have the problem again. I fixed mine almost 3 years ago.

(face palm)

I was REALLLLY hoping that I wouldn't have to go this route. Glad it worked out for you though.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

Getting closer!!!!

So, here is a pic of the firewall plug:

Just as you described, a giant monster cable interfering. I pulled it and re-sealed it. So, you're telling me that water was able to get through that? Everything around it was dry...

That's your problem. Reseat the grommet, running the wires THROUGH the grommet, then seal it with RTV. If you don't it will leak every time it rains or you wash it. The water runs straight down into that hole and under the carpet. On my 98, the PO ran some strereo wires through the grommet and left a tiny little hole and it was wet all the time. It's the perfect water catcher.

 

[rjaudi]

(face palm)

I was REALLLLY hoping that I wouldn't have to go this route. Glad it worked out for you though.

It wont be that bad. The sound deadening is pretty cheap too. The main thing is to stop the leak and get rid of all the damp material under the carpet. If you were closer to Wilmington I'd help you out.

 

[mcaz5]

After reading this I went out and checked my carpet because I ran my wire through the firewall like the pic above. And sure enough my carpet was slightly damp and had an odor. So as I understand it I'll have to un tape the wires in the black tape re run the wire with those, re tape it or can I just run the wire through the designed hole? I'm a bit confused lol

 

[98OzarksRunner]

The best way is to make a small cut with a razor knife in the grommet, run the wires through the cut and seal it up with some RTV. I've done this on 2 of my 4Runners and it works, and it's easy (unless you have to rewire it all).

Kind of like this but closer to the center of the grommet is probably better, then seal it like crazy with RTV silicone.

 

[SummerallGuard04]

So it is only getting wet on the drivers side? My AC drain was dripping slightly but was still plugged up enough that it was causing it to back up and drip on the passenger side and a little on the driverside as well! I think mine only dripped when the AC was running!

I got under my hood on the passenger side on the firewall. I reached down there and grabbed the lil drain pipe (mine looks like a lil alluminum pipe comming out of the wall in the shape of a hook kinda facing down to the ground) and I was able to turn it upside down. That way I was able to put a hose on it.

But becareful not to remove it from the firewall it will turn if its like mine just becareful! Its kinda a pain to get to but I managed to do it from top. I used one of those long tools used to retrieve lost bolts and stuff not sure what they are called. I just reached down in there with it and squeezed the handle and the little fingers came out and grabbd a hold of it and i gently turned it upside down so I could attach a hose over it. (I found an old cut garden hose & thats what i used)

Then I just put the hose in my mouth and blew a shot of air into the hose for about 5-10 sec. As I was doing that i felt/heard something break lose and then I removed the hose and turned the drain back as it was and it drained steady for about 10-20 min.

Sure enough that was the problem and my floors have been dry ever since!

Good luck bud and keep us posted!

Couldn't find this at ALL!

 

[SummerallGuard04]

Check to make sure your condensate drain on the outside, under hood, passenger side, on firewall is draining. If its not its probably plugged and is backing up spilling on the inside. Needs to be unpluggeed! Thats what my truck was doing also!

This sounds more like the problem.