water leak under 2003 Honda Accord

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news:1159288523.040671.291630 @b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

If you were defogging the windows just prior, the AC will come on automatically to dehumidify the air. It may be this you were seeing.

I'll go with what tegger said, if the defrost was on at all or, you had the climate control on auto, the air conditioner could have been running, just not pumping cold air and would have given you the condensed water.

Dave

Or the AC drain has been plugged and just started leaking.

TeGGeR® wrote:

I'll go with what tegger said, if the defrost was on at all or, you had the climate control on auto, the air conditioner could have been running, just not pumping cold air and would have given you the condensed water.

Dave

.hmmm..maybe hit an iceberg? I have no idea!

As has been said, Honda chose to automatically turn on the air conditioning when you have the air flow setting at either full defrost (all on the windshield) or partial defrost. However, they also chose to not light the green AC light when this occurs.

Bob

Most modern cars operate this way in order to dehumidify the incoming air which prevents window fogging...

JT

Yes, but why not be up front about it and light the AC light? Or even better, since the incoming air doesn't always fog the windshield, why not let ME decide when I need to dehumidify.

Bob

I can't answer the first part: why doesn't it light the A/C light? But you already know the second part - if they don't always dehumidify the air blowing on the windshield and it should suddenly fog your view, their liability is too great. I can't think of a single car made in recent years that doesn't behave that way. Even my '85 Volvo does that. But if you think about it, if you are trying to remove frost/ice any humidity in the air will fog (or frost) the windshield as it hits the cold glass, and if you aren't trying to defog the windshield you need dry air to do that.

Most of the systems also turn off the compressor if the outside temperature is below a certain temperature, like 50F, because the air is already quite dry. Maybe that has some bearing on the A/C light status, because trying to report what is actually happening could be convoluted. "You didn't ask for the A/C to be on but it is on because you have the defroster turned on but the compressor isn't running because it is too cold outside." In the end, we just keep driving unless the windshield fogs up.

Mike

Sorry, but big brother (or sister) has determined that decision is no longer an option with common consumers as they are generally to dumb(ed down) to make rational decisions.

Now, if you believe that you are truly not part of the sheeple masses, you can buy a pair of wire cutters, hack saw and other assorted "tool" of modification and rewire/reroute/redesign the system to suit. Not a move that I would recommend though...

JT

That'd be condensation dripping off your A/C. Perfectly normal.

Yep, the A/C compressor often runs when defrost is used as well as at other times. It doesn't have to be hot outside for the A/C compressor to be in use.

John