Puddle under passenger side of car/ A/C blowing hot air

Question

I have a 1999 Mazda 626. I drove 5hrs the other day from WA to OR. Traffic was horrible and it was blistering hot. I had my A/C going most of the time, although at one point it started blowing hot air so I switched to having the windows open. I got to my husband's house, came back out 20 minutes later and there was a huge puddle on the pavement on the passenger side. I wanted to check it, but we were running really late so I didn't touch it. Didn't use the A/C for the rest of the day, no more puddles. I have to make the drive again this week and am worried. Is something wrong with my A/C?

Answer 1

Water under the passenger side of the car is normal when running your A/C. The evaporator which is inside the car is located under the dash on the passenger side. When it cools the air, water condensates off of it, the water drips down into a catch basin, then goes through a tube which drains on that side of the car. What is not normal is that your A/C was not cooling properly. My suggestion is that your refrigerant is low, so is not cooling up to snuff. It only has to cool the air down past the dew point and it will draw water out of the air, even though it isn't really cold enough to cool the inside of the cabin.

If you or your husband feels comfortable in doing this, there are ways you can check the refrigerant in your vehicle. I like the AC Pro Recharge Kit because it takes into account temperature variation which is needed to ensure you have the proper amount of refrigerant in your system. Since your system is pulling water out of the air, it is working to an extent. It just isn't doing a very good job of it. It is fairly easy to accomplish, so I wouldn't have any fear of doing it.

If you do not feel comfortable doing it, you'll need to take the vehicle to a place which can service your car for you.