Dripping noises!

[rcryniak]

I've noticed over the past few months - may have always been like this and just noticed - that when I first turn the car on and drive off, there's a sound like water dripping/trickling somewhere around or past the firewall. It goes away after several seconds, and only comes back when the car sits a while.

I'm assuming it's not a "problem" per se, just curious what it is. Any ideas?

 

[SHOdded]

A clogged sunroof drain has been one of the main causes of "water" issues on the SHO, especially problematic in rainy weather. That usually shows up as wet passenger side carpet. Sometimes, it will gather up so much water, it will come out of the drain under the door and leave a puddle.

 

[rcryniak]

Now, for the sake of knowing for sure what it is, I wish I had wet (even damp) carpets. The sound isn't coming from above, nor do I have wet/damp carpets.... I wonder if this is it; but if it's not plugged and water's just sitting on a flat spot of the drain system somewhere until I move the car and jostle things a bit, encouraging the water to move along.

I'm assuming either it drains somewhere in front given the source of the sound... so, down A-Pillar and then?...

...are there any other likely candidates? If the moonroof drain is the best bet, where does it drain? More than one location? How to clean the drain lines?

I wish they made tiny plumber's snakes hahaha... oh wait... I might be able to make one... relatively stiff (but thin) wire... solder a pipe cleaner to it... hmm. lol

 

[SHOdded]

Compressed air is a perennial favorite for cleaning out clogged drain lines; doors have drains too, so worth checking. I don't have diagrams, but the dealership service would have access to those.

 

[rcryniak]

Aww... and I was going to have some fun inventing some stupid new drain line cleaner. Was gonna market it on late night TV n' everything.

No, makes perfect sense... thanks!

Now, if you (or anyone) can think of other possible sources, I think that'd be useful to know too, just in case.

 

[SHOdded]

Another possibility is air in the HVAC, or condensation from the A/C drain; that can cause sloshing/dripping sounds also.

 

[rcryniak]

Wait a second... I had an issue this summer where long trips (over 2 hours) would result in the A/C freezing over. (Air flow was n/a, though remained cold for what little air you could feel coming out.) If you let the car sit for a couple hours, it would rejuvenate and blow strong and cold again.

I took it to the dealer, and they tried for hours to duplicate it, short of taking it for a several hour road trip, and could not reproduce the problem - and I ran out of summer before I needed the A/C for that long, so I couldn't drive into the shop and say "seeee?" ...hence it never got fixed. So it's interesting that you say the A/C drain could be at issue - if I remember right, I read that a clogged drain could cause coil freeze-over like that.

This can't be a coincidence... ok, maybe it can... but I think I need to look at that first.

 

[SHOdded]

On the Edge, it is fairly easy to disconnect the drain from the evaporator core and unclog with compressed air. Hopefully similarly easy with the SHO.

 

[rcryniak]

Well... its gonna have to wait for two or three weeks... after which time I'll (finally) have a garage where I can do stuff like this.

 

[SHOdded]

Progress on the home front?

 

[rcryniak]

Yep... we close on the 14th. All ducks neatly in a row

...at least until we actually start packing. That's gonna be a chore lol

 

[SHOdded]

Beware the boxes. Very difficult to unbox once boxed

 

[integrity6987]

also check to ensure your coolant level is correct. Air in the cooling system can cause a similar sound. Try to find a steeply angle drive way if you need to "burp" the system.

 

[rcryniak]

Good to know! Thx for that. I'm going to assume it's OK though since my engine coolant temp is always spot on at 180. Still, worth a look, in fact once I'm no longer parking on the street, I'll be learning how to check and change all fluids.

 

[SHOdded]

also check to ensure your coolant level is correct. Air in the cooling system can cause a similar sound. Try to find a steeply angle drive way if you need to "burp" the system.

Another thing you can do is to park next to a curb with the passenger side wheel on the curb to make the recovery tank the highest point in the system for burping. Or put up just the front passenger side on a jackstand.