Strange leak under dash???
 

Ok I know this is the SUV and Truck forum but my wife has an issue with a 96 camry and I found that the knowledge on this forum is unsurpassed. So here goes. On the passenger side front floorboard there keeps appearing a dark wet stain. It appears as if something is leaking from under the dash (glove box). It is black like motor oil but has a sweet smell. When we washed the floor mat it looked like soda was running out of the rug???

My first thought was that maybe it was a heater hose that was leaking but its not coolant. Temps have been cold enough to freeze for the past week and the stain did not return. But now that its up to 38 degrees the stain has returned.

Are there any other fluid lines that would run under the dash through the firewall? Or is it possible there is a clogged windshield channel drain or vent that is backing up? I know its comming down from the dash or windshield. The top of the floor mats were wet and black but the carpet under it was fine.

Any thoughts on a cause and fix?:think:

Check the glovebox for a candy bar or soft drink?? I have no clue.

The only thing that I could think of is that the drain in the box that the heater core is in might be clogged. Maybe the it is just condensation or something combined with years of dust and dirt..

just my 2 cents

Taste it.

if it were just water caused by a plugged drain, it either wouldn't smell or would be quite repugnant. A sweet, maple-syrup like smell implies coolant. Maybe a hose to the heater core, or the heater core itself is leaking. The black color may be caused by the underlayment below the floor covering / carpet.

How do you know its not coolant? Factory toyota antifreeze is dark red in color not tradional green. The only fluid the runs inside the vehicle on the passenger side is coolant. Coolan also has a sweet smell.

Also, if coolant isn't changed for a long time it can get dark brown in color.

I would be looking at a coolant leak under the dash, that is where the sweet smell would be coming from. Most commonly, the heater core will spring a leak.

i agree i have had the same problem on a Pontiac and it was the heater core and that would explain the sweet smell aswell

Coolant also makes your tongue tingle, so taste it and spit it out quick as its not good for you or your dog.

One thing that doesn't add up for me is that if it were cold, you'd have your heater on and the leak should have continued. But, there are no other lines that go near there.

Check the colour of your coolant, that might help us narrow it down a bit.

i say coolant. if its sweet smelling or tasting(which is not good to do but you can) if its not a heater core leak. im stumped

Checked the glove box for soda and candy. no luck.

I replaced the radiator, flushed the coolant lines and put in new green antifreeze back in October. So I am almost certain its not coolant, not up for tasting it though. :barf:

Also its not a constant leak its only happened twice, about three weeks apart. Maybe I will set up a pan in the car and try to catch whatever is dripping. But we have never seen anything drip. Looks like its time to open the dash and see whats going on.

the only other thing i could come up with is freon oil. does you defroster work well and does the compressor kick on? when the defroster is selected that kicks on the a/c comp. to blow cool dry air on the windshield.

freon... when i hit a big-rig tread with my girlfriends car, it punched a pinhole in the a/c condensor and was atomizing the freon with the pressure it built up... after the pressure subsided, it left a substance that looked an awefully lot like corn syrup and smelled just as sweet... like a clear maple syrup... now, i imagine that if it were getting into the underpadding, like abe said, then it would be tinting the freon brown or blackish...

I will check the defroster today. I know she turns on the AC when defrosting the windshield. The smell does kinda remind me of r134a. Funny that you mention maple syrup. My wife says that it smells like pancakes in the car... women.

She also told me today that she has found hickory nut shells on the floor. I wonder if a squirl or mouse has chewed a hold through the vents in the dash?

I had a mouse build a nest in the vents before. Once the heat killed the mouse there was no mistake as to what had happened. :bang:

definantly taste it!!!!!!!!!!

What does flushing the radiator and putting new coolant in have to do with a leaking heater core? Replacing the radiator is not going to fix a problem with the heater core.

I would definately say coolant, grab a flash light and feal around till you find the source

my first bet would be on a leaky heater core but if you changed the fluid and it is still the same brown colour then I'd go with A/C oil leaking out of the system probably from a pin hole in the A/C core. Some vehicles use the A/C to augment the defroster function... not sure if the Camry does this but it would make sense since this only seems to happen when temps are around that which you would use the defrost and the A/C box is behind the glove box.

The radiator was changed a month or two before the leak started. Since the coolant is new and the system has been flushed, if it were leaking coolant from the heater core I would expect the liquid comming out would be greenish and not dark brown. At least thats my assumption and why I don't think its the heater core thats leaking.

It's the wife's DD so I can't touch it till the weekend. :nono: Or else I will be in big trouble if I don't get it back together before she wants to drive it.

coolant can be red, orange, or green. i know in my truck im running orange dex-cool coolant. its working so good. (i would have put toyota RED in it, but i got the dex-cool FREE from work. (4 gallons for free) ) so coolant can be either red, green, or orange, if its healthy.
x2 on heater core.