Permanent Fix for Air Conditioner Drain Line Please

[unforgiven]

I have been under my 2008 CX-9 three times in six months clearing the AC drain line. Using a shop vac failed all three times but using compressed air worked each time except on the last time is shorted my blower fan and I had to replace it. Now it is sloshing again and I need a permanent fix. I am guessing something is floating in the water and plugging up the drain hole. Compressed air blows it away but it eventually covers the drain again. Any help to fix this permanently or at least where it will take another 12 years to do it again like the first time.

 

[jal142]

I feel your pain. The drain on mine clogged 2 or 3 times over a short period, then hasn't for several years now. I park under a Live Oak tree, and it drops tons of pollen and pollen "pods" or flowers that I think are the source of the issue.

I dug into the center console in an effort to fix the problem - I wouldn't recommend this approach. You have to disassemble a lot of the interior to get clean access to the center console, and even then, it doesn't really give you access to the inside of the HVAC vents where the clog is occurring. There is a small diameter hose that runs to the outside drain from the HVAC system and you are still essentially doing the same things as you would from under the car: compressed air or vacuum.

I ended up cobbling together something that allowed me to get an airtight seal between the shop vac and the drain on the bottom of the car, and that managed to pull whatever was stuck through.

 

[unforgiven]

Thanks. I was afraid of that. I had what I thought was an airtight seal the last time but still wouldn't pull it out.