S-Class (W221) 2007-2013: S 320 CDI, S 350, S 450, S 500, S 550, S 420 CDI, S 600

Water coming out of center console

Old Jul 16, 2024 | 09:01 PM
  #1  
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2009 S600
Water coming out of center console

It's as it says. I was running the car to see if it would keep a constant temperature. First thing I noticed was water spraying out of the windshield washer cap which I learned was the heater so I know that. So I started it again and ran it for about 10 minutes. It didn't overheat but first I noticed steam coming out of the rear vents. I noticed the temperature was turned to high and it was on so I turned it off and it stopped. A couple minutes later I noticed steam coming from the center console near the dial for the screen (I have a 2009 s600) and then water came out. Is another heater broken?
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 03:43 AM
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three possible sources...

1) rain water - the screen drains are a joke and detritus also builds under the battery, then leaks in destroying the heater blower motor
2) AC condense not draining out on tot the floor beneath the car via the drain pipes from the bottom of the HVAC system sitting behind the dash
3) the Heater matrix or its pipes - inside the HVAC system is a baby radiator which is part of the engine cooling system - if this leaks at a pipe connector or the unit fails engine coolant will be pumped in tot he car and ruin everything - normally owners notice the hideous pungent smell and fix before its bad

from the sounds of it it engine coolant - if so it will have a distinct taste and smell and dry making a mess - the windscreen washer bottle has a stupid heater system that pumps engine coolant around to melt ice in the winter (every other manufacturer just tells the owner to put the correct concentration of washer fluid to keep the whole system working properly - not just melt ice 1" from the tubes after a 10 mile journey

good luck with any electrics ever working well again

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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 04:00 AM
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oof, water and electronics don't mix. good luck with the repairs.
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 10:32 AM
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2009 S600
Originally Posted by BOTUS
three possible sources...

1) rain water - the screen drains are a joke and detritus also builds under the battery, then leaks in destroying the heater blower motor
2) AC condense not draining out on tot the floor beneath the car via the drain pipes from the bottom of the HVAC system sitting behind the dash
3) the Heater matrix or its pipes - inside the HVAC system is a baby radiator which is part of the engine cooling system - if this leaks at a pipe connector or the unit fails engine coolant will be pumped in tot he car and ruin everything - normally owners notice the hideous pungent smell and fix before its bad

from the sounds of it it engine coolant - if so it will have a distinct taste and smell and dry making a mess - the windscreen washer bottle has a stupid heater system that pumps engine coolant around to melt ice in the winter (every other manufacturer just tells the owner to put the correct concentration of washer fluid to keep the whole system working properly - not just melt ice 1" from the tubes after a 10 mile journey

good luck with any electrics ever working well again
Ok I didn't think about that first one. I hope that's all it is lol. Probably isn't the second one because I know for a fact that there's no ac refrigerant in the system. So it can't get cold enough to cause condensation. number 3 is what I was thinking it could be. But I'm not sure what the part number is for the heater core. Don't want to buy the wrong part lol.
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 11:49 AM
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I was thinking. Since it was steaming, wouldn't it have to come from the engine cooling system. Does anyone know if any of the heater cores or anything else for that matter, comes close to HVAC tubing? specifically the ones for the rear since it wasn't happening in the front. And specifically the vents that are under the front seats for the rear passengers. Then for the center console, do the tubes for the rear climate vents that come out of the middle run under there?
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 12:03 PM
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you could try and track the pathway for the stupid washer bottle heater.... unless those heater pipes come from the interior heater system somehow - I don't see how that extra bit of fun is part of the issue.... (but very unlikely to be a coincidence) unless !!!! we have a real catastrophic failure on our hands and you have combustion gases leaking out at such a rate its popped the screen washer heater pipes and the heater matrix core in one nasty mess...

this is a pic I coloured in of a V8 heater system...





you could double check and try and work out which for the v12 here...

https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/e...221176/63v/83/

Last edited by BOTUS; Jul 17, 2024 at 12:04 PM.
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 01:30 PM
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Originally Posted by BOTUS
you could try and track the pathway for the stupid washer bottle heater.... unless those heater pipes come from the interior heater system somehow - I don't see how that extra bit of fun is part of the issue.... (but very unlikely to be a coincidence) unless !!!! we have a real catastrophic failure on our hands and you have combustion gases leaking out at such a rate its popped the screen washer heater pipes and the heater matrix core in one nasty mess...

this is a pic I coloured in of a V8 heater system...





you could double check and try and work out which for the v12 here...

https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/e...221176/63v/83/
If it did happen to break both of those, would possibly cause that?
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted by xx2pro4uxx21
If it did happen to break both of those, would possibly cause that?
Alright cool those diagrams help alot. This is what I see in one of them.

Where I saw the steam coming from and the vents that go under the center console are connected. If that is a hole in the top of the vents under the center console then it could be leaking water somehow into those tubes. Yet to be determined on that one.
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 04:11 PM
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taste the water if its sweet its likely got antifreeze....

mind u not sure on the later stuff
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Old Jul 17, 2024 | 07:31 PM
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Originally Posted by BOTUS
taste the water if its sweet its likely got antifreeze....

mind u not sure on the later stuff
Yes it does.
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Old Jul 22, 2024 | 06:05 AM
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i got bad news, probably the heater core. Which is inside the dash, it's gonna be an extensive repair
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Old Jul 22, 2024 | 05:48 PM
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Isn't there another evap coil/heat exchanger in the center console for the rear zone in cars with the dual zone option?
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Old Jul 23, 2024 | 05:20 AM
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for cars with optional rear heater buttons - those bits sit in the centre console... where a second AC evaporator, another heater matrix and separate blower motor is hiding.... with their heater valve (that goes wrong) in the wing behind the right front wheel (on my RHD car)
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Old Jul 23, 2024 | 05:24 AM
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water coming out the rear vents doesn't seem to explain the engine coolant spraying out the top of the windscreen washer bottle !!!!

I'm worried the engine has gone bang ! and its the massive pressure spike that has popped the rads / heater matrix
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Old Jul 23, 2024 | 04:51 PM
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It appears there may be multiple issues at hand.
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Old Jul 23, 2024 | 06:40 PM
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I agree. This sounds like a bad head gasket. He should check for hydrocarbons in the coolant.
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