What’s this puddle???

[Marty Funkhouser]

Help needed. The Funkhousers went off to Italy today to take a well earned break as befits a powerfully built company director and his family. As I dropped the family wagon (56 plate Volvo XC90) at the meet and greet I noticed a drip under the car - see photo below. Any ideas what this could be? We didn’t have time to sort it as we had a plane to catch so am just wondering what fun awaits when we return in a week or so…

[elanfan]

Aircon condensation

[Marty Funkhouser]

Never had the aircon running for the entire journey to the airport

[iDave]

Dip your finger in and taste it.
Sweetish twang to it, coolant.
Bitter taste, brake fluid.
No taste, condensation/air con drain.

Sniff test, does it smell of diesel? It's diesel.
Does it smell of petrol? Petrol.
It should be one, but you'd hope neither.

Sight test, does it look like oil? It's probably oil, not good.

Thank you.

[The Moose]

Is that a front or rear wheel? I presume rear - something diff related?

[Desiderata]

Looks like it's under the rear of the car.. so either oil from the rear diff, or fuel from the tank?

[Marty Funkhouser]

That’s the front wheel. It looks like it was at the rear of the engine/ in front of the bulkhead. Didn’t get a chance to taste it as had a plane to catch.

[Desiderata]

Marty Funkhouser said:

That’s the front wheel. It looks like it was at the rear of the engine/ in front of the bulkhead. Didn’t get a chance to taste it as had a plane to catch.

In that case, more like power steering fluid from the rack.

[Funky Squirrel]

On some modern cars the air con is permanently on for cooling other engine components. The switch on the dash just stops the cabin from being cooled. Not sure that on an older Volvo this was the case but it may be possible.

[The Moose]

Marty Funkhouser said:

That’s the front wheel. It looks like it was at the rear of the engine/ in front of the bulkhead. Didn’t get a chance to taste it as had a plane to catch.

No idea then. There's quite a lot it could be. It also could be a coincidence from another vehicle...or was it dripping at the time?

[Richard-D]

iDave said:

Dip your finger in and taste it.
Sweetish twang to it, coolant.
Bitter taste, brake fluid.
No taste, condensation/air con drain.

Sniff test, does it smell of diesel? It's diesel.
Does it smell of petrol? Petrol.
It should be one, but you'd hope neither.

Sight test, does it look like oil? It's probably oil, not good.

Thank you.

What does dog piss that was deposited before you parked taste like?

[The Moose]

Richard-D said:

What does dog piss that was deposited before you parked taste like?

Dog piss of course.

[Richard-D]

The Moose said:

Richard-D said:

What does dog piss that was deposited before you parked taste like?

Dog piss of course.

As you have experience of it maybe you could describe the taste.

[Fabric]

Funky Squirrel said:

On some modern cars the air con is permanently on for cooling other engine components.

[The Moose]

Richard-D said:

The Moose said:

Richard-D said:

What does dog piss that was deposited before you parked taste like?

Dog piss of course.

As you have experience of it maybe you could describe the taste.

Like piss but from dogs.

[Vintagejock]

Richard-D said:

The Moose said:

Richard-D said:

What does dog piss that was deposited before you parked taste like?

Dog piss of course.

As you have experience of it maybe you could describe the taste.

Carling.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Richard-D said:

The Moose said:

Richard-D said:

What does dog piss that was deposited before you parked taste like?

Dog piss of course.

As you have experience of it maybe you could describe the taste.

Depends if the dog is diabetic or has been eating asparagus.

[Draxindustries1]

Well, it's definitely not dog piss dripping from the car.
It looks to be oil (could be wrong) and being dark either engine oil or power steering fluid.
If its that much from just standing there it's a major leak.
Check the engine oil level plus gearbox if its an auto with a dipstick and p/s level.
Or..it could just be water from the air con dryer..

[Draxindustries1]

Funky Squirrel said:

On some modern cars the air con is permanently on for cooling other engine components. The switch on the dash just stops the cabin from being cooled. Not sure that on an older Volvo this was the case but it may be possible.

Just no....

[Plymo]

Did you actually see it dripping? You might be lucky and it will have been from a previous car...
When you pick it up, check all the fluids (especially brake fluid!) and if they're ok go for a short drive and then park to see if there's any drips or any more puddles forming, just in case.