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Dear Steve,
May this find you well. Although the air conditioning evaporator is surrounded by gaskets, I'd guess that condensation can get to the fan housing area, which is to the right of the evaporator (from inside the car, facing the firewall).
At some point, the condensate drain could have become clogged. Rather than clearing it, the former owner drilled a "drain hole" in the floor of the fan enclosure. If Volvo's engineers had wanted t hole to be put there, they'd have specified it and it would have been done.
The first thing to do is to plug that hole. Butyl rubber - a sticky black sealant used on heating/air conditioning systems and to install some windshields - will work well. Most auto supply stores should have it. If not, then go to a place that installs auto glass.
All you need do is press the butyl into the hole. Extend the butyl onto the fan enclosure's outer surface to the diameter of a nickel (3/4" / 20 mm).
If you wish, you can probe the condensate drain. Use a piece of coat hanger wire. Use a needle-nose pliers to fold over the cut end. The end of the probe wire will thus be rounded. Alternatively, you can use a long pipe cleaner. The wire in a pipe cleaner is too soft to do any damage. Do not probe the drain opening with anything that has a point!!!
The best time to do this is after a long drive, when there is a "pool" of condensate.
Very gently, insert the wire into the drain opening, that is found on the firewall, on the passenger side of the engine bay (North American models). The probe won't need to go in very far, as the drain opening comes right out of the evaporator enclosure. Turn the wire gently, in both directions.
The draining water will wash out any remaining debris. This, and plugging the "drain hole" in the fan enclosure, is likely to solve the problem.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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