yet another wet carpet problem........

[randomist 0]

so far i've checked the door membrane & stuck it down good & proper, changed the foliage cover seal but my pasenger front carpet is wet! just noticed my windscreen has a crack in it right next to the drivers side wiper but not sure if it was there before i started faffing on or i've done it when i was re-fitting the trims when i changed the foliage cover.

 

probably a daft question but could a crack in my windscreen be the problem? would it let much water in?

 

also how do you check the sunroof drain holes?

 

looks like i'll be spending the weekend sitting in the car with a hosepipe on it till i find the leak!

 

any ideas or advice would be great.....

[PROVR6 0]

Sitting in the car with a hosepipe is a good idea and the best way to find the cause.

 

To check if its coming in through the foliage grill, you will get a slow drip from under the passenger glove compartment as the water travels down through the blower housing. Even if you have changed the seal, its worth sticking some sealent arount the plastic grill.

 

Its worth poking some thin wire into the 4 sunroof holes as far as it will go to to make sure they're not blocked.

 

If the water was coming in through a crack in the windscreen, would you not see water on your dash?

[fla 9]

You probably dont want to sit IN the car with a hosepipe, LOL. Before you use the hose on the car, lay some newspaper down inside in the footwells, front and rear and go all the way up to the firewall. That way you'll see the track of water and will be able to trace it back. Dont leave it too long though, obviously, otherwise it wont work. Let us know how you get on.

[LisaK 0]

You probably dont want to sit IN the car with a hosepipe, LOL..

But it's alright to stand outside with the hosepipe in the car then? ;)

[randomist 0]

well the car's getting a new windscreen fitted today, just waiting to hear when it's ready. hopefully that'll fix the leak but i'm still going to do the hosepipe test tomorrow. i'll post up if i find anything out.

[Goldie 2]

Whos fitting your screen Gary? If they do a decent job i may have to get them to do mine...

[randomist 0]

its rac autowindscreen on scotswood rd over newcastle. i'll let you know what kinda job they do but it i might've just struck lucky. the guy who's doing mine is being asessed & he's hoping to go up a pay scale so he'll be trying to do the best job he can! ( or at least he'd better! )

[fla 9]

What you could also try in the meantime is to remove the inner trim around the windscreen and use the hose to see if the window seal is intact. This will usually run round te frame and down the door seal. Again, if you put some newspaper around that will help pinpoint it further. HTH.

[randomist 0]

just got my car back after getting a new screen fitted & hopefully my leak will be fixed........ when i got there they showed me a pic of a 3 inch patch of rust with a half inch hole near the driver side wiper that they suspect was letting the water in. it's been rubbed down, primed & patch up so hopefully that'll sort the problem. they also said a couple of gromits were missing in the engine bay ( i think he meant bulkhead ) which they've also replaced so maybe that wasn't helping matters either?

they had the car over 6 hours so fingers crossed they've done a decent job, will post up if anything happens.

[randomist 0]

well it's been pxxsing down all day & so far the carpets are nice & dry! looks like it was the windscreen causing the leak. think i would've cried if the carpet was still getting wet but for now it looks like the problem's gone away. at least till the next problem arises...........

[fla 9]

glad you got it sorted!

[randomist 0]

well i thought the problem was all sorted after i had a new windscreen fitted but i've noticed the passenger side rear carpet is still wet. thought it might just be taking a long time to dry out but it's noticeably wetter now. the only thing i haven't checked are the sunroof drain holes, mainly coz i've no idea what i'm doing! i done a search & apparently you poke a bit of wire down the drain holes, is this right? also is there anywhere else the water can come in? like i've said before i've totally sealed by door membrane, changed the foliage cover, checked all the trim & seals round the doors & fitted a new windscreen. this is really doing my head in so any help would be great.

 

cheer

[pete_griff 0]

how much coolant does your car use - have you checked the level recently.

 

mine didn't use all that much even when my matrix was leaking, but it was still enough to make a nice wet mess inside the car.

 

might be worth investigating that - corrados are unfortunately prone to suffering from heater matrix issues as they get older.

if it is the matrix then it is possible to change it with the dash still in the car (depending on how handy you are with the spanners) but be warned - it's a pig of a job!

[randomist 0]

i was thinking it could be the heater matrix but wouldn't that make the front passenger footwell wet? that's bone dry so that's making me think it could be coming in through the sunroof drainholes or somewhere else from the back.

[pete_griff 0]

you should check the sunroof first - easy to check - just slide it back (if it still slides and hasn't broken) and get a jug of water and carefully empty it into the drip tray. you should be able to watch it go down all four holes without sitting in the tray. if it doesn't then you have a blockage somewhere. also if it does go down nice and easily that doesn't still mean all is well. sit inside the car and see if you can see any obvious signs of water ingress. i have seen (for whatever reason...) the 4 water hoses come lose and not hold the water on it's way out as they should - another one to check.

 

also just because the front carpets aren't wet, doesn't mean it's not getting in at the front - it could be getting in at the front and then running towards the back and collecting there (is your car parked on a slight slope?). by the time you get out to the car the fronts could have dried out and the rears will still be wet where it has collected...

 

i would suspect the matrix before the sunroof if it has never been done, but the sunroof is (hopefully) as fairly easy one to see if it's leaking or not.

the best way you can tell with the matrix (short of getting the carpets up) is to monitor the amount of coolant your car is using.

 

hope you get it sorted :)

[randomist 0]

this is really doing my head him in! i've now found water in the drivers side footwell which must be running into to back footwell. i had a new stat put in the car 3 weeks ago & the coolant is still where it was so hopefully that'll rule out the heater matrix, checked the sunroof drain holes & all is working well there. i'm running out of ideas as to where the water's coming in, any other ideas? i'm thinking of pulling all the carpets out to see if that helps locate the leak!!!

[TomD 0]

Mine has the exact same problem, after the really heavy rain this weekend my drivers footwell literally had standing water in it. I'm guessing if its drivers side its not heater matrix or the foliage filter etc.

 

What else apart from the door seal/membrane can it be?

[lilfuzzer 1]

Have a go of taking the a pillars off and headlining trim then hose the car will someone sits in it. Had my screen replaced couple of months ago and they have been back twice because they didnt seal it properly, still not fixed yet very small hole in the seal so not alot come in going to do it myself this time to make it is sorted with some windscreen sealer.

 

Have you tried blowing through the sunroof run offs cause they may have small leaves in that the wire can poke through but water is struggling.

 

just a couple of thoughts may be worth a try

[randomist 0]

i've been thinking it could be coming in through the screen but there's never been water in the drivers side but now there is. i'll try a few other things but if that doesn't sort it then i think i'll be taking the whole interior out & see if i can see where it's coming in. thanks for giving me a few more ideas anyway, think i'm going to be rather busy over the festive period!

[TomD 0]

My sunroof used to leak and when it let water in the headlining was soaking etc - but its all dry up top now.

 

Thats why I'm thinking windscreen (probably lower portion) or door seal.

 

Looks like I've got a mission over xmas too! :D

[fezzer 0]

did you ever get to root of problem. i have exactly same problem. heater matrix replaced a few months back and temporarily fixed problem. but back with a vengeance now. put some screen wash in and water seems to smell of that?

[fla 9]

If is smells of washer fluid it may be the pipe running to the rear screen spray. Worth checking the route for damage and that the nozzle has not become disconnected.