Leaking roof or door?

[ianwayne]

I thought my 2003 Boxster just had heavy condensation, but on opening the passenger, door, I discovered the oddments tray on the passenger side sill had an inch of water in it! The carpet is damp in the footwell too.

A quick search leads me to the door drains and / or membrane. I put the hood in the service position last week to check the drain holes were clear and they were. Are there any at the front?

Does the oddments tray being full of water lead to an obvious areae to check? The window wasn't open, and the door panel seem fairly dry.

[m999psw]

Has anyone used the passenger door recently when its been raining? I noticed water in the tray but it wasn't damp anywhere else. I traced it back to opening the door in the rain or just after washing it, the window drops a bit an a few drops of water end up in the tray.

[Trev450]

If you are happy that the drains are not blocked, including those underneath the battery, then is possible the door membrane is damaged.

You also need to be aware that the ECU is under the passenger seat and can suffer if allowed to get wet.

[ianwayne]

Thanks, I didn't know there were drain holes beneath the battery.

I can't seem to find any drain holes in the door bottom itself, or on the driver's door either.

The carpetted area on the passenger door trim to the left of the door speaker and at the bottom is very wet so it looks like it's coming in through the door.

Edited by ianwayne on Friday 10th January 17:10

[Trev450]

ianwayne said:

Thanks, I didn't know there were drain holes beneath the battery.

I can't seem to find any drain holes in the door bottom itself, or on the driver's door either.

The carpetted area on the passenger door trim to the left of the door speaker and at the bottom is very wet so it looks like it's coming in through the door.

Edited by ianwayne on Friday 10th January 17:10

The door drain holes are under the seal. If you look carefully you can see where the seal is cut out to allow drainage.

[ianwayne]

Trev450 said:

The door drain holes are under the seal. If you look carefully you can see where the seal is cut out to allow drainage.

Thanks, I found them, the drain holes are more like rectangular vents. Pretty big really. The membrane was completely intact but as it happens, I found the front n/s drain hole mostly blocked with pine needles.

The little panels either side of the battery were hard to get off. The long torx screws just went round and round, the rubber / threaded inserts both gave way. I had to prise them out.

[ro55a]

It's pretty normal to have to prise those torx screws out. They have rubber ends that are supposed to let the screw back out but over time instead just let it twist so you pop them out. Don't waste your time trying to get the rubber end to seat again, just push back in using the head of the screw itself, the plastic cover/panel is not going anywhere.
Getting back to the orginal problem, yes the battery drain holes could cause the wet carpet and in and around interior but the door pockets? It won't cause that. Get a vax or something similar in there, make double sure all the drain holes are clear, dry the interior as much as possible and then trial and error with a hose. Maybe the window had dropped slightly to let the water in those door pockets and the drains being cleared will solve the problem, fingers crossed.

[ryanmcco]

Hi Guys

Sorry to jump on the thread but i thought it better than to open a new one..

I'm in a similar situation to ianwayne... really heavy condensation in the car as soon as the car has been sitting empty for a couple of minutes. I've looked at the rear drains and they are clear, the interior carpet is dry (cold these days in the uk), the doors feel dry and the footwells seem dry, under the seats too.

I've tried changing the A/C settings before stopping but the heavy condensation keeps appearing.

I bought the car in July, the previous owner had it in at his specialist and had noticed a drain hole had been blocked.. this had been cleared.. so i am dubious that its happened again 6 months later. I've also had the front Windscreen replaced after an encounter with some stones.

I had thought the front drain holes would end up in the front luggage area rather than the cabin.. is it that they drain to the entire car?.. a brief inspection without removing the covers looks reasonably clear.

But I haven't tried the doors, cant seem to see where the drains would be, has anyone got a photo they could share/link to?

Also if its just a case of water sitting in the car from the previous occurrence, how do I stop it steaming up and condensing?

thanks

[ro55a]

It's near impossible to work out whether the front drains are blocked without removing the covers and then actually sticking your fingers into the drain holes. I just bought a 2.7, been in and out of an OPC, new door membranes, reports on misting up inside. When I bought the car and after the test drive it completely steamed up.
Now when I took off the two front covers and looked inside the front scuttle/battery area no real problem, but I could no get my finger into either of the drain holes, completely solid with debris. Of course then you have a water trap and a lovely big pollen filter that provides direct access to the cabin. My pollen filter was soaking wet and when the heater/fan/AC goes on its working already with a wet filter plus water sloshing around behind it. Also, as far as I can work out, this scuttle does allow some water ingress if flooded.
So I cleared the drains, ran a hose through them to make double sure and then did the same for the rears also, again they look clear but two needed rodding and a run with the hose. So the car had a bill for £749 from an OPC and silly old me solved the problem with a finger, 20 mins and a hose.
If you want something done and done right, gotta roll up our sleeves boys.

[ianwayne]

ro55a said:

It's pretty normal to have to prise those torx screws out. They have rubber ends that are supposed to let the screw back out but over time instead just let it twist so you pop them out. Don't waste your time trying to get the rubber end to seat again, just push back in using the head of the screw itself, the plastic cover/panel is not going anywhere.
Getting back to the orginal problem, yes the battery drain holes could cause the wet carpet and in and around interior but the door pockets? It won't cause that. Get a vax or something similar in there, make double sure all the drain holes are clear, dry the interior as much as possible and then trial and error with a hose. Maybe the window had dropped slightly to let the water in those door pockets and the drains being cleared will solve the problem, fingers crossed.

I agree about the torx screws. The battery cover holds the 2 panels down anyway so I've reused the rubber grommets and just pushed the screws through.

The door pocket is dry. Its the tray on the sill that had water on it. The only part of the door trim that is wet is the bottom half inch, carpetted area. I'm still not 100% sure how it got past the inner door seal, the one you see attached to the car when the door is open.

[ianwayne]

ro55a said:

My pollen filter was soaking wet and when the heater/fan/AC goes on its working already with a wet filter plus water sloshing around behind it. Also, as far as I can work out, this scuttle does allow some water ingress if flooded.
So I cleared the drains, ran a hose through them to make double sure and then did the same for the rears also, again they look clear but two needed rodding and a run with the hose. So the car had a bill for £749 from an OPC and silly old me solved the problem with a finger, 20 mins and a hose.
If you want something done and done right, gotta roll up our sleeves boys.

Ah, now there's a possibility for me. The pollen filter was wet (and manky so there's something else to buy)so water may have got in that way, maybe as well as another.

[ro55a]

With the bottom of the door being wet I am guessing you've cleaned it or left out in the rain and the window was either left slightly open or it did not do its 5mm reseal when you closed/locked the door. You'll get there and in the process really get to know your car. Tell us how you get on.

[boxsey]

ianwayne said:

The door pocket is dry. Its the tray on the sill that had water on it. The only part of the door trim that is wet is the bottom half inch, carpetted area. I'm still not 100% sure how it got past the inner door seal, the one you see attached to the car when the door is open.

If the bottom of the carpet on the door is wet, you have a leaking door membrane. This will have been caused by the membrane being lifted in the past to repair something (most likely a broken window regulator). Getting a membrane to re-seal is nigh on impossible. It's better to replace the membrane while doing it - they are about 30 quid each.

[ryanmcco]

Thanks for the tips Ro55a!

Went out again today, had another feel around the doors, nothing... took your advice and jumped/climbed into the front boot and took the covers off... not sure why they bothered with the two screws!

The Left side was full of gunk.., but i was able to get a bit of it out on my finger and insert a rubber tube which i then tested with a watering can... The right side was a bit worse but again seemed to clear with a bit of encouragement.

The more central one... below the battery platform and an air duct was level and solid with bio-debris... that small area which would be behind my drivers console (uk) stayed flooded when it had a bit of water poured in and drained very slowly...

But again a bit of blowing into the rubber tube and it seems to be clear. Its far from perfect, but until I can get it with some compressed air.. it'll have to do.

Ian - have you been washing yours with a power washer? From what I can tell thinking about it, the volume of water needed probably wouldnt come from the rain.. it'd need to be a powerwashwer.

[ro55a]

No problem Ryan, glad to be of some help. From what you have described so far, sounds as if you'll see a marked improvement. Remember to check the pollen filter, which is to the right of the battery, covered by what you could only describe as a foam flap. If its wet, then you'll still get a bit of steaming.

[hollydog]

Has the hood ever been taken off the car.

[ianwayne]

I don't know if the hood has been off the car but even after being outside in the heavy rain during last week, it hasn't leaked again. It was either the front drain hole blockage, or maybe the window was slightly down.

[hollydog]

Where the hood foldS above the window . In the gap they is a small L shaped rubber. Where the fold closes together when the hood is closed. If the hood has been removed these can be easily missed out.

[gstev]

have similar issue with 987.1 3.4S, bought from OPC with 2 years warranty so they are fixing. Only had car a week when all electics shorted due to water ingress in passenger side. There was heavy condensation inside car but carpets not wet, could hear water sloshing around in passenger door! I noticed that the passenger window was not cleaning water from outside when lowered. OPC have still to confirm water leak source but will let you all know

[03 boxster beaverton]

I Have an 03 Boxster The roof drains have been cleared the Front drains have been cleared. Yet i still am getting water under the drivers seat? A lot i just put in a new module and dont want to buy another one. Does any one have ideas where else the water can be coming from? Its a high mile car 187K in great shape. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks