water on the inside of roof n windows

[Clutchhappy]

Hello mx5'ers!
little problem of massive amounts of water droplets on the inside of my beatiful much loved mx5 mk2 roof and windows. I've done my research and am prepared now with curtain write to go out tomorrow on a mission to unblock the drains. I did look today but i couldn't find the holes. my thinking is that there is so much water there that it was iced up this morning when i looked. I was thinking of putting salt there tomorrow? Hmm.any tips would be appreciated. I'm a girl, no idea about these things and not wanting to pay £50 for garage to do it.
is there anything else i should do? Are there any other drains apart from the ones that are impossible to reach behind the seats?
P.s. I also noticed that everything in my boot stinks of mould...! Pls help
Thanks

[Lazygraduate]

Clutchhappy said:

Hello mx5'ers!
little problem of massive amounts of water droplets on the inside of my beatiful much loved mx5 mk2 roof and windows. I've done my research and am prepared now with curtain write to go out tomorrow on a mission to unblock the drains. I did look today but i couldn't find the holes. my thinking is that there is so much water there that it was iced up this morning when i looked. I was thinking of putting salt there tomorrow? Hmm.any tips would be appreciated. I'm a girl, no idea about these things and not wanting to pay £50 for garage to do it.
is there anything else i should do? Are there any other drains apart from the ones that are impossible to reach behind the seats?
P.s. I also noticed that everything in my boot stinks of mould...! Pls help
Thanks

You'll find the drain holes tucked away underneath a little flap of carpet in the space just behind the seatbelt pillars, but bear in mind you can only really find them when you have folded the roof down! You can then poke your curtain wire down there (carefully!) until it comes out of the bottom of the sill (usually accompanied by about a pint of rusty water !) and then it should be clear.

To be honest though, it sounds like you've got leaky door seals or the roof-to-window seal may be dodgy. The boot can leak too often through the seal which perishes over time. Apparently vaseline can help here but I have never tried it.

Obviously you will probably need to fix the problem but in the meantime you can try and dry the affected areas out by putting some of that absorbent cat litter and leaving it in an open topped box in the damp areas. If its sopping wet this won't help but it will absorb some of the moisture if it's just a case of residual dampness!

Hope this helps a bit!

[vescaegg]

I did mine this morning funnily enough as the windows were getting wet inside. They were full of gunk and almost totally blocked (havent done them for a few months ).

My system is to put both seats as far forwards as possible and back into the car arse first and sit on the centre arm rest fancing the door. From there you can lean over into the parcel shelf and get a good look. Its far easier than doing it with the roof down I find!

This is what youre looking for;



Its harder to get to than it looks in the picture and the picture is from a Left Hand Drive!

Edited by vescaegg on Sunday 2nd December 15:00

Edited by vescaegg on Sunday 2nd December 15:01

[gdaybruce]

There might be nothing wrong with your drain holes (although worth checking). Mine are clear but I too have had a fair bit of condensation recently. But then again, we've had incredibly wet weather followed by sub zero temperatures so I don't think it's any surprise that a car with a single skin fabric roof is going to develop condensation. The answer is regular use but mine was standing on the drive for a fortnight before I took it for a run yesterday.

One solution which I keep meaning to try is a couple of bags of cat litter at the base of the windscreen to absorb the moisture.

[Eighteeteewhy]

It's easier to poke the holes from below.





















:-/

[Locknut]

Clutchhappy said:

.... my thinking is that there is so much water there that it was iced up this morning when i looked. I was thinking of putting salt there tomorrow?

Whatever else you do: no NOT put salt in there!

[MX-5 Lazza]

If there is condensation then water is getting in somewhere.

Check the carpets for damp, particularly under the carpets behind the seats and down in the foot-wells both sides. Also check in the boot, particularly under the carpets & in the well and on a Mk2, under the spare wheel and battery well. If there is any damp at all then you have a water leak somewhere, the location of the damp being a clue as to the location of the leak though it can move a surprising amount i.e. hood drain tubes/cracked rain rail can cause damp on the floor behind the seats and even as far as the foot-wells (the ecu is in the passenger foot-well and is in real danger if there is damp down there).

Keep the hood waterproof.
Make sure the hood drain tubes clear.
Make sure the sill drain holes are clear.
Make sure the door seal drain tubes are clear.
Check for cracked hood above the side windows or shrunken hood exposing the seals.
Check Frankenstein bolts aren't leaking.
Check rear lamp cluster seals for signs of leaking.
Make sure pipe is correctly attached to drain next to fuel cap.
Check hood rain-rail for cracks.

[CDP]

Locknut said:

Clutchhappy said:

.... my thinking is that there is so much water there that it was iced up this morning when i looked. I was thinking of putting salt there tomorrow?

Whatever else you do: no NOT put salt in there!

Surely that has to be a joke?

[Slyjoe]

OK - same problem, but i've found my drain holes, and they are now clear. However, the drivers side roof to window seal pisses water in from the middle joint and now the A pillar, is there a fix for this please?

[ApexJimi]

Locknut said:

Clutchhappy said:

.... my thinking is that there is so much water there that it was iced up this morning when i looked. I was thinking of putting salt there tomorrow?

Whatever else you do: no NOT put salt in there!

Fork me, missed this bit!

Do NOT put salt anywhere!

[vescaegg]

Slyjoe said:

OK - same problem, but i've found my drain holes, and they are now clear. However, the drivers side roof to window seal pisses water in from the middle joint and now the A pillar, is there a fix for this please?

There are front drain holes too. Probably blocked.

Or just new seals required....


http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=319763[...

Edited by vescaegg on Tuesday 4th December 18:53

[Clutchhappy]

I'm so sorry. I haven't been able to log in to respond thanks to the site taking ages to send password reminder n email verification.

Thanks for your replies. I got out on Sunday and had a real job of clearing my frozen drains. I used hot water instead of salt you'll be pleased to know . Its definitely loads better in the front, but the back window and boot lid seem to constantly covered in water.

Could anyone advise where these other things to clear are?

i will put some cat let in the boot to try and soak it up

Thanks v much!

[Clutchhappy]

MX-5 Lazza said:

If there is condensation then water is getting in somewhere.

Check the carpets for damp, particularly under the carpets behind the seats and down in the foot-wells both sides. Also check in the boot, particularly under the carpets & in the well and on a Mk2, under the spare wheel and battery well. If there is any damp at all then you have a water leak somewhere, the location of the damp being a clue as to the location of the leak though it can move a surprising amount i.e. hood drain tubes/cracked rain rail can cause damp on the floor behind the seats and even as far as the foot-wells (the ecu is in the passenger foot-well and is in real danger if there is damp down there).

Keep the hood waterproof.
Make sure the hood drain tubes clear.
Make sure the sill drain holes are clear.
Make sure the door seal drain tubes are clear.
Check for cracked hood above the side windows or shrunken hood exposing the seals.
Check Frankenstein bolts aren't leaking.
Check rear lamp cluster seals for signs of leaking.
Make sure pipe is correctly attached to drain next to fuel cap.
Check hood rain-rail for cracks.

I'll work my way through this advice if i can work out what these parts are.. In terms of waterproofing the hood, do i need to do this for a plastic hood? I notice that the fabric layer on the inside has been a bit wet recently (omg i hope this isn't gonna cost me a fortune).

[MX-5 Lazza]

Renovo Vinyl Hood Cleaner
Renovo Vinyl Hood Ultra Proofer

I do mine twice a year

[Eighteeteewhy]

Clutchhappy said:

I'm so sorry. I haven't been able to log in to respond thanks to the site taking ages to send password reminder n email verification.

Thanks for your replies. I got out on Sunday and had a real job of clearing my frozen drains. I used hot water instead of salt you'll be pleased to know . Its definitely loads better in the front, but the back window and boot lid seem to constantly covered in water.

Could anyone advise where these other things to clear are?

i will put some cat let in the boot to try and soak it up

Thanks v much!

Have you checked the Frankenstein bolts?

[MX-5 Lazza]

ClutchHappy - whereabouts are you? Your profile says London but that doesn't help that much...

[Clutchhappy]

I'm really surprised. Last time I looked at waterproofing my hood the word was that I didn't have to bother on a plastic hood. If you think its needed then I'll get on and order some of that stuff now & and trombone cleaner. I've had the car 15 months and not done hood (or drains!) so perhaps this is the problem.

I live in St Albans now - any other MX5ers here to show me around my car? : )

I haven't had a chance to go out to my car in daylight yet but will have a look for these funny named bolts at the weekend.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Water should bead and run off the hood just like it would from freshly waxed bodywork. When it's left unprotected for a while it starts soaking up the rain instead of repelling it. It still shouldn't come through the hood but will contribute to damp & mould on the inside.

[Clutchhappy]

Ok. From memory, I'd say I dont recall the rain beading on the hood. I've ordered the cleaner and the waterproofer online so will have to wait for it to arrive and for a weekend to do it.

This forum is so helpful. Thanks very much.

[blueheron]

Have had condensation on the inside of my boot lid, so guess it's time to clear the drain holes.

Question - Are they tricky to access with a hard top on?