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Rain leak into car. Help!!!

Jim Audiomisc said:
Mumble years ago a friend of mine owned an MGA. The 'pram top' leaked like a goodun'. So he drilled some holes in the floor to let the water out again. :)"QUOTE]

My MGA Coupé had the opposite problem. I drove through a puddle in the dark and was drenched as water came in at the passenger footwell and bounced off the roof. Good job I didn't have a passenger!
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Note that not all such watery problems are due to leaks from the outside.
For a while in my case an aircon leak/blockage was suspected. That happens sometimes apparently.
 
Mechanic today suggested I check out sunroof of Honda Jazz - some internal channel gets clogged up and needs sorting out with a coat hanger rod; water turns up metres away from the sun roof and blah blah was too busy trying keep the car on the road with duct tape to worry about how it's turning into a fish bowl inside
 
It only happens to me in the rain, so I guess that rules out aircon.

if anyone knows a mechanic with a smoke machine accessible from Wimbledon, who may be for investigating, please PM me. I’ve just been battling with a tarpaulin in the wind and rain, trying to cover the bastard car. Which I hate.
 
I remember on one of my Octavias water was getting trapped in the boot seal and ending in boot. I made a couple holes in seal to allow the water to drain.
 
mandryka said:
It only happens to me in the rain, so I guess that rules out aircon.

if anyone knows a mechanic with a smoke machine accessible from Wimbledon, who may be for investigating, please PM me. I’ve just been battling with a tarpaulin in the wind and rain, trying to cover the bastard car. Which I hate.
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Possibly but if you use the aircon the evaporator inside the car can get covered in ice from the moist air. If you have a partly blocked drain it may be sufficient when the air is drier but not when it is full of moisture.
Having said that, it sounds like your problem is coming from somewhere else judging by its location.
How much water comes in when it rains?
 
It rained very heavily all night Wednesday and there was about a 0.25L in the tire well.

There's something else I don't think I mentioned, which is somehow water seems to be accumulating in the front passenger footwell too -- I have no idea how it is moving.

Someone has suggested drilling a drainage hole in the spare tire well.
 
mandryka said:
It rained very heavily all night Wednesday and there was about a 0.25L in the tire well.

There's something else I don't think I mentioned, which is somehow water seems to be accumulating in the front passenger footwell too -- I have no idea how it is moving.

Someone has suggested drilling a drainage hole in the spare tire well.
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You might have two leaks! It would not be the first time.
Can you remove the carpet/cover/shelf over the spare wheel well, the spare wheel, dry everything then pressure wash or hose or car wash the vehicle, if you are happy using one, with nothing in the boot and check for ingress whilst you do? If it is ending up in the wheel well and there is nothing in the boot to obscure the view, when it gets wet it should be easy to spot as the water trickles in. Half a pint overnight is not insignificant and should show quite easily.
The MK2 Mondeo used to leak via the rear lights, amongst other places, fill the spare wheel well but a trickle managed to split off the main flow and find its way under the rear carpet and wick forwards from there and soak the front footwell because there was a slope from rear to front. Carpets can often feel dry until you lift them and check the foam underneath. Where it puddles is just the lowest place and it can be confusing but finding where the water is coming in to fill the wheel well should not be difficult.
Drilling a hole does not realy solve the problem because you are getting water else where although it may make the moisture content, in the vehicle, a bit lower. Much better to fix it.
I assume it mists up inside quite easily?
 
My old S1 RS Turbo used to leak terribly in the rain when I bought it, it first accumulated in the rear passenger footwells behind the drivers and passenger seats. Traced to rear light cluster seals, it was coming into the boot and running down the rear seat bench floor pan and into the footwells.

Did the old trick mentioned above and climbed inside whilst someone poured water over it, found it in seconds. Couple of seals and a smear of silicone and it was sorted.

Shouldn't be a big job at all really.
 
I had water ingress from the secondary brake light strip on the roof above the rear hatch on my Peugeot 107 that was fixed with some sealant. If your Micra has something similar , it might be worth checking
 
Sunroof in one of my scabby & track abused Imprezas started leaking - you only knew it because footwell carpets got wet, water travelled down interior without being noticed. Checking on enthusiast forums, there’s a plastic drain pipe that can pop off - hours stripping out sunroof and head lining to fix it. I just duck taped the sunroof :)

I was looking for a new donor car for the running gear at the time, as the bodyshell was so knackered after track abuse - chassis flexed so much that parking one wheel on a curb meant you couldn’t open rear doors (& flex was probably why drain hose popped off).

Duck tape lasted 6 months through a Swiss winter without problem - not the greatest look though!
 
mandryka said:
It rained very heavily all night Wednesday and there was about a 0.25L in the tire well.

There's something else I don't think I mentioned, which is somehow water seems to be accumulating in the front passenger footwell too -- I have no idea how it is moving.

Someone has suggested drilling a drainage hole in the spare tire well.
Click to expand...
there's enough advice here to mend any leak. A small hole in the well will allow it to escape for now and do no harm while you fix the real problem. It's easy. Get the wet carpets out of the boot and let them dry. Then fold the seats down and get in with a roll of kitchen or an old towel. If it's raining, dry any wet bits and just sit/lie there till you find it. If it's not raining you need a helper with a watering can or plant sprayer. Then seal it up. Alternatively, take it to any competent mechanic. I've done dozens like this, anyone who can't fix a simple leak and professes to know about cars needs to give up.
 
Another trick worth trying is to sprinkle talcum powder on the dry boot floor and it will show up the path of any water getting in from the light seals or wherever. This will work even as you sleep, so definitely worth a try!
 
The road I park on has a rather steep camber and water pours in if it rains hard ,one of the sunroof drains must be blocked!If I park it flat or sloped away from the drain all is OK otherwise the Battery compartment fills up with water.(BMW 530i)
 
I’ve seen similar issues on a couple of Honda cars over the years. An old crx had two issues, firstly the tray that supported the sunroof rusted and fragments break off and block the drain tubes, water then spills out of the tray onto the top side of the roof liner and flows downward quite often down onto the ecu behind the drivers seat.

The other had in effect a pipe that stuck out of the boot floor which also rusted and let sunroof water into the boot.
What surprised me was the length of these plastic tubes, starting from the rear of the sunroof tray and on the coupe the water exited behind the mud flaps for the rear wheels.
 
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