Drivers side and back footwell soaked

[richardvilla]

I have drained the plenums which were full of water. There was water also in the boot which weve got rid of but still the drivers side and under the seat are soaked. Where else can the leaks be coming from? No sign of seats or doors wet
:confused:

[ProfDave]

well if the plenums were full then water would have come into the car through the front. Have you dried this out (it is quite a task iven the volume of water that can be under the floor covering!!) Easiest it seems if you can take out the carpets.

I am guessing you do not have a sunroof as this is an obvious issue as the drain tubes are pushed in to a rubbishy connector with some tape!!!

[Parker]

Check the seals on the rear light clusters, often water in here can make it to the front and check the side trims are secured, especially those on the rear wings, access via the boot. Worst scenario leaking trims around the screen or rear window.

[richardvilla]

Thanks both

Prof my ZT does have a sunroof and it has bits of water round it, but how would this make it to the bottom?

Thought id cured it when draining the plenums but as you say maybe the build up of water over time has caused it.:mad:

[Parker]

There are channels for the sunroof that become blocked and yes if they are water enters the car, rod these also to make sure they are clear.

[richardvilla]

Sorry for sounding daft Parker but where are the channels to drain? Totally new to these cars had her 5 weeks. Wonder if all this water has caused the heater blower/wipers to malfunction?

[Dave Goody]

Sorry for sounding daft Parker but where are the channels to drain? Totally new to these cars had her 5 weeks. Wonder if all this water has caused the heater blower/wipers to malfunction?

Quite likely if the ECU got drowned. you need to check the plenums every few weeks in autumn [leaf fall] make certain no leaves in the plenum as you can unblock one day and another leaf can block the drain the next time it rains.

[Plezier]

I have drained the plenums which were full of water.

Then if they were full you have got a soggy ECU and there is your electrical bugs.

When the water gets high enough it soaks the ECU, not good at all, then spill over through the pollen filter in the cabin under the carpets were the foam holds it and keeps everything wet under there doing it's rotten work.

I had no idea mine were wet until i lifted the nearside to replace a faulty Side Impact sensor. It was sodden and the water had corroded the sensor which is why it failed.

[richardvilla]

Thanks Dave and Plezier for following up my "heater blower/wiper" issue.

Do i need to get the ecu out and dry it out? For a novice that sounds terrifying lol.

It would make sense, because 10 minutes into a journey when things have warmed up they come on! Would it be that the wipers/heater work when engine is off because its just the battery controlling them, and when the engines on because the ECU is moist it cant program poperly?

[Dave Goody]

Thanks Dave and Plezier for following up my "heater blower/wiper" issue.

Do i need to get the ecu out and dry it out? For a novice that sounds terrifying lol.

It would make sense, because 10 minutes into a journey when things have warmed up they come on! Would it be that the wipers/heater work when engine is off because its just the battery controlling them, and when the engines on because the ECU is moist it cant program poperly?

Yes you need to get it out and dry it thoroughly. If it is damaged the "ECU Doctor" gets good reviews. The type of fault you report does sound like an ecu issue Dave

[richardvilla]

Dave ill do that, ill find the thread on here how to remove it.

But, one thing thats niggling me a bit ive looked at my battery and its a 510a 55ah ive looked in the manual and its supposed to be a 75ah (i have a 2.5l ZT 190)

Just wondering could this be a possible cause also? The battery looks very small for the compartment its in.

[VXman]

Do check your sun roof drains too. There are four drain holes in the corners of the sunroof (you can see them when the roof is open)

The front ones run down a tube down the front pillars, through the corner of the front dash and exit out in the wheel arch. The exit can become blocked or the tube can disconnect under the dash. Try pouring some water down the drain holes and see if it exits in the wheel arch.

The rear ones go to the rear wheel arches. Not sure of the route.

If your rear carpets are wet underneath they are a ****** to dry. Mine have gallons of water soaked in the foam underneath even though the carpet appears dry on top.

[kaiser]

I have drained the plenums which were full of water. There was water also in the boot which weve got rid of but still the drivers side and under the seat are soaked. Where else can the leaks be coming from? No sign of seats or doors wet
:confused:


The water under the seat can come from the rear light seals, and will remain here until mopped up.
Another source is from the rear drains on the sunroof. They are routed behind the rear doors in the pillars, and terminate in the boot behind the wheel arches. The rubber release tube is accessible from under the car, through a small flap rear of the rear wheel arch. If that rubber tube gets blocked, it will overflow above the rubber, where the plastic tube just is press fitted into the rubber, that is in the boot!!. I cut the lower part ("the valve") off my rubber discharge tube.
Daft design.
The designers of these cars really lack common sense in many instances.

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=95466&highlight=sunroof+rear

As for drying the carpets. Dry, squeeze and vacuum as much water as possible. After this place a nice fat edition of the newspaper under the carpet. Replace it daily, until dry. (That is the best use of most newspapers in any case!!)

[HarryM1BYT]

Sorry for sounding daft Parker but where are the channels to drain? Totally new to these cars had her 5 weeks. Wonder if all this water has caused the heater blower/wipers to malfunction?

There are four drains for the sunroof, one at each corner. the two front ones drain via the pipes which pass down the A posts, then under the kick panels at the inner wing side by your feet. The rear pipes pass down the D posts, into the boot and are hidden behind the boot side carpet trims, by the rear wheel arches.

Artic documented a mod to improve the connection between the pipe ends and the short bit of pipe which exits the car through the floor, a joint which tends to sometimes leak.

[ProfDave]

yeap; the most likely passenger side flooding if not the plenum is the connector (the word used in its loosest sense) that takes the water from the sun roof out through the bulkhead.

Its easy to get to you just take out the glove box and you will see the engineering solution to make it fit was some tape!

The Arctic mod is great; clean it all up though and make sure all the turds have been flushed out of the pipe!

Its all here

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=122553

loads of water can get in this way

There are other drain outlets too but as a starter for ten this is quite a quick job

[John Evans]

I have read the theory on the tape many times on here, but could I perhaps suggest that the tape on the drain tubes was not put there to improve the fit or take an active part in forming a seal.

The tapes purpose would have been to provide a quick visual check that the pipes were pushed fully home. Little or no tape visible, pipe fully home....lots of tape visible....give them another push....simple, and still commonly in use today.

I say this with several years automotive experience working for various tier-one suppliers to major comanies that just happen to have included Rover, MG, Jaguar, Rolls Royce and many others and many hours spent time trackside resolving quality issues during assembly in several car plants.

When I reworked my cars sunroof drains I did notice that the tubing on the front drains had hardened below the tape. A possible unconsidered reaction from the tapes adhesive reacting with the pipes plasticiser.

Whether all are the same I cannot comment, but the pipe material on my car was different front to back and only the fronts had hardened.

In respect of any electrical problems relating to indicators, air con/heater fans, wipers not turning off or in my case wipers also coming on when the ignition was turned off etc I can only speak from bitter experience. Their cause was all down to a flooded boot, that also took-out part of my audio system. All returned to normal, with the exception of the audio when the boot and the saturated wiring completely dried out. But it was several days, and they came back on-line slowly and one at a time. Simply draining the boot was not enough.

So feel free to check out the ECU and the plenums, but do not underestimate a wet boot. When the plenums are confirmed empty (ish), make a good job of drying out the boot and find the source of the leak or leaks.

[kraanc]

But, one thing thats niggling me a bit ive looked at my battery and its a 510a 55ah ive looked in the manual and its supposed to be a 75ah (i have a 2.5l ZT 190)

Just wondering could this be a possible cause also? The battery looks very small for the compartment its in.

I also have 55ah battery in my ZT 190, and it all works fine, except winter, when temperature drops below -20°C. Then i had to bring it indoors, otherwise it just couldn't hold the charge. Also short drives is to blame for not charging the battery. So i doubt it has anything to do with your electronics.