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Drains?

Geezer 911

Well-known member
Joined
14 Aug 2017
Messages
115
Morning,

Randomly the car has started to stream up inside the car when it rains. Also the inside of the headlights are started to steam up.Even with the heating/fan full blast it is difficult to evaporate the condensation from inside the car. I checked front drains by the battery and they looked fine. There has been a lot of torrential rain over the last few months and no doubt this has caused something to block somewhere.

Has anyone else experienced this? I be grateful for any recommendations to remedy this.

Thanks in advance
 
I've only once had this before, but not in a Porsche.
It was in a Diahatsu Sportrack & turned out to be a leaking heater matrix.
It was leaking into the cabin& saturating the carpet too. You might smell a sweet smell of inhibitor in the cabin. Also if the windscreen clears easier on cold setting, that would confirm it.

For my problem, the whole dash had to come out to replace it, but I have a feeling the 911 has a better design & may be accessible from the outside...
 
I get this too. No issue with matrix leaks as no coolant loss. I gather there are sunroof drains but I'm damned if I can see them! Net curtain wire ready if some kind soul could post a picture? Depends if OP has a sunroof as to whether this is relevant I guess :)
 
Depending on the car then it can be several places that can leak .

Im just wondering though .. does your a/c work ? if so is it efficient enough .

Steamed windows will clear very quick with a/c on .. it does after all remove moisture from inside the car .. hence the puddle under your cars when its been stationary and idleing !

Just getting in and out of the car adds water if its wet outside .. in winter windows are always shut and we breath out moisture .

Basically .. its not always a leak that causes this .

Ok so leaks ..

At the front , usual drain holes either side of the battery .

Behind the battery is a foam panel .. the heater pipes go through it and its where the heater matrix is .. this can come unstuck but more normally mice love to chew through it .

If your missing any of the bulkhead covers .. over battery and either side.

If you have had a windscreen replaced in the last few monthes .. not all of them are sealed properly .. i Have seen it .

Sunroof drains .. to be fair they dont really block but if they do then you will have water dripping out of the roof lining for the front and pretty much for the rear.

I dont remember ever seeing a sunroof causeing a leak but anything is possible .

Door membrains each side .. feel the base of the door cards after washing or its been raining .

At the rear .. nothing i can think of .. maybe the side windows on each side at the back .. if they block then you will get water under the rear quarter panels .. maybe a wet seat belt and rear carpets will be damp.

The rear windows are designed to have water run into the rubber and be vented out behind the door seal rubber.

For any leak you need to find what area is damp first .. hand on top of the carpet is no good .. you need to get at the foam under the carpet .. under seats is a good start but removeing the boot/bonnet switch trim and the same the other side gives you enough access to get your hand under the carpet..

If its damp your in the right area .

To find a leak is not rocket science .. you pour water over the car and look !!

i will often remove rear quarter panels if the leak is at the rear ( damp rear carpets )

These are the usual items but at the end of the day its not exhaustive .. i have found one off leaks over the years that ive never come accross before .
 
Thanks for the replies guys

Iain, the aircon works fine. All bulkhead covers are in place so that checks that one off, I don't have a sunroof so can't be that. The moisture is mainly at the rear windscreen. Twice i have turned on the rear demister and it didn't really clear the back screen.

Are there any exit pipes at the rear of the car i.e where the wheel arches are? I wondering if there could be a bloackage where mud,leaves over time have become blocked.
 
I have an intermittent leak at the rear somewhere that I haven't been able to find, same symptoms, lots of misting. I do have a sunroof but the roof lining is always dry and the drains run clear to the rear wheel arches, so ruled that out! When I had the rear carpets up a year ago the foam backing, which is about and inch thick, was completely sodden! Searched everywhere to trace the leak and had most of the interior out while I was replacing the sound system but couldn't find anything! Weirdly, since I put the interior back together everything has dried out :dont know:

The only leak I have fixed is the inner door panel seal (rubbish design) which may have been the source of water getting to the rear, but how I have no idea!! Worth double checking you don't have a leak here!!
 
If the damp carpets are on the side of the wiper arm then its that .. if both sides then im unsure .. i normally have a car in front of me for faults like this :D

usual test though .. remove the carpets .. you sit inside whilst some one hoses down the car .. you then look for where the water is coming in .

You can always just clean under the wiper arm base rubber , shoot some silicone in there and see if it stops the leak .
 
deMort said:
Rear screen ? do you have a rear wiper ? if so its leaking through that .

No rear screen wiper.

Ok I just came in from a drive and actually it rained, when I got out the car I noticed condensation in the front lights (all 4 of them). I'm am now puzzled with what is going on.
 
if you have no sunroof then there are no drains , if you have no rear wiper then its not that .

Its basically a hard shell so we are left with rear window .. also .. something i just thought of .. 996 and 997 have mount points for a roof rack .. i do seem to remember reading here about the fact they can leak .. never seen one but its a possibility.

I think the first step really is to get under the carpets front and rear and see where it is wet .. rear and you can pull up the carpet behind the rear seats pretty easily .

If we have a damp area we can work on that .

A/C drain disconnected is another possible if the carpet n/s/f is damp .

Light units .. thats a different fault .. we are inside and outside the car here ..

Any water in a light unit is down to a poor seal and thats normally on the lens .. in some cases its actually poor design .. ie early Cayennes .. the fix was to fit a silicone gell pack in the headlights .. sigh .

We are also talking about the time of year .. any slight dampness in a light unit will show its self now .

Lights should clear after a few mins of being switched on .. if longer or you can actually see water droplets then there is a poor seal on the light unit .

Pictures of the lights please when wet or fogged .

Post here or email me them ..

[email protected]
 
In mine recently it was the sunroof trim which had come loose. Porsche couldn't find it and it only manifested itself when the roof wouldn't slide backwards. Reset trim and now it's dry again. Sunroof works too.

Rich
 

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