Hello guys,

 

I don't know if it's ever happened to anyone to have water inside the car and with the sponge that's under the dashboard and right in front of the car where the battery and the grille are.

 

Whenever it rains, water starts to accumulate.

 

Check photos...

 

 

And here..

It seems to come from that hole in the blinker light.

 

 

 

Check inside the car..

 

 

Check here too

 

Left and right the engine bay are the water drain paths, here in GR we call them for fun as ''sink''.

Are they free of debris, leaves etc?

A little water in the sides of the engine bay can be found, rain passes throught the hood sides, it's not something uncommon.

Are your door seals in good condition? Are they soft cared with special product or you leave them unattenand and got stiff?

But I certainly have to remove the side. Is that right?
 

Yes, that area stays dry (door).

 

The water could be coming through those holes, right?

 

Most of the time it's from the sides... there are leaves inside where the flasher is.
 

The water inside the car is coming from the windscreen seal leaking (common problem) my Felicia is doing it again, but I've got to change windscreen so will sort it then.

It's possible to sort it by using silicon sealant, there is a thread on here with pictures, from when someone else did it.

 

Found it, but pictures have disappeared now.

The seal can leak even if it isn't rusty under there.

Wow. Thanks for the tip... I'll remove the black plastic where the brushes are.

 

Then I'll check the sides where the blinkers are.

1 hour ago, R_U_AFA said:

Found it, but pictures have disappeared now.

They are there, if you mean the following, just click on the links in that post. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/306505-felicia-windscreen-leaks/#comment-3661445

 

 

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, nta16 said:

They are there, if you mean the following, just click on the links in that post. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/306505-felicia-windscreen-leaks/#comment-3661445

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yap exactly I saw that ty 👌

I'll try that 👌

11 hours ago, R_U_AFA said:

by using silicon sealant,

 

I disagree, common silicone won't work except if it's Aquarium type which can last even 10 years.

There are more efficient products, ''windshield gasket sealant'' is the key phrase, an example:

https://www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/p/d/b40067005/

 

12 hours ago, Joob said:

there are leaves inside where the flasher is.

 

There are drain holes in the bottom of the door, check them if they clogged.

For the drain channels of the sides you can use a tool that electricians have.

 

 

20 hours ago, Joob said:

It seems to come from that hole in the blinker light.

 

Sometimes you can find a tiny amount of water in those areas

 

 

because the black plastic cover does not have (like a Corvette) a sealant gasket with the car body.

After many years the gasket (in the oval shape) due to friction with the hood (open-close procedure) maybe will get rubbed and let some water drops to pass inside but ''No big deal".

 

As for the water inside the fuse box-factory sponge then the culprit is the wind shield sealant which has been vanished due to sun-age etc.

First clean thoroughly the whole area, use alcohol with a cloth to remove any remains, let it dry or use compressed air and then you apply the sealant.

1 hour ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

There are more efficient products, ''windshield gasket sealant'' is the key phrase, an example:

https://www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/p/d/b40067005/

I was just about to put a link (for the product data sheet) from the same page you have linked to (other examples and suppliers are also available) this one is particularly handy as you can use it in the wet such as when it's raining or you are water testing to find the leak. - https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1399542O?&fn=3m-windscreen-sealer-08509-technical-datasheet-en-eu_0820_R3.pdf

 

The main thing is to be semi-hardening, that the sealant remain pliable to deal with heat and cold expansion and contraction, you don not want the stuff that bonds modern windscreens without rubber seals.

 

 

1 hour ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

For the drain channels of the sides you can use a tool that electricians have.

Before using that you could try small amounts of very warm water to loosen and perhaps flush out some debris first as that coil has quite a blunt end that might compact debris in drain channels/tubes.

 

For bottom of doors and underside of car or sill drains I start by using an appropriate size plastic cable-tie as those are plastic and flexible so should not scratch paint and they have a slim pointed end that will more easily push through and past debris giving more chance of extracting the debris rather than compacting it.  Also it's a very low cost tool that can be cleaned and used again.

 

I've also used old bits of electric cable and garden wire, always make the end does not have a sharp edge to it that would scratch, I bend the end over to act as a push scraping tool always after the very warm water softening. loosening, treatment.  I have solved "leaks" this way a few times on various cars.

 

Edited 19 October, 20241 yr by nta16
spelling

 

2 hours ago, nta16 said:

Before using that you could try small amounts of very warm water to loosen and perhaps flush out some debris first

 

In the past i have done this plus some white vinegar and solvent that women use in the kitchen.

Except debris i wanted to remove any muck that was there for years.

 

 

The arrow points the end of a tray which is beneath the black plastic panel in the Felicia.

Water (rain, car wash etc) that goes on the right side goes to that tray and then on the drain channels, water that might goes to the left end up inside the engine bay.

In the past i had ''sealed'' the sides and the front part of the hood like a |___| shape but proved that was a mistake, yes i had no water or dust inside the engine bay but the engine couldn't not ''exhale", the air was not circulated properly and the temperature inside was raised a lot.

2 hours ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

n the past i have done this plus some white vinegar and solvent that women use in the kitchen.

I accept you could highly dilute the vinegar and then thoroughly rinse with water but just a word of caution you don't want to use vinegar if there is a chance that there might be some rubber involved. 

Edited 19 October, 20241 yr by nta16
typo

Nice guys .. Really thanks for ur tips.

 

I'll check that.

This 3M putty looks very good.
I have a joint compound that can withstand +300°.

30 minutes ago, Joob said:

I have a joint compound that can withstand +300°.

It might be fine but you want semi-hardening, I am sure there are many overlaps in performance for all these different sealants but given the low cost I would go with what is designed for purpose, water leaks can take ages to really show themselves by which time a lot of damage and mess (and smells) can already be done.  Soundproofing hidden under carpets can sometimes hold an amazing amount of water before the soles of your shoes get damp.

 

It's far better to use a silicone style pistol than your hand, the nose could reach deeper spots.

On the other hand i wouldn't use metal objects beneath the factory seal, there are plastic tools that the Upholstery guys use which will not hurt the seal which already is dry from age-sun-salt etc.

Exactly guys.

I agree ! I'll search for that pasta.

 

What do you recommend to protect the battery terminals from moisture? Are the covers good or do they make the battery hotter?
 

48 minutes ago, Joob said:

What do you recommend to protect the battery terminals from moisture?

 

An extra thin coat of Dielectrical grease will do.

 

Some buy products dedicated for this job, few examples:

https://alphamare.gr/product/battery-terminal-protector/

https://crcindustries.com.au/media/catalog/product/

https://www.ueautotechs.com/cdn/shop/products/BatteryTerminalCoating.webp?v=1689851309

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-6a4rng/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/9289/34463/MC-008_l__47205.1578691978.jpg?c=2

depending of the environment that they live.

 

8 minutes ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

https://alphamare.gr/product/battery-terminal-protector/

 

Thanks I never remembered those sprays ^^
Nice brand this one.

On 18/10/2024 at 20:39, D.FYLAKTOS said:

Left and right the engine bay are the water drain paths, here in GR we call them for fun as ''sink''.

Are they free of debris, leaves etc

Where are they? 

6 hours ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

Where are they? 

 

Beneath the plastic cover there is a tray, there you can find a leaf, tree branch, pigeon wings, dog hairs etc.

Photos from Google search, my car is parked far away from home i i can not go there to take pictures.

 

 

If you remove that cover to clean the whole area

 

 

you can find in the top the draining holes (left and right side), if you push the electricians wire tool (in GR is Atsalina) you can remove anything which stuck inside of them and if you open the door you will see then drop down from the door's pillar.

22 hours ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

On the other hand i wouldn't use  beneath the factory seal, there are plastic tools that the Upholstery guys use which will not hurt the seal which already is dry from age-sun-salt etc.

That is a really good point that I totally missed in the photos.  I use old plastic spatulas that my wife has discarded (often for no good reason but I have learnt not to bother questioning such things) for jobs like this and others, having and using at east two of these on such jobs makes things easier.

 

I have never used any of those protective sprays, I find them very annoying when on other cars as they are always messy to dealt with, as long as the battery terminals were clean and the inside of the battery terminal clamps are clean when fitted things remain fine without further protection but that might depend on the environments the car and battery are exposed to.  Years ago I would put a different product on the cleaned battery terminals (not anymore as I have put) but if I did I would apply a thin layer of something like Contralube 770 with a very inexpensive very small artist's brush, to the battery terminals for the terminal clamps to clamp to and nowhere else.

 

But others may choose or need to do different, if so buying a new can seems a great waste to spray a very small amount in a one time use for years, better to borrow some to use.

 

Also covers can often hold moisture in, covers used to be available for old style ignition coils and distributor caps but they were never favoured for keeping moisture out and would be removed and suggested they were not refitted.

 

Edited 20 October, 20241 yr by nta16
typo

Will do 

@Joob Take a look an older photo from my Felicia, it's the left side, age-heat-water etc can cause some problems.

 

 

 

Now the insulation has been replaced, i used sandpaper and primary for the oxidation in the base of the battery, the O cover where the cables come out has been repaired etc.