Hi guys,

the other week when i was installing the cables for my amp, i was working underneath the dash int he drivers side and noticed that the foam / sponge under the dash / above the pedals was soaking.

I have not had the car long enough to experience what heavy rain does, and it had been sitting for a long time before i bought it, so i rung it out and dried it as best as i could.

however today, i was just about to nip to the shop, walked up to my car and noitced the windows were steamed up. across the drivers side. and corner of the windscreen.

The mat int he footwell is soaked to the point where there is nearly a puddle forming!

thishas happened between parkign it this morning, and goign to the shos about 6 hours later ( it has been raining too)

the angle at which it was parked was the nose pointing downhill, then and also the car tilted to the right so the water would gather int he drivers footwell - liek it has.

does anyone know a common place to look / check for this kind of thing? I have searched the forum for water / rain / ingress etc with no luck.

Thanks,

Rick

felicia fun btw

:)Most likely the windscreen, it's common for it to leak into the fusebox causing havoc with the electrics.

thanks, I'll have a look tonight, but i clean and valet it nearly every week and havnt noticed anything. it is only on the drivers side too.

when you open the bonnet, and look to the back / left... where the battery would be if it was on that side. ( if that makes sense) there is some more black foam. I have had a look, and thisis soaked too!

In production they didn't deem it necessary to use sealer in the windscreen, we now know otherwise. Get the windscreen sealed. Sunroofs are notorious for leaking as well.

Wow i feel so stupid!

because of the sheer amount of water, i would never have thought it would come from the windscreen!

hence i didn't search the forum for 'windscreen leak' of which un covers tons of threads and info on this common issue.

I'm still suprised this can be caused by the windscreen though!

I am glad is is not the passenger side with the fuse box, as that would be a nightmare. I just hope none of the ignition electronics get affected.

thanks for the help!

Okay, I've sealed it all as best as i could and I have also taken hi-res photos of every step i took.

Providing I did it right... (lol) I think it would be a good idea to write a guide on how to do it as it seems like quite a common problem.

Rick

As you probably have seen in other threads, sealing sometimes help and sometimes don't. If the rubber seal is old and hardened the leak may still be there, and a new seal (plus silicone or polyurethan sealing) is needed.

But hopefully you're one of the lucky guys and problem now sorted

The foam under the dash add to the problems - water can seep through for quite a long time before the foam is so soaked that it starts to drip down into the footwells (and it takes some time to dry).

Good thing is that Fellies seldom seem to have problem with rust around the screen. Had that problem with the rear window on an old Mazda - sealing was of nu use since the bodywork around had corroded heavily and had to be repaired.

HI

Had this problem on all 3 Felicias we have owned - it was sorted out by a windscreen expert in North Devon - he said that the drain holes in the windscreen aperture were not big enough and the water ran into the car before reaching the drainholes - he enlarged the holes, drilled 2 further holes in the aperture and drilled equivalent holes in the (new) windscreen rubber as rain is supposed to run behind the rubber(??!!!) and drain out (which it doesn't....) we have had no further problems with water leaks unless u park it facing up a steep hill and its lashing down... - water in the tailgate is from rain leaking under the top spoiler - its not sealed, just popped in place with its plastic lugs.