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Water leak - boring topic I know..

B

Bebs

New member
Joined
11 Feb 2013
Messages
20
Afternoon guys,

My 996 C4 1999 has sat outside for a few weeks now in the rain not being driven and I got into it today to go for a spin and charge the battery.

I noticed some dampness on the driver's side foot well and put my hand down to investigate - the overlay mat was mildly damp but underneath that the carpet was completely saturated with water. Photo attached.

I can't tell where the water is coming from and before I start getting it up on a ramp etc I thought I'd ask if there are any common problems is should be aware of?

Any advice appreciated.

Brian
 

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Most likely you've got some drain plugs blocked and the water is filling something up and overflowing in to the car. 1st place to check is under the front hood where the battery compartment is. There are 3 drain plugs that are murder for blocking, especially in autumn.
 
You're right t start with the obvious - blocked drains - especially the ones either side of the battery. Best to get an indy to check them all - blowing air through them ideally.

If that doesn't fix it, then next will be door membranes and rubber seal along bottom of door.

If that doesn't fix it, then remember finding and fixing water leaks can be labour intensive.
 
Don't really need a garage to check the drains TBH - easy to get to and with a torch and to aid the inspection, fairly easy to clean.

One of mine was blocked (O/S) and it had in fact rotted a bit (probably due to the trapped debris) so I replaced it at the same time.
 
Run the AC and look underneath as its idling. The condensate should drip out from the under-tray. If it doesn't, it means its discharging inside the car!

You can clear the drains yourself, but as I am averse to doing anything on mine, I let my indy do everything. I hear too many examples of people having a go and ending up with a much bigger bill. The best one was taking the wheels off to wash them, putting them back on and finding the AC did not work. That person had put the jack through the AC pipes running near the sill at the front! Expensive fix from washing the wheels.

Clearing the drains is part of a major service - OPC or indy.
 
My aircon is working fine but doesn't drip at all and doesn't leak in the car either.
 
Well that is strange. Go back to first principles. The AC unit functions to deliver at a pre-set temperature AND remove the humidity from the air. That is the difference between a heater and an AC unit. The former does not extract the humidity.

SO, if the AC unit is on, in these damp cold days or in hot humid days, it is both controlling the temperature of the air being discharged inside the car and removing the water (humidity) at the same time. In summer you will notice a drip trail of water from underneath the front area of the under tray where the water is discharged. If water is extracted (you state your AC is working fine) then where is it going if not draining outside or into the car?

I keep my AC on 21/22 Celsius and AUTO setting all the time. When its idling, there are drips underneath the under tray with the engine running. My indy told me that is a sign that all is well - otherwise it'd be draining inside the car (mentioned something about an evaporator unit in the dash?). I'm sure someone will come along and tell me I'm talking b&ll*cks and don't know my evaporator from my condensor or something else.

Anyway, I'm no Heating/Ventilation Engineer, but my A level Physics tells me that the first principles I've cited are spot-on. If it extracts humidity, the water has to drip away somewhere. take a look at tropical climate houses wikth AC units on the window - they have a pipe that drips the water outside - that is the water that has been extracted from the humid air.

Can't comment on why your AC doesn't drip when its on.
 
You're perfectly right what you're saying and the pipe work does condense. My partners Golf pours water all over the place but mine condenses but I never seem to get it dripping off. Strange but true??? :dont know:

Only pointed it out because I didn't want the OP to start thinking he had an aircon problem when it might not be. If it's been parked up in the rain and not used, it's highly likely it's raining in.
 
I know one instance where it was not rain getting in with the car standing still, but the AC water discharging inside the car. The mat above is not wet. Lift it up though and the carpet is soaking wet!

Another check for us paranoid Porsche owners to carry out. When I come back from a drive, off boost for the last 2-3 miles. Then oil level check on a level ground with the BC stick. Then I perhaps should lift alll the mats and rubber neck myself to look underneath for the water discharging to the outside from the AC unit. As it is, I ALWAYS remove all the mats and check for any water ingress every time I powerwash the car! Both front foot wells as well as behind the front seats.

Oh and forgot to mention - when I meet other Porsche drivers for a run, on the NA cars, I check their left hand exhaust pipes for soot before telling them the bad news about bank 2.

Gosh in two years how paranoid we can become!
 
cheshire911 said:
I know one instance where it was not rain getting in with the car standing still, but the AC water discharging inside the car. The mat above is not wet. Lift it up though and the carpet is soaking wet!

Another check for us paranoid Porsche owners to carry out. When I come back from a drive, off boost for the last 2-3 miles. Then oil level check on a level ground with the BC stick. Then I perhaps should lift alll the mats and rubber neck myself to look underneath for the water discharging to the outside from the AC unit. As it is, I ALWAYS remove all the mats and check for any water ingress every time I powerwash the car! Both front foot wells as well as behind the front seats.

Oh and forgot to mention - when I meet other Porsche drivers for a run, on the NA cars, I check their left hand exhaust pipes for soot before telling them the bad news about bank 2.

Gosh in two years how paranoid we can become!
Click to expand...

:eek:
 
There is a black plastic cover inside the bonnet above the relays, you can see it if you remove the battery cover then the side cover plastics above the pedals, the cover has a foam seal and this could also be the culprit.

Your picture looks a bit green as if its gone mouldy, or is that just the picture quality?
 
infrasilver said:
There is a black plastic cover inside the bonnet above the relays, you can see it if you remove the battery cover then the side cover plastics above the pedals, the cover has a foam seal and this could also be the culprit.

Your picture looks a bit green as if its gone mouldy, or is that just the picture quality?
Click to expand...

Its the crap iphone pic sorry, its not green at all - just wet :sad:

Thank you guys for all the pointers - I will get my indi to have a good look around and clear blocked drains.
 
Hi,
My drains were blocked in the front so I popped some drain unblocker down then fired hot water in and it has been perfect since. I also had the drivers door membrane go and the best way to check is to see if the bottom of the door card is wet, Easy to replace but £65 ish for what essentially is a bit of foam.
 
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