JCreasy

I've got a moisture issue underneath the rear passenger side seat (left hand drive).

After a few weeks of smell that can be politely described as "... musty" I started looking and found the seat pan of the rear passenger side seat is saturated. The floor board is not. Neither is the rear driver's side. I cannot see any evidence of leaks coming in through the top side, or spills. Smells like water.

I suppose it is possible that someone (my kids) spilled water that collected down there and never evaporated because the seat base covered it, but I highly doubt it.

Finally, this morning I sat in the parking lot and ran AC for a about 10 minutes on recycle and did not see a puddle under the car.

Where does the AC evaporator line exit? Could it have come loose? Is there some sort of body plug that could have dry rotted or come loose in that area to let street water splash up in there? Drain line from the top of the body? Any other ideas?

Thanks,

JKC

PS This is a 2003 996 coupe.

logray

Yes it could be a drain for the sunroof. If I remember right I believe the a piller and perhaps headliner might need to be pulled back in order to access and clean those drains. Here are the location of the drains #1/2 in the diagram:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...230#entry51230

It could be a leaky window seal.

There are several body plugs/rubber grommets as well throughout the car, which could leak small amounts of water, likely while driving in very wet conditions - they would each need to be inspected while the car is on a ramp.

A/C evaporator lines run under the car directly from the engine bay so I doubt that is the cause.

JCreasy

Thanks.

That makes sense, except they are on the wrong side, but the diagram is a right hand driver... My car sits outside about half the time too.

I am pretty sure it is not a window seal because there are no drips or water marks coming from the top side.

Appreciate your help.

Have a good holiday.

JKC

logray

Good point about the location of the drains, I didn't catch that. It might be possible for a water leak up there to find it's way to the other side, not sure though.

My guess would be somewhere from above though since you say it sits outside, unless you drive the car through a lot of rain/wet roads.

Happy holidays to you too!

Divot

I had it. Clogged drain. I'm pretty sure they run on both sides. Your wet side is the one that's clogged.

Open your sunroof and pour some water at the edge. If it's not clogged, it will drain out as fast you can pour it.

JCreasy

I will try the sunroof drain. Assuming it is clogged, then a light gauge wire to fish down there or cleaner?

Thanks for the help.

JKC

logray

Yes a wire and or compressed air.

Black_on_black

IIRC they drain out just behind the rear wheels, inboard of the exhausts somewhere. Looks like a rubber finger that sticks down. I can probably find a picture for you if I root around.

SWK6Cup

You might also want to try some "Damp Rid" in the affected area, as it will absorb the moisture and help to alleviate the smell, once you get the source of the problem figured out.

C4CRNA

Water leaks should be treated right away.Pull up the carpets and you will find there is a lot more there.
I would put a small fan in there and run it for a few days. Assuming you have a garage.
The fact you didn't have water dripping out when running the A/C points to the A/C drain.

Randyg308

yes try and adress it as soon as possible,alot of electronics involved,be patient, solving leaks can be very difficult ,start with the drains then move onto the seals(windows ,doors etc)removing the interior door panels to make sure the seals are intact is important in case a window regulator was changed at some point or some other repair was done,very often they try and reglue the barriers in place instead of replacing them......good luck and let us know....

porsche-t

I usually get moisture in the front passenger seat (after I take the ladies for a ride)...........

wwest

Weedeater nylon "string".

frisbee91

Had a similar small problem in my cab. Some of the drains are different in the cab vs. coupe, but some are the same. Clean out all the drain tubes, including those in the front battery area.\http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...or-cab-owners/

Thundertub

Another leak point folks forget about is underneath the roof rack flaps on the roof trim. If a screw has been removed, then the hole drains directly onto your headliner fabric and then weeps down the B or C pillar to the carpets.