So I lifted the rear mats, sunroof drain hole woes of a 993
Discussion
I've been on here of late asking about the immobiliser on my 993.
After previously driving home in the rain, one morning about a week later I'd jumped in the 911, inserted the little immobiliser key, and nothing. I was rushed for time so used another car and decided to have a look the following weekend. However that night (around 3AM to be precise) the wife gives me a kicking as the alarm on the 911 was blaring. Got out there, disarmed it (its the original using loud horns) and hurried back to bed. Luckily I have off road parking and a big set of locked gates.
Now for the next four weeks or so after I had to work. I'd be leaving home before dawn, getting home after its dark and working seven days a week, so not a chance to check over the car. Normally shes kept indoors over winter at work, but I'd not even had chance to get her there, and day in day out it rained.
Anyway one night I tried to start her and the battery was flat ..... not just wouldn't turn over, not even the interior light was working.
I asked on here about the battery problem and good old 'POPE' and others gave me some suggestions ref the flat battery and a connection to water getting into the car and causing the battery to drain.
I'd notice the car seemed a little damp inside, but as most 993 owners know, at this time of year, they always seem to draw in condensation.
The front mats seemed dry, so imagine my suprise when I lifted the rear nearside mat out and found this.
All I could do was remove the mats, I couldn't start the car and I assumed it was the sunroof leaking, covered this over with plastic bags so to stop more water getting in and went back indoors. (I was leavinbg at 7AM, not getting back till 7PM, so I could do no more).
Anyway last weekend, I finally got the weekend off, so on the Saturday disconnected the battery, charged her up through the day and overnight. Connected the battery the next day and nothing. No immobiliser. Damn. By now I'm desperate to get her out the weather.
So on the sunday I rang the AA. POPE had suggested I checked the fuses under the dash for the immoboliser, yup they had blown, changed these and still the damn thing wouldn't work. Fair play to the AA fella though, he wasn't giving up.
As a last ditch attempt, he checked his computer within his truck, and believe it or not, there was an entry stating that the control box for the immobiliser was under the passenger seat ....... below the ECU.
Out came the seat and firstly we found this:
Luckily the ECU is suspended off the floor. After unscrewing the four screws, we found this:
See the water? The control box was saturated.
This is the AA guy cutting the immobolisier box out, water was literally running out of it. Kaput.
After cutting it out, the car still wouldn't start, I was deflated to say the least; however he soon realised that he basically had to disconnect a couple of wires from the ignition as well, so whilst he was digging about under the drivers side footwell I made him and me a cuppa.
Came back out 5 minutes later and he'd got her started
I drove her to work, got a dehumidifer in the car and parked her for the last week undercover, and when I've had chance tried to remove the water with towels etc.
Had a good look today, and the prognosis aint great. There is still loads of water in her, the carpets have a foam backing and this is soaked, each time I think the footwells are drying, the foam releases a load more water, the sound deadening that I can remove has dried out, but I can't remove any more carpet because its stuck down ....... and 993 carpet is very expensive.
As of today
Whilst stood there comtemplating my next move, I guessed as the car was soaked already and the sunroof was open, I'd poor a little water into the sunroof gully to see if the water drained away, and if not, where it went. So poured water in, heard a gurgling noise and low and behold water dripped out through the front water channels and all was well. .........
, nothing out the rears though, and I found the water was entering the interior behind the rear parcel shelf.
Tried some wire through the rubber grommets into the rear channels and bizzarly I could hear the wire moving about within the cars roof, not along and through the sunroof drain pipes.
I'm not a great tinkerer, but I just had to remove those grommets and have a look.
This is one of them for those who don't know where they are and what to look for.
Low and behold, not one but both pipes had detached from the rubber grommets.
Now you can't get to these pipes from the inside, well you can, firstly I removed the rear parcel shelf (easy, four screws) pulled it forward but then found that I would have to remove part of the headlining to get to the pipes, and I wasn't going to do that.
Then a eureka moment. How was I to get the rubber grommet back on the pipe? The pipe is short by about an inch WITHIN the body work (after fishing about in there with a screwdriver and a torch, you can just make the ends out), the grommet has a 1.1/2 of rubber that protrudes into the body. My answer, get a flat head or phillips screwdriver the same diameter as the plastic pipe, slide the grommet over the screwdriver and locate it within the pipe and push it back on.
It worked a treat, tested it and water pours out through the grommets, I then pushed this back tight and clipped it in, now no more water within the interior.
Such a simple thing, and if I'd known before to check for it, I'd not have the trouble I have now.
Check your grommets 993 owners, and your drain pipes, but becareful the wire going up inside doesn't dislodge the sunroof pipes. That was the only thing I could think of, that could have dislodged them in the first place.
After previously driving home in the rain, one morning about a week later I'd jumped in the 911, inserted the little immobiliser key, and nothing. I was rushed for time so used another car and decided to have a look the following weekend. However that night (around 3AM to be precise) the wife gives me a kicking as the alarm on the 911 was blaring. Got out there, disarmed it (its the original using loud horns) and hurried back to bed. Luckily I have off road parking and a big set of locked gates.
Now for the next four weeks or so after I had to work. I'd be leaving home before dawn, getting home after its dark and working seven days a week, so not a chance to check over the car. Normally shes kept indoors over winter at work, but I'd not even had chance to get her there, and day in day out it rained.
Anyway one night I tried to start her and the battery was flat ..... not just wouldn't turn over, not even the interior light was working.
I asked on here about the battery problem and good old 'POPE' and others gave me some suggestions ref the flat battery and a connection to water getting into the car and causing the battery to drain.
I'd notice the car seemed a little damp inside, but as most 993 owners know, at this time of year, they always seem to draw in condensation.
The front mats seemed dry, so imagine my suprise when I lifted the rear nearside mat out and found this.
All I could do was remove the mats, I couldn't start the car and I assumed it was the sunroof leaking, covered this over with plastic bags so to stop more water getting in and went back indoors. (I was leavinbg at 7AM, not getting back till 7PM, so I could do no more).
Anyway last weekend, I finally got the weekend off, so on the Saturday disconnected the battery, charged her up through the day and overnight. Connected the battery the next day and nothing. No immobiliser. Damn. By now I'm desperate to get her out the weather.
So on the sunday I rang the AA. POPE had suggested I checked the fuses under the dash for the immoboliser, yup they had blown, changed these and still the damn thing wouldn't work. Fair play to the AA fella though, he wasn't giving up.
As a last ditch attempt, he checked his computer within his truck, and believe it or not, there was an entry stating that the control box for the immobiliser was under the passenger seat ....... below the ECU.
Out came the seat and firstly we found this:
Luckily the ECU is suspended off the floor. After unscrewing the four screws, we found this:
See the water? The control box was saturated.
This is the AA guy cutting the immobolisier box out, water was literally running out of it. Kaput.
After cutting it out, the car still wouldn't start, I was deflated to say the least; however he soon realised that he basically had to disconnect a couple of wires from the ignition as well, so whilst he was digging about under the drivers side footwell I made him and me a cuppa.
Came back out 5 minutes later and he'd got her started
I drove her to work, got a dehumidifer in the car and parked her for the last week undercover, and when I've had chance tried to remove the water with towels etc.
Had a good look today, and the prognosis aint great. There is still loads of water in her, the carpets have a foam backing and this is soaked, each time I think the footwells are drying, the foam releases a load more water, the sound deadening that I can remove has dried out, but I can't remove any more carpet because its stuck down ....... and 993 carpet is very expensive.
As of today
Whilst stood there comtemplating my next move, I guessed as the car was soaked already and the sunroof was open, I'd poor a little water into the sunroof gully to see if the water drained away, and if not, where it went. So poured water in, heard a gurgling noise and low and behold water dripped out through the front water channels and all was well. .........
, nothing out the rears though, and I found the water was entering the interior behind the rear parcel shelf.Tried some wire through the rubber grommets into the rear channels and bizzarly I could hear the wire moving about within the cars roof, not along and through the sunroof drain pipes.
I'm not a great tinkerer, but I just had to remove those grommets and have a look.
This is one of them for those who don't know where they are and what to look for.
Low and behold, not one but both pipes had detached from the rubber grommets.
Now you can't get to these pipes from the inside, well you can, firstly I removed the rear parcel shelf (easy, four screws) pulled it forward but then found that I would have to remove part of the headlining to get to the pipes, and I wasn't going to do that.
Then a eureka moment. How was I to get the rubber grommet back on the pipe? The pipe is short by about an inch WITHIN the body work (after fishing about in there with a screwdriver and a torch, you can just make the ends out), the grommet has a 1.1/2 of rubber that protrudes into the body. My answer, get a flat head or phillips screwdriver the same diameter as the plastic pipe, slide the grommet over the screwdriver and locate it within the pipe and push it back on.
It worked a treat, tested it and water pours out through the grommets, I then pushed this back tight and clipped it in, now no more water within the interior.
Such a simple thing, and if I'd known before to check for it, I'd not have the trouble I have now.
Check your grommets 993 owners, and your drain pipes, but becareful the wire going up inside doesn't dislodge the sunroof pipes. That was the only thing I could think of, that could have dislodged them in the first place.
Sorry to hear what has happened. It is a common issue - had it happen to my first 3.2 (when it was just 4 years old) and my 993. Pipe was detached one side only - and with the 3.2 (can't vouch for the 993 as I was second owner) before anyone shoved a wire through it.
Tip for anyone else, if your car is steamed up every morning, or after sittin following a long journey, slip your hands under both rear mats before it is too late.
Tip for anyone else, if your car is steamed up every morning, or after sittin following a long journey, slip your hands under both rear mats before it is too late.
Had it happen to the front footwell in one of my cars, not a porsche though. I couldn't understand why the windows were steaming up. Took me 2 weeks to strip back the floor liner and then dry it out! Glad I did it as just running the heater is definitely not enough. It was the sponge like sound deadener that was the problem. Went for the old favourite scrunched up newspaper in the end (works for trainers!).
Hopefully not such an issue for my 996, doesn't seem to be much sound deadener under the seats at all!
Hopefully not such an issue for my 996, doesn't seem to be much sound deadener under the seats at all!
Wozy68 said:
Had a good look today, and the prognosis aint great. There is still loads of water in her, the carpets have a foam backing and this is soaked, each time I think the footwells are drying, the foam releases a load more water, the sound deadening that I can remove has dried out, but I can't remove any more carpet because its stuck down ....... and 993 carpet is very expensive.
If you expoe as much of the wet trim & carpet as possible and leave the car running with the heater on full for a few hours it will help dry it out a lot, particularly if you have airconditioning - it becomes like an oven after a while. It's better to get as much out as you can by absorbing it with microfibre cloths etc first though, and you could always use something like THIS which worked well on a car of my dad's that was very damp inside.A mate of mine had this problem and used a few of these...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/151-Products-LTD-Interior-...
Two of these inside the car for a few days took most of the moisture out!
HTH
http://www.amazon.co.uk/151-Products-LTD-Interior-...
Two of these inside the car for a few days took most of the moisture out!
HTH
Cheers for the info lads.
Just driven the old girl for her MOT (By all accounts it doesn't matter she only as one seat in the front) .... and blimey, it was like a tidal wave. I just can't believe how much water was still being held by the carpets ..... People should seriously check that the drain holes are intact on their 911s.
Just driven the old girl for her MOT (By all accounts it doesn't matter she only as one seat in the front) .... and blimey, it was like a tidal wave. I just can't believe how much water was still being held by the carpets ..... People should seriously check that the drain holes are intact on their 911s.
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