Condensation in boot.

[rsvaprilia]

Is it common to get condensation in the boot or is it because I have a leak somewhere in the boot area?

[Loudman]

I've never had any sign of condensation in my boot although it sits in garage at night, sounds like you might have a problem with the seal (my TVR used to fill up like a bathtub.....)

[Chris49]

rsvaprilia said:

Is it common to get condensation in the boot or is it because I have a leak somewhere in the boot area?

Sadly it is very common! Mine does it and I know a few S2's that do it!

[rsvaprilia]

Loudman said:

I've never had any sign of condensation in my boot although it sits in garage at night, sounds like you might have a problem with the seal (my TVR used to fill up like a bathtub.....)

Mine sits in the garage on a night but has been caught in heavy rain. I wasn't sure whether it was leaking as the carpets were wet or it was only condensation as the top rear of the boot had condensation on it in a place a leak couldn't get. If your boot isn't wet then I obviously have a leak.

[rsvaprilia]

Chris49 said:

rsvaprilia said:

Is it common to get condensation in the boot or is it because I have a leak somewhere in the boot area?

Sadly it is very common! Mine does it and I know a few S2's that do it!

Can it be stopped? If not all elise / exige do it then it must be a fault which can be sorted?

[Chris49]

rsvaprilia said:

Chris49 said:

rsvaprilia said:

Is it common to get condensation in the boot or is it because I have a leak somewhere in the boot area?

Sadly it is very common! Mine does it and I know a few S2's that do it!

Can it be stopped? If not all elise / exige do it then it must be a fault which can be sorted?

Mine does it in heavy rain, or when it rains an I park it at a certain angle! I'm sure it can be fixed but I haven't found it yet!!

[rsvaprilia]

Chris49 said:

rsvaprilia said:

Chris49 said:

rsvaprilia said:

Is it common to get condensation in the boot or is it because I have a leak somewhere in the boot area?

Sadly it is very common! Mine does it and I know a few S2's that do it!

Can it be stopped? If not all elise / exige do it then it must be a fault which can be sorted?

Mine does it in heavy rain, or when it rains an I park it at a certain angle! I'm sure it can be fixed but I haven't found it yet!!

I first noticed this after being parked in heavy rain so that's where the problem lies.

[Gad-Westy]

Is this an S1? I had two problems on mine, firstly the drain pipe underneath the bootlatch became detached so any water that accumulated in the groove that the boot lid sits in simply drained into the boot. This was cured with a jubilee clip around the the neck that the pipe attaches to. The second time, it was caused by crap in the pipe itself, to cure this, simply detach it and blast it through with a hose and a wire coat hanger or similar.

[Jimmyconway]

I went to see a car that did have a similar problem in the past, but was cured by a main dealer with silicone sealant! The water was working it's way from the vents over the engine under the black plastic cover underneath the lock. They had removed the foam gasket that Lotus fit, and put black silicone sealant all round. Not nice but cured leak. I didn't end up buying the car....bit tatty.....

[rsvaprilia]

This is an S2 Exige. I will check if there is a drain pipe & whether the boot lock could leak into the boot.

[Gad-Westy]

rsvaprilia said:

This is an S2 Exige. I will check if there is a drain pipe & whether the boot lock could leak into the boot.

I'm pretty sure the S2 is a totally different arrangement but I might be wrong.

[Hollow Legs]

Mine used to leak as I park at an angle on my drive - basically all the water used to collect in the drain tunnel around the boot lip and then go into the boot.

Have a look here for a way to fix.

[Alexbturbo]

Yes had this in my Exige S as well

Number of reasons cause it main one being the one in the thread linked by the poster above - wire & rubber grommet come lose there is a nice open hole into the engine bay - lets cool air in & then when engine heats up pushes in hot air & lots of water

Another problem as i found was there was no seal around the bolts that fix the Exige spoiler to the bootlid - refit the bolts and coat them with a mastic/sealer around the bolt/screw & water no longer leaks through

Also if the rubber seal around the compartment has not been correctly sealed or fitted water builds up against the rubber & then pours into the rear compartment once it builds right to the top of where its sitting

Just make sure that if you do any of these fixes get ALL the carpets out & dry them fully before refitting - i found the rear compartment carpet material is excellent for soaking water up & i actually had to wring the material out as it was so soggy

Edited by Alexbturbo on Monday 14th July 21:07

[rsvaprilia]

That gives me a few things to look at. I now realize that this occured when the car was parked tail down on the drive so I will check the other thread as well (can't at present as it's blocked at work)

[wantalotus]

parking tail downhill is 1 main cause. I even turn it around to wash. The drain holes are located towards the engine, so if tail up, the water channel fills and over flows into the boot even before the level reaches the drains. Took a couple of times to suss this, but it's the answer.

[rsvaprilia]

wantalotus said:

parking tail downhill is 1 main cause. I even turn it around to wash. The drain holes are located towards the engine, so if tail up, the water channel fills and over flows into the boot even before the level reaches the drains. Took a couple of times to suss this, but it's the answer.

Yes I think that could be what happened to mine. Carpets & foam are out & will stay out untill everything is dry. I will check for any obvious leaks & sort the spoiler bolts. Not sure whether there is a leak from 1 of the back lights or whether that is condensation. I think I then need to park it on level ground & hit it with the hose pipe or maybe the water from the hose pipe.

[Heliophile13]

Ah! This sounds familiar! ! My Best Beloved has an Exige SPP with a swimming pool in the back after last night's soggyness ! The carpets are out and are tastefuly draped over as many chairs in the dining room as I can get, steaming gently to themselves and smelling AWFUL! ! I have notice that the join in the seal has been placed at exactly the wrong place to prevent water seeping (flooding??) past it. Right at the lowest point.... Not good. I'm going to give my local dealer and Lotus a tinkle/e-mail to see if I can fix it myself by moving the seal around and not invalidate the warrenty. What with it being so new and sparkly (Starlight Black makes it look GORGEOUS! But is a to keep clean.), I don't want to have some bright spark jump up and down on us for "... invalid modifications to the bodywork...", know what I mean? I will also check the bolt seals and see if they're partly to blame as well. Also, has anyone noticed any corrosion forming on the engine mounts and rear bracing struts? I'd be inerested to find out as we've got what looks like the start of a tin-worm attack ! If things work out, I'll keep you posted.

[Heliophile13]

And so the saga continues.....

After nattering with our LLD (Local Lotus Dealer!)I have discovered that the rear wing bonding is not all that it should be, and will let in a fair bit of the old sog when the Summer season starts. What'll happen in Winter doesn't bear thinking about, but there you go. Also (it gets better!) we were getting the nasty wet stuff happily pouring in via the alarm switch mounting. Hmm. Any ways, we hoiked her in for a damn' good fetteling, and weren't charged a bean for fixing her as she is still under warrenty. However, (there's always one, isn't there?)they hadn't refitted the rubber boot on the switch correctly and it fell off when we opened the cover. This WILL be fixed on Monday. But we aren't getting flooded out in the boot department any more! One little niggle. Has anyone else had roblems with their seats? The driver's seat wobbles about something cruel on ours, but we've been told it's a well known and unfixable problem with the Probax seats.

[rsvaprilia]

Just found that my boot leaks thru' the press studs near where the drain holes are, it runs thru' the drain holes down inside the engine bay & thru' the press studs into the boot. Just fitted some bits of pipe to the drain holes to see if I can direct the water away from the rear bulkhead. I haven't noticed mt seats moving around but they do creak very badily when positioned right back in there travel which is where I need them. I have also noticed the head lining near the drivers door is getting wet so that's something else I need to look at. I am beginning to think the Exige is a very expensive kitcar.

[nsm3]

My Exige S had this problem when I first got it, water dripping all over the battery and lights full of condensation - all solved with silicone bathroom mastic and a lot of effing and jeffing !!

Firstly filled the spoiler bolt holes, better but not quite solved, then filled around all the carpet fixing press studs, again nearly there but not quite.

Removed lights and reseated those, checked the boot rubber seated against the lid with chalk, all fine but still getting damp.

Finally, I sealed the join between the boot tub and the upper surface of the rear clam/engine bay on the opposite side to the battery and hey presto - my car now has a usable boot space - this is fairly difficult to access with a mastic gun as you have to contort yourself inside the boot without damaging the rear clam paintwork, but the joy of solving the problem was worth the effort!

I got so p155ed off with this I almost got rid of the car - ridiculous situation to find yourself in with a late 2006 car!!