Interior leak

[rbuswell]

I have a water leak coming out of or around the squirrel cage fan directly under the glove box. Happens when I wash the car or driving during the rain. Common problem and fix or something unusual? The battery tray seems to be draining fine.

[mytrplseven]

You didn't specify the type and year of car so it's hard to help you with your question.

[rbuswell]

Originally Posted by mytrplseven

You didn't specify the type and year of car so it's hard to help you with your question.

Sorry. 1987 924S USA manual with A/C which doesn't work yet.

[Spring44]

Have you taken the battery out and looked for pinholes in the underlying sheetmetal?
That is the most common source of leaks in that area of these cars. You could still have some leaks even though water is coming out of the drain too.

[944 Ecology]

Remove the battery. Have a friend shine a very bright light up at the battery tray from inside while you look from above for pinpoints of light. That will be where water is coming in. Also, where the tray is spot welded into the firewall (and covered with caulk that has notw dried out) is another source for water intrusion (that invariable ends up behind the passenger seat.)

[rbuswell]

Originally Posted by Spring44

Have you taken the battery out and looked for pinholes in the underlying sheetmetal?
That is the most common source of leaks in that area of these cars. You could still have some leaks even though water is coming out of the drain too.

Originally Posted by 944 Ecology

Remove the battery. Have a friend shine a very bright light up at the battery tray from inside while you look from above for pinpoints of light. That will be where water is coming in. Also, where the tray is spot welded into the firewall (and covered with caulk that has notw dried out) is another source for water intrusion (that invariable ends up behind the passenger seat.)

As you both suggested!

[cfassett]

I had a similar issue recently, and did the search in the battery tray. Apparently this is a common leak spot, at least in the 951. Anyway, nothing seen there, so I grabbed some UV indicator from a local parts place, and added this to a gallon of water, mixed it up and dumped it into the battery area. All of this at night. Then took my black light into the passenger compartment and shined it up under the dash.

In my case there was a small hole drilled in the interior, which went through the rain channel inside the fender.

Anyway, if there’s nothing obvious, this is one effective way to find these tiny holes.

[rbuswell]

Another good idea!

A couple follow ups:

• The leak in my interior produces a lot of water. It doesn't seem like it could be only pinholes.
• How do you fix this if I have the pinholes or something bigger?
• Did you remove all the stuff under the dash so you could see up to the firewall/battery tray?

Thanks again to all for your help.

[rbuswell]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMn0cPQ5bSVwf4E4I-56a4GtDWZVxufjskmwiGP

Not sure how I missed this before but these are two holes to the right of the battery that appear to need caps on them. Although they aren't at the bottom of the tray, they do look like they could let a lot of water in. Certainly a lot more than pinholes.

[rbuswell]

Even though the A/C is still there, I can get a full view of the bottom of the battery tray. Turned out the lights in the garage (nearly darkroom dark) and asked my wife to shine a very bright flashlight all along the battery tray and into the two holes I mentioned above and there was no hint of light coming through. Zero.