Water in Passenger Footwell

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It seems like the real issue isn't necessarily that the opening isn't covered, but that when water does make it down it quickly overwhelms the little lip around the fresh air opening. If water makes it down there does it have a place to drain? Rather than cover this, could you just fab something that makes the lip around the opening taller so that any water than runs down won't overflow?

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linuxgod said:
For those with a 2013-2015, the next time y'all pull off the cowl can you snap some photos of how the windshield de-icer plug is wired? Mine has never seemed to actually do anything.
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Here ya go, this was in my previous 2011 but it's identical in my 2015. Honestly, I'm not impressed with the deicer, it doesn't work as well as I had hoped.

IMG_20180109_125335.jpg
 
CharlieS said:
Thanks for the ideas and leads.

This thread has some possible related issues and fixes: Leak - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/leak.1232296/post-13593947
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Check Your roof rack and all the screws and bolts. The rivnuts that are in the roof could be starting to fail and rust causing a hole to form and a way for water to start pouring in. If there is any issues just use RTV gasket maker and let dry. Should fix the problem if that is what the issue is. Good luck..I just went through a 4 month search for leaks.
 
tlc1995 said:
Check Your roof rack and all the screws and bolts. The rivnuts that are in the roof could be starting to fail and rust causing a hole to form and a way for water to start pouring in. If there is any issues just use RTV gasket maker and let dry. Should fix the problem if that is what the issue is. Good luck..I just went through a 4 month search for leaks.
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I have a Gamiviti rack and there is plenty of high quality, flexible sealant on every bolt. I installed it myself and have 100% confidence that it is not a source of water intrusion.

The water was absolutely coming in through the fresh air vent and dripping onto the floor mat. I can see where the water made trails in the road dust in that plenum, and before I fixed it, I could observe water dripping out of the white plastic HVAC surround behind the glovebox.

The mesh is also a really good idea, but I was in a hurry to get the vehicle back together, and am not eager to pull it apart again, so it'll have to wait until next time.

The coroplast "roof" I installed has plenty of airflow around it, all air handling works fine. No water is getting in. Lots of air is flowing around it. No reduction in cabin air flow or AC efficiency that I can observe. It is easily reversed, and nothing on the vehicle was harmed or modified to install it. It is really just one more layer of prevention - there are multiple levels of rubber seals, plastic channels, sealing foam, and metal ridges that collectively do a great job of diverting water. In my mind, this is just one more layer of prevention.

I resealed all of the places where the oem foam had compressed with new expansion type weather seal. I also added a larger 1" section of foam to the gap that appears to have a factory weather seal on the new version of that tray.

I also cleaned the rubber strip at the top and the windshield with alcohol (like you would with a windshield wiper blade). There was a lot of crud buildup that could have also impacted how well it sealed. Maybe sand too, since we just recently got back from a week in the outer banks.

An aftermarket windshield was installed by the PO, so that plastic cover had definitely been displaced at least once. I have a suspicion this is where the drip starts to rear its head for may people. A theory: once the foam is compressed and then removed and reinstalled, it doesn't re-expand, and leaves small gaps where water can get in.

If you have the plastic tray under the glove box, with its absorbent backing, you might never notice an issue if the water intrusion was minimal. That is, until it is overwhelmed. I took that under tray out a while ago to install my GMRS there, so it isn't absorbing any water or redirecting it.

I think I spend a total of $30 on this project, and I only used a small fraction of the materials I purchased. Definitely worth trying some or all of it, if you are frugal. I couldn't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a new tray when it seemed easily solved with readily available materials.
 
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linuxgod said:
It seems like the real issue isn't necessarily that the opening isn't covered, but that when water does make it down it quickly overwhelms the little lip around the fresh air opening. If water makes it down there does it have a place to drain? Rather than cover this, could you just fab something that makes the lip around the opening taller so that any water than runs down won't overflow?

View attachment 3010002
Click to expand...
Yep, definitley. I just thought this other approach seemed simple and effective. I like to apply the KISS principle. :) Works for my house, works for the bird feeder, works on my camper awning, might as well use it on the cowl.

To answer your other question, I don't think there are any drainage paths.
 
KLF said:
Here ya go, this was in my previous 2011 but it's identical in my 2015. Honestly, I'm not impressed with the deicer, it doesn't work as well as I had hoped.

View attachment 3010003
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Thanks. So weird. I'm actually confused though why the windshield has 3 wires when only 2 get connected. I'm guessing one of the wires it hot for the lower deicer and one is hot for the driver's A-pillar de-icer and they are tied together into the single black hot wire...

My windshield seems cold, like the function literally does nothing. But the circuit is so simple. Fuse is good. I assume the relay works since the function in the nav display lights up and runs for ~20 minutes or whatever before turning off automatically. Maybe I'll break out the multi-meter at some point when I pop off my cowl and check for any signs of water intrusion under the foam (since my windshield is not original)

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linuxgod said:
It seems like the real issue isn't necessarily that the opening isn't covered, but that when water does make it down it quickly overwhelms the little lip around the fresh air opening. If water makes it down there does it have a place to drain? Rather than cover this, could you just fab something that makes the lip around the opening taller so that any water than runs down won't overflow?

View attachment 3010002
Click to expand...
I believe water isn't supposed to get to that lip in the first place.

Also fwiw that wire and plug is for the deicer. Is your windshield OE or pilkington? My pilkington deicer was pathetic, but the new OE panel still only marginal. I did find that my passenger wiper was adjusted to sit a bit too high so it didn't park on the heated part.. fixing that was a chore.. had to take the knurls out of the wiper arm so it wouldn't just go back to the same spot again when tightened. The new position does seem to help.. but none of it is up to the task of serious snow/ice build-up.
 
bloc said:
I believe water isn't supposed to get to that lip in the first place.

Also fwiw that wire and plug is for the deicer. Is your windshield OE or pilkington? My pilkington deicer was pathetic, but the new OE panel still only marginal. I did find that my passenger wiper was adjusted to sit a bit too high so it didn't park on the heated part.. fixing that was a chore.. had to take the knurls out of the wiper arm so it wouldn't just go back to the same spot again when tightened. The new position does seem to help.. but none of it is up to the task of serious snow/ice build-up.
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It's not OEM. Could be Pilkington or could be something else, I'd need to check.

I've heard some folks say their deicer gets warm to the touch but literally I feel nothing even after it's been running for 10-15 minutes.
 
linuxgod said:
It's not OEM. Could be Pilkington or could be something else, I'd need to check.

I've heard some folks say their deicer gets warm to the touch but literally I feel nothing even after it's been running for 10-15 minutes.
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My 2 OEM windshields did something but almost nothing. Now on my 2nd Pilkington it worked (although slightly) just finished up my 2nd winter with it and does completely nothing.
 
TheLCProject said:
Does this happen to other makes and models as frequently as our trucks?
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Lots of vehicles do, in large part because you basically can’t buy a decent vehicle without a huge hole cut in the roof anymore.

I’m to the point I would pay extra for no sunroof on a vehicle.. but it just isn’t being offered.

That said our issues aren’t always sunroof related.. more often the cowl cover to windshield interface letting water into the recirculate vent.

But water leaks do happen in other vehicles. Two of the three daily drivers I’ve owned during my cruiser ownership are known for it, even being from different manufacturers.
 
You guys will see my previous progress… nothing worked and I ended up replacing the entire cowl assembly.
Not a single drop of water got into my cabin after the replacement.
 
bloc said:
Lots of vehicles do, in large part because you basically can’t buy a decent vehicle without a huge hole cut in the roof anymore.

I’m to the point I would pay extra for no sunroof on a vehicle.. but it just isn’t being offered.

That said our issues aren’t always sunroof related.. more often the cowl cover to windshield interface letting water into the recirculate vent.

But water leaks do happen in other vehicles. Two of the three daily drivers I’ve owned during my cruiser ownership are known for it, even being from different manufacturers.
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I’ve never been a big fan of them, take them or leave them. So far the only time I’ve opened the sunroof on my cruiser is to gain access to underneath side of roof rack to mount stuff. The rest of the time it’s closed with the cover also closed.
 
Mine has been dry as a bone since I replaced the cowl weatherstrip and made a deflector.
 
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