water leak into footwell electronics (all sunroof drains clear)

[westaussielx470]

Hi
I have never had sunroof issues before but after purchase I assumed that the water leak was from the sunroof drains down the A pillar passenger side (RHD car) adjusted it plus for good measure, gaffa taped the roof as we were getting heavy rain. The car has been garaged for the last 19years but after another heavy downpour the floor, a pillar and electronics were wet again. I eventually get it dried out but my rear wiper runs for about 6 passes with the key off and this time I have no instrument lights or odometer etc at all apart from any warning lights. I have a perforated rust patch in the top corner on that side that I had taped up until I get the windscreen removed as the repair shop said its common that rust appears after a few years due to damage removing the old screen. Is there any other area I am overlooking such as under the side trims running down the screen. It appears to have never had a roof rack fitted in its life. Thanks in advance

 

[PLROD]

Missing roof rack fastener?

 

[Rhetoric]

Likely an incorrect windshield trim install.

There are holes in the A pillar for plastic coated rivets that hold the trim in. When this is done incorrectly, it creates a waterfall of water onto your fuse boxes.

You can remove the little rubber strip covering where the rivets are. Try it. What do you see? Screws? Nothing? I would look into this before diving into a moon roof leak or even a rack mounting leak as it's been documented over and over again.

 

[westaussielx470]

I had pretty much discounted the sunroof as all drains flow easily. I will check those rivets and if that's likely it will just force me to get the small rust repair done and claim a new windscreen and make sure it has the correct fittings replaced. Hopefully my dash lights return after two days of drying it all out but it didnt happen the last time it got wet....ahhh the joys of liking old stuff but I am a glutton for punishment, driving a 2009 740li BMW.

 

[westaussielx470]

Missing roof rack fastener?

Will check that out but all the caps are intact so I guess some bolts might be missing

 

[westaussielx470]

further to the Lexus woes the lost instrument cluster has not returned apart from the warning lights. Tacho needle stuck at 1500rpm, no odometer and the ancillary gauges are stuck as well and no shift indicator or AHC lights . I have pulled the plugs that were wet and dried them along with checking corresponding fuses. Its parked up in the shed and wont used until I track the issue and the leak

 

[westaussielx470]

I gave up and its going to an auto electrician to try and solve it as my 59 year old fuse is a lot shorter these days and squeezing under dashboards isnt my thing.
In the end I had: no dash lights, no instruments, no interior lights, no headlights and no power mirrors. VSC VGRS VSC OFF constantly lit but the car runs perfectly and could read all of the data live with my scan tool.

 

[GremlinMobile]

Just to weigh in. I have water dripping onto the passenger side footwell area. Sunroof drains are clear. Covered the rivet holes at the A-pillar with urethane sealant, and then covered that whole area with gorilla tape all the way up to where the roof rack rail starts. Tremendously reduced the amount of water that gets in, but a few drops still make their way down. That tells me that it's water entering the channel under the rails and sliding down under the gorilla tape crevices somewhere. Definitely review your whole roof rack situation. All those old seals and s***ty.

 

[westaussielx470]

Gorilla taped the small section (about 1") of rust and made sure it was pushed into the seal etc and very dry. Hosed it down and that was the issue. Auto electrician sort most of the problems being the green death corrosion on the main fuse box harness that I missed and that explains the progressive loss of various functions so hopefully it gets it all sorted today. I am also going to leave my kick panel off until I am completely sure its no longer leaking until I get the rust repaired. Also the roof rack mounts are like new and probably never even been cracked but I hosed the whole roof while I was at it.

 

[GremlinMobile]

Gorilla taped the small section (about 1") of rust and made sure it was pushed into the seal etc and very dry. Hosed it down and that was the issue. Auto electrician sort most of the problems being the green death corrosion on the main fuse box harness that I missed and that explains the progressive loss of various functions so hopefully it gets it all sorted today. I am also going to leave my kick panel off until I am completely sure its no longer leaking until I get the rust repaired. Also the roof rack mounts are like new and probably never even been cracked but I hosed the whole roof while I was at it.

Which area of rust? On the pillar itself?

How did the electrician sort the issue with the green corrosion? I also have corrosion on a certain connector that the water used to drip on. My only gremlins have been the door locks double unlocking every time I shut my door.