Interior paddling pool

[Fac51]

Car: 16v 5 Door ... i have a rather large puddle of water under the drivers seat aquired whilst driving in the p***ing rain .. had a look underneath the car and all seems ok ... dont think it is coming in thru the doors either, so does anyone have a sugestions before i start ripping the interior out ?
cheers in advance
Rob

[pegasus]

It may not have anything to do with the rain (prob just coincidence)

You may have a leaking heater matrix (same happened to my 16v)

[knobby]

Or you could have wet yourself...  :embarassed:

[Fac51]

nice one knobby ...  ripped out all the sound proofing and it was all saturated from front to back (drivers side) ... didn't smell of pee altho it didn't smell too good either ! if it is the heater matrix where will the water enter? will it only be when i have the heater on? redone all the seals inside the doors, they looked ok anyhow .... at the moment its bone dry inside altho i haven't used the heater nor has it rained  ... advice please

[takethefifth]

The heater matrix is a little radiator thing behind the centre of the centre console. Hot water from the engine runs through when you turn the heating up i gather! When its breaks the water leaks out, depends on the severity to how much you get. Common sympton is getting constant condensation/sticky residue on the windows and it does smell funny too!

It does usually happen on the passenger side though, not sure why....

You can bridge the pipes going into the matrix on the bulkhead side and effectively cut off its water supply with no bad effects apart from a lack of heating.

Gutted myself as my current golf is having the condensation thing going on so i think my 2nd matrix change is on the cards. Am i just unlucky to have had two golfs that both needed the matrix changing within a few months of getting them!! Both had the VAG 'mod' done to them as well... Jeeeez man!

[knobby]

Hey

Well i think u have done the right things at the mo.. Defo remove the carpet... Wash and put in the garage and allow to drive. wash wash with something that smells good else it will continue to smell bad until u do. With the carpet removed u should be able to see where the water is coming from.. we aint getting alot of rain at the mo.. So i am guesing if its hot... and no rain and water still appears.. ITs the heater matrix. or a loose pipe or something coolant related. Is your coolant just water? If so u wont get that resedue.. ur just get bad condensation in the car. If u got water and somekind of coloured stuff with ya water it leaves a sticky nasty mess on ya windows... bit like u have pee'd on the windows... (Have you been? Got somekind bladder / skat lover thing going on?  ).

Sunroof is often a good one...... 

Good Luck

Knobby

[rubjonny]

Doesn't sound like the matrix to me, it usually empties itself on the passenger side due to the design of the airbox.  Plus if the matrix had gone and was chucking that much water you would defo know about it, you would have a very strong smell of coolant, steamy windows and also your coolant level would drop considerably.

Likely suspects are:
Missing grommet under the carpet
Plastic membranes behind the door cards, these must be completely watertight!
Rubber door seals and/or roof guttering
Sunroof, check the front & back drain channels are clear Fronts drain between the door & wing, rears drain out the boot area
Check under the plastic rain tray in the engine bay, either side there are drain holes.  Make sure these are clear otherwise water builds up and works its way thru any grommets.  A common one is thru the bonnet release cable grommet, either replace or just whack a load of grease round it.  Also the fresh air intake on the passenger side can leak round the bottom.

[Fac51]

sussed it .... rear window outer outer seal  !!! dead obvious !! altho there is a small piece of metal trim missing from the seal which sort of helps to keep the seal against the glass .. can't find this on my ETKA disc so any ideas where i can get one / what its called

[Fac51]

Doesn't sound like the matrix to me, it usually empties itself on the passenger side due to the design of the airbox. Plus if the matrix had gone and was chucking that much water you would defo know about it, you would have a very strong smell of coolant, steamy windows and also your coolant level would drop considerably.

Likely suspects are:
Missing grommet under the carpet
Plastic membranes behind the door cards, these must be completely watertight!
Rubber door seals and/or roof guttering
Sunroof, check the front & back drain channels are clear Fronts drain between the door & wing, rears drain out the boot area
Check under the plastic rain tray in the engine bay, either side there are drain holes. Make sure these are clear otherwise water builds up and works its way thru any grommets. A common one is thru the bonnet release cable grommet, either replace or just whack a load of grease round it. Also the fresh air intake on the passenger side can leak round the bottom.

Gonna do all of the above too ... cheers !