Damp / water in Passenger footwell

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J

jroper321

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Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
36
H.,

I recently bought a ford puma x reg. When i bought it, there was a horrible mould / damp smell coming from the car. i thought at the time it just needed a good clean. Unfortunately as the days went on i found a damp patch under the passenger carpet.

I've done some research and I used a sealant on the wiring loom that goes from under the bonnet to the passenger footwell, with no-joy! im 80% sure that theres a leak coming from the top left hand side of the footwell. Can one recommend what else to do? i'm running out of ideas.

If it helps I can post pictures of anything on the car.

Thanks for reading.
 
This is a fairly common problem and persistance seems to often be the key to sorting it out. Theres are lots of posts on this which point out locations to seal and different products to use.

It would be a good idea to establish if the water is rainwater and not water leaking from the heater matrix.

Good luck with it
 
Might be your bulkhead grommet.

Check this thread out:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=14536
 
quest63 said:
This is a fairly common problem and persistance seems to often be the key to sorting it out. Theres are lots of posts on this which point out locations to seal and different products to use.

It would be a good idea to establish if the water is rainwater and not water leaking from the heater matrix.

Good luck with it
Click to expand...

Well with you saying it could be coming from the heater matrix - i do have a different problem... my heater won't blow cold air, at all. So i'm not sure if this maybe related?
 
The two may very well may not be related, I was thinking depending on how much water you have in your footwell can you establish if it has the same colour as the coolant in the header tank, or does it smell like the coolant in the header tank?.

Some folk pull back the carpet and soundproofing in the footwell to locate where leaks are coming through,although sealing from the outside is still the best bet


As far as your heater not blowing cold air at all do you mean the fan only blows hot air? or did you mean the fan isnt blowing?

On the face of it it sounds like your (HCV) heater control valve may need replacing, there are lots of threads on this and I believe a How to guide
 
quest63 said:
The two may very well may not be related, I was thinking depending on how much water you have in your footwell can you establish if it has the same colour as the coolant in the header tank, or does it smell like the coolant in the header tank?.

Some folk pull back the carpet and soundproofing in the footwell to locate where leaks are coming through,although sealing from the outside is still the best bet


As far as your heater not blowing cold air at all do you mean the fan only blows hot air? or did you mean the fan isnt blowing?

On the face of it it sounds like your (HCV) heater control valve may need replacing, there are lots of threads on this and I believe a How to guide
Click to expand...


I'm pretty certain it's coming from the top left of the footwell, cus on the right side, Theres only wet patches.

The heater only blows Hot air, even if i switch it to cold, it stays exactly the same. it has air con incase that makes a difference (you can hear the a/c pump come on when u press the a/c button)
 
I'm pretty certain it's coming from the top left of the footwell, cus on the right side, Theres only wet patches.
Click to expand...

Your no doubt correct but I think it helps people to see where its coming through. People often deal with the grommet area then remove or seal around the pollen filter and seal and seams and they still have the problem.So actually seeing it come through 1) confirms its not the heater matrix 2) shows them they might need to redo something they have already done.

I dont have aircon so have paid little attention to posts on the subject,but if its definately switching off it shouldnt confuse matters.HCV is your best bet imo.Checking the power lead is connected to it would be a good start. and costs nothing
 
quest63 said:
I'm pretty certain it's coming from the top left of the footwell, cus on the right side, Theres only wet patches.
Click to expand...

Your no doubt correct but I think it helps people to see where its coming through. People often deal with the grommet area then remove or seal around the pollen filter and seal and seams and they still have the problem.So actually seeing it come through 1) confirms its not the heater matrix 2) shows them they might need to redo something they have already done.

I dont have aircon so have paid little attention to posts on the subject,but if its definately switching off it shouldnt confuse matters.HCV is your best bet imo.Checking the power lead is connected to it would be a good start. and costs nothing
Click to expand...


am i right in thinking the pollen filter is behind that row of fuses, behind the battery? I have the pollen filter out at the moment, and i can't see anything that would leak.

The power lead (excuse my ignorance) would look like / where would i find it?
 
I havent had the problem myself but I believe a problem area is around where the pollen filter housing mounts to the body.

this is a piccie of the HCV which mounts at the back middle of the engine bay and shows the plug the connector should be in

HCV.jpg
 
This is the kind of access you need and I believe slaylilian recently had the same problem and got it sorted with persistence

6082900719_86f1342e3c_b.jpg
 
quest63 said:
This is the kind of access you need and I believe slaylilian recently had the same problem and got it sorted with persistence

6082900719_86f1342e3c_b.jpg
Click to expand...

That 2nd picture is what I had my car like earlier today. So pretty much seal around the pollen filter - do you know if this fixed the problem?
 
I believe so but iirc it might have took a couple of goes. Personally for my own probs I read every single post on whatever subject I need to know about both here and elsewhere and often come accross different ways to deal with the same problem from different people. Then I pick what method best suits me.
 
quest63 said:
I believe so but iirc it might have took a couple of goes. Personally for my own probs I read every single post on whatever subject I need to know about both here and elsewhere and often come accross different ways to deal with the same problem from different people. Then I pick what method best suits me.
Click to expand...

i've put some more sealant in various places today, so i'll wait and see if that works. If not i'll know what to do for next time.

With regards to the HCV - there isn't one. The previous owner just attached the tubes with what looks like 2 pieces of garden hose. So i've ordered one off ebay. £13 delivered.

Thanks for your input and advice anyway :)
 
Good luck with it, I wish I had the chance to offer a bit of advice regarding the HCV as its very much reccomended on here to purchase a genuine Ford item.

Has to be better than no HCV at all though
 
quest63 said:
Good luck with it, I wish I had the chance to offer a bit of advice regarding the HCV as its very much reccomended on here to purchase a genuine Ford item.

Has to be better than no HCV at all though
Click to expand...


I'll see how this one goes, and if it needs replacing again.. i'll be sure to get a genuine ford one.

Thanks again
 
I'm still not convinced that the pollen filter boxes leak very much... There's a turned up lip around it to stop any water ingress.

Sealing the pollen filter, other than skinning my knuckles into a pulp, did naff all for my leak.

More often, it seems to be a small hole in the sealant between the inner-wing and the scuttle panel/bulkhead. I think thats what slaylilian found with his in the end.

It does seem that they can leak from lots of places though!!
 
Most often its the grommet not seated right, the rubber skirt needs to be overlapped onto the metal turn up on the scuttle. this is a right pain in the ass, but if its not on right it will leak. I only found this out when I took the grommet out to check some wiring and didn't refit it properly.

Like Arch Bishop said I don't think the pollen filter really has much to do with it. Its also no good bunging the grommet with loads of sealant. The best thing is to remove and re-seat it. The only thing that really needs sealant is if the drivers side leaks, as it comes through a welded joint on the bulkhead. (but maybe that's just mine) hope this helps.
 
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