Water pooling in nearside rear passenger footwell

[MickMcQ]

Water pools in the rear nearside passenger footwell of my Audi A6 SE Avant 1.9 tdi 2001. It is clean water, i.e. not coolant or screenwash. It is not dirty therefore not off the road. I have checked under the battery for drain holes blocked and there was no sign of water or debris in chamber. I have changed the pollen filter holder to ensure a new and effective seal. The foam lining to below the holder is clean and dry suggesting that water is not comming in through the pollen filter.

Has anybody got any ideas what I can check next?

[bagpipingandy]

Sounds like you have checked all the ussual areas, is it an Avant? If you are sure the washer system is not leaking, the plenum chamber drains are not blocked, the windscreen seal is OK, pollen filter seal, double checkthem all.
I would suggest lifting the front carpet as the ccu is likely to be sitting in water and this will only lead to more issues, while the carpet is up try a hose on the windscreen to see if any water enters the cabin.


regards

Andy

[MickMcQ]

Thanks Andy, I will give it a go. Mick

[MickMcQ]

I have taken the carpet up (what an easy job!!!!!) as suggested by Andy and the whole of the nearside was full of water. All I needed was bar of soap and I could have had a bath. Found the drain pipe from the AC unit and it now has a modified outlet. The original outlet is behind the heat shield fabric and opens under the weight of water. For whatever reason mine did not open and the car filled with condensed water from the AC unit. I now have a 7 inch pipe fixed to the AC oulet sealed by the original body seal and out through the heat shield to drip onto the under engine floor tray. I have dried off the CCU but I now have the mammoth task of trying out the carpet. I will try the hosepipe opnce everything is dry.

[Peter D]

That A/C mod may cause a whistling/sucking noise from the condensation tray. You should perhaps gay a can of anti fungal A/C spray as that may be why the valve did not open due to mould.
If it was that wet you have better lift the rear pasenger carpet as the water migrates backwards via the rear heater vent recess in the floor pan. Regards Peter

[mikeybutch]

Dont envy you drying out this time of year if the foam under the carpet is sodden as it was on my Avant when the rear washer line popped under the carpet.Sounds a lot of water just from the aircon is the rear washer giving a full jet of water?

[MickMcQ]

Just tried the hosepipe test as suggested by Dave. Failed! Water is coming in below the fan unit on the left of the front passenger footwell. I stripped out the covering over the pollen filter and found the pollen filter wet, water inside the pollen filter housing and the foam below wet. It is not the seal around the polen filter that has failed, it appears to be water coming off the windscreen and flooding over the top of the pollen filter. The design looks flawed, there is no cover over the pollen filter, is this right? or have my garage not put the cover back following a filter change? If the filter is meant to be open, what is to stop the water coming off the windscreen and flooding the car every time I wash the car with a hosepipe? Is there any way that I can seal the plastic strip that runs along the bottom of the windscreen the windscreen?

[mikeybutch]

Just tried the hosepipe test as suggested by Dave. Failed! Water is coming in below the fan unit on the left of the front passenger footwell. I stripped out the covering over the pollen filter and found the pollen filter wet, water inside the pollen filter housing and the foam below wet. It is not the seal around the polen filter that has failed, it appears to be water coming off the windscreen and flooding over the top of the pollen filter. The design looks flawed, there is no cover over the pollen filter, is this right? or have my garage not put the cover back following a filter change? If the filter is meant to be open, what is to stop the water coming off the windscreen and flooding the car every time I wash the car with a hosepipe? Is there any way that I can seal the plastic strip that runs along the bottom of the windscreen the windscreen?

I think there must be a cover which is missing.Never changed the filter on my audi but just put one on a Bora which had a protective cover to stop water ingress which must be vital.If you have had the filter replaced I would seek an explanation

[MickMcQ]

I telephoned my local Audi dealer in Leicester and in Derby to try to find out if a cover was missing. Both their answers were the same, "Book the car in to our service deopartment and we will have a look". The VW dealer in Leicester was much more helpful, he emailed the page from the spares maual and from that I could see that there is no separate cover for the pollen filter. It did however show that the water deflector that fits to the bottom of the windscreen ( No 32 in drawing) is held in place by three clips (No 35 in drawing). The clips were missing from my car and there was a 2-3mm gap between in and the windscreen. I assume that the water deflector had worked loose over time because there was nothing to hold it down. Water was getting behind the water deflector and dripping straight onto the pollen filter. This problem had clearly existed for some time and made worse every time I washed the car with a hose pipe.
My thanks to all who have commented on my problem and to the Forum for inspiration to find the answer.
Water Deflector.jpg

[Peter D]

Item 32 actually attaches to the glass all the way across as there is a strip with a slot in it bonded to the glass and the trim has a protusion which fits into the slot. Be carefull tampering with this as you can crack the winscreen. Regards Peter