Why is my carpet wet?

[edouble101 314]

This past Sunday I had to remove a couple audio wires in my car that ran from my dash to trunk. I removed the driver's seat so I could lift up the carpet at the driver's feet. When I lifted up the carpet the foam padding under it was completely soaked, dripping wet. My power wires are ran under the body through the frame rails. I never drilled any holes in the firewall or floor.

-The soaked area was at the driver's feet and up near the pedals. I did not check the passenger side.

-The drain tube for the a/c does not appear to be clogged.

-It has rained heavily within the past week

-I have used my a/c within the past week.

-My blower fan does not sound like it is sloshing around in water.

Could the vibrations from the bass on my windshield blown out the seal? There is ALOT of water in my car. The foam isnt damp it is soaked. Has anybody had this issue? Any ideas?

BTW car is 2008 Hyundai Elantra, 80,xxx miles.

[vladd 26]

are you sure it was water? When heater core's bust you'll find water/antifreeze in the floorboard but it's typically the passenger side because the core/lines sit above it.

The water could also be coming from the window rail as you stated, you gotta check to find it, start removing interior panels and if necessary put some pieces of open celled foam in places up the a-pillar and check them after a rain to see if they are wet.

[Julian 641]

Could be a leak near the B pillar, or bad door seals.

[ssh 924]

Is there a sunroof? Does the sunroof drain tubes run anywhere near there?

[edouble101 314]

are you sure it was water? When heater core's bust you'll find water/antifreeze in the floorboard but it's typically the passenger side because the core/lines sit above it.

The water could also be coming from the window rail as you stated, you gotta check to find it, start removing interior panels and if necessary put some pieces of open celled foam in places up the a-pillar and check them after a rain to see if they are wet.

I do not smell anything. I believe it is recent because it doesnt not have a moldy damp smell. I do not see any water other than under the carpet.

Could be a leak near the B pillar, or bad door seals.

My interior door panels are off my car because of some 'glassing I have been doing to them. I havent noticed any water coming from the doors.

Is there a sunroof? Does the sunroof drain tubes run anywhere near there?

I do not have a sunroof.

[jonbearsmt 919]

normally a heater core will cause this.. you can be sure by driving it.. with out the a/c heater.. after the motor get hot steam will appear on the windshield.

also lincolns air intake for the a/c is in a spot such that any water that runs off the windshield will run by the cowl and it SHOULD by pass it.. but is the foam gasket is bad the water will come right in...

being on the driver side is strange..

check where your cowl is

[vladd 26]

you'd have to be pretty good to smell antifreeze. I usually go by taste, but remember to spit not swallow :-D

If there's that much in the floorboard you should notice it missing from the reservoir/radiator.

[edouble101 314]

normally a heater core will cause this.. you can be sure by driving it.. with out the a/c heater.. after the motor get hot steam will appear on the windshield.

also lincolns air intake for the a/c is in a spot such that any water that runs off the windshield will run by the cowl and it SHOULD by pass it.. but is the foam gasket is bad the water will come right in...

being on the driver side is strange..

check where your cowl is

Thanks for your input. I will check out the cowl area. I havent checked yet to see if it the drain for the cowl is clogged.

I already snapped a roof brace from vibrations caused by bass. I wonder if another more serious issue has arrived from bass vibrations.

I also read that a faulty door seal could cause this but I think I would have noticed that considering I have the door panels off.

[edouble101 314]

you'd have to be pretty good to smell antifreeze. I usually go by taste, but remember to spit not swallow :-D

If there's that much in the floorboard you should notice it missing from the reservoir/radiator.

haha yeah bro I will not swallow anitfreeze. I will examine it closer.

The floorboard is completely soaked, small puddles were forming when I lifted the carpet. My car isnt overheating but I will check the antifreeze level.

[jonbearsmt 919]

there wont be a drain for the fresh air intake for the a/c that im aware of.. its designed to take air in only, but like i said, if the gasket is trash it will leak..

im not sure how yours will look.

here is mine from the outside

here is how it looks one my old lincoln while the hood is popped

i was also thinking.. did you buy it new?

if used.. i have gotten ahold of cars where people popped the rubber circles off.. for what ever reason.. but they are used to drain a flooded car,

i have also seen fools with thair power wires ran in the dorr jam cause the same problem but im sure thats in no way your problem

hope you find the issue

[Tirefryr 1,742]

You definitely can smell antifreeze. It's a very sweet smell. Get your nose checked Matt.

The urethane seal on the windshield is extremely strong. The paint will give way underneath the adhesive or the windshield will break before the seal goes. Now this is assuming the installation was perfect. Is it the OEM windshield?

[edouble101 314]

there wont be a drain for the fresh air intake for the a/c that im aware of.. its designed to take air in only, but like i said, if the gasket is trash it will leak..

im not sure how yours will look.

here is mine from the outside

here is how it looks one my old lincoln while the hood is popped

i was also thinking.. did you buy it new?

if used.. i have gotten ahold of cars where people popped the rubber circles off.. for what ever reason.. but they are used to drain a flooded car,

i have also seen fools with thair power wires ran in the dorr jam cause the same problem but im sure thats in no way your problem

hope you find the issue

Thanks for posting pics. I will snoop around mine.

I did buy the car new.

I do not have any wires ran through the door jam other than the factory wires.

You definitely can smell antifreeze. It's a very sweet smell. Get your nose checked Matt.

The urethane seal on the windshield is extremely strong. The paint will give way underneath the adhesive or the windshield will break before the seal goes. Now this is assuming the installation was perfect. Is it the OEM windshield?

Yes OEM windshield. I had a rock chip repaired last week though. They filled it in. I am 99.99% sure that isnt leaking.

[vladd 26]

Didn't mean to imply it doesn't have a smell, just that most people can't recognize it.

(maybe should have my nose checked though because unless it's steaming I don't find it to be all that acrid)

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Shit, I think it's easily distinguishable. Maybe my smell is keener.

[shizzzon 461]

Shit, I think it's easily distinguishable. Maybe my smell is keener.

Yea.. hell, smelling antifreeze to me is as easy as being able to smell gas when driving past a gas station.

Hell, i can smell antifreeze running thru my hoses in my car whenever i pop the hood when it's still running.

Not while i'm standing up but if i bend down, it's easily noticeable.

[sefugi 166]

I would have to say it is related to the A/C drain or evaporator case in some way, just my first thought.

[edouble101 314]

Thanks for the reply guys. I am going to remove the carpet form my car this afternoon to dry it out. Worse come to worse I will either run the a/c and look for dripage or wait until it rains again and investigate.

[sefugi 166]

While the carpet is out would be a great time to run the A/C and watch for the leak. Will probly make it even easier to see the area around the bottom of the evap. case.

[edouble101 314]

While the carpet is out would be a great time to run the A/C and watch for the leak. Will probly make it even easier to see the area around the bottom of the evap. case.

Good idea.

My car was in the garage for an alignment yesterday. The mechanic said the a/c drain was clear. I haven't looked but I will. Also I believe the a/c drain is on the passenger side. I am anxious to lift the carpet on the passenger to see if it is wet.

[edouble101 314]

I removed the carpet from the vehicle to let it dry and to inspect for the water leak.

Through the process of elimination the source of the leak was a factory grommet in the firewall. There is a thin (16g) wire that passes through the grommet. It appears to me that the wire is about 0.030" to 0.050" smaller than the grommet. I could have disturbed the wire by either my foot or by moving the wire in the engine compartment which initiated the leak. BTW the a/c drain is on the passenger side.

Close-up view in cabin

Close-up view in engine bay

I used Amazing Goop to seal the grommet from inside the vehicle.

[ssh 924]

That's pretty wild that that much water could flow through that. Glad you found the culprit.

My sunroof recently broke and I pulled it out to check everything out, couldn't find anything wrong. Stuck it back in the car and dropped it off at the local volvo shop. I never reconnected the drain hoses since I figured they were going to pull it right back out. It rained over night and in the morning my leather seats had warped and have a billion creases in them now...

So that makes two of us in terms of water in the cabin.

[edouble101 314]

That's pretty wild that that much water could flow through that. Glad you found the culprit.

You are right, a little 1/32" gap can flow water like crazy. I sealed it up from the inside and will retest tomorrow.

This gives me a reason to deaden the cabin floor now That should'nt take too long

[ssh 924]

That's pretty wild that that much water could flow through that. Glad you found the culprit.

You are right, a little 1/32" gap can flow water like crazy. I sealed it up from the inside and will retest tomorrow.

This gives me a reason to deaden the cabin floor now That should'nt take too long

Yeah I was thinking of deadening my roof now.

Cabin floor isn't bad, just lay down a few sheets of mlv.

[edouble101 314]

Yeah I was thinking of deadening my roof now.

Cabin floor isn't bad, just lay down a few sheets of mlv.

F that man. The roof can stay as is. I sure as hecks am not ripping the headliner off! Balls to that!!!!

[ssh 924]

Yeah I was thinking of deadening my roof now.

Cabin floor isn't bad, just lay down a few sheets of mlv.

F that man. The roof can stay as is. I sure as hecks am not ripping the headliner off! Balls to that!!!!

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, mine's sitting in my room LOL.