Water leak under Driver dash: solved

HeX

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Over time I've noticed a seemingly small water leak getting into the cabin when it rains. It slightly drips directly on my left ankle when my foot is on the foot rest or by the clutch pedal. It seems to be dripping down from the fuse access panel beneath the steering column but not on the fuse board itself. I think its falling inside the dash and running down to that part of the plastic panel but I just cant tell from where. Perhaps someone else has experienced a similar issue and can point me in a more specific direction instead of me having to take it all apart and try to trace it while hosing down the car, which wouldnt be easy for me being that I dont have immediate access to a hose. I'm assuming it might be the original windshield seal has become faulty but perhaps it may be a nearby grommet or seal I'm unaware of.
 

connies96hatchie

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I haven't had this issue yet. I only had it on the back hatch due to the weather stripping wear and tear dry rot.
 

Terrell Russell

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Do you by any chance have a broken entenna? Do you have any open whole on the fire wall under the hood? Air conditioner maybe? Take of your wiper arms and then take the plastic piece of that shields them from water getting in and what not, check upset there check the place ic piece it's self for holes check the outer rubber seals. Another thing I would do is just spray or dump water on the cars windshield and and whole front end for a good amount of time and see if it starts leaking then take your hand and a flashlight look and feel and follow the water trail if any when you do that test! Hopefully that works because that's the only smart thing I can think of for the problem, do lots of research to on YouTube and online
 


HeX

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This reply is well overdue.

I shaved off my antenna over 2 years ago when I painted the car, so that cant be it.

Today I finally got around to removing the wiper cowl. Fortunately, it wasnt full of crap but I cleaned & hosed it out anyways. No leaks appeared. I noticed the seam sealer by the hood hinges were cracking a bit, way more on the driver side, so I sealed it up with RTV.

I also noticed some rust accumulation on the side dash mount bracket under the panel. It appears like water may be getting in through the door seal near the hing, trickling through, and running down my wiring that coincidentally runs just above where my foot has felt the leak drops.
20151102_141335.jpg
Im contemplating the best route to improve the seal without replacing the entire door seal. I may try to heat it up at that section a bit to mold it out a little. Ill decide on that tomorrow once the RTV is fully cured and I hose test for the leak again while everythings reassembled.
 
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mc360

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this post wont help you much if at all but i thought i would throw it out there, my under dash is all rusty like that on this civic and my last so i dont think it was rusted from a leak but i could be wrong.
 

HeX

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this post wont help you much if at all but i thought i would throw it out there, my under dash is all rusty like that on this civic and my last so i dont think it was rusted from a leak but i could be wrong.
That hardware rusts naturally with age due to the air moisture, but as I stated theres added rust build-up directly under the wiring, which must be due to added physical moisture.

... and I appreciate the comments anyways. If anything, sometimes the added banter brings upon new thinking that could lead to resolutions. Now, if you were a d*ck about it then it'd be another story :bitching:
 

mc360

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lol i was just saying because i have seen a spotless dash frame (or what ever its called) but one spotless vs probably 100 rusty ones means its common, just thought i would throw it out there incase you thought it was supposed to be clean
 

HeX

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lol i was just saying because i have seen a spotless dash frame (or what ever its called) but one spotless vs probably 100 rusty ones means its common, just thought i would throw it out there incase you thought it was supposed to be clean
I appreciate the courteous thought. Ive been around cars enough to know that its a rarity to find 15+ year-old dash hardware to be oxidation-free.
 

asinclado

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I would check by the antenna, under the rubber piece that goes along the roof, right by the windshield. That is where one of my water leaks was.
 

HeX

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Its long overdue but I determined the leak issue to have been coming from where the windshield meets the driver side roof drip rail. The polyurethane there became loose so water got through, leaking into the cabin area then onto the wiring of my windshield antenna, running down it all the way to under the dash. I cut out the loose PU, filled up the leak area with black RTV both outside & inside, now theres no more leak.

20160115_142120.jpg
This is the inside view. Please excuse the lack of clarity as it was really bright outside at that moment.
20160115_134204.jpg
 
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