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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Discuss problems you have had or are having with your Z4
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ben g
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by ben g » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:19 am

Lance wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2019 1:27 am Ben I had a water leak exactly how you're describing it and i spent weeks trying to trace it! It drove me mad!

Checked the drains, light clusters were taken out and seals checked, air vents checked but all with no obvious signs of leakage. I finally siliconed around the joins/creases around the boot opening, near where the hinges and struts sit, also the top line of the lights. Never leaked again after that and it's probably been 5 years.
Cheers for that, I'll try and give the seams around those areas a dab of sealant at some point. I reckon you might well be on the money with that advice as I noticed a few times the water pools happened after washing the car, which could either be from the drains being blocked (water running off the roof and not being able to get out through the drains), or as you said, the joins in the metal around the boot opening. Hopefully after all this, I can finally rid my bootspace of water :lol: :thumbsup:
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by ben g » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:34 pm

Update: parked up at work today and I've just gone out to my car after a couple of hours and noticed a damp patch on my driver's side, directly under the roof drain. I lowered the roof and had a look down from the top and I can see water sitting in there, but can't seem drain it using a small metal rod. When I prod around with the rod it seems to be hitting something at the bottom and won't go any further.

Is this something that can only be sorted from underneath the car?
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by markplant » Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:05 pm

It may blocked at the bottom of drain , if you can rod the drain from below or remove to see if this empties
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by ben g » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:38 am

markplant wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:05 pm It may blocked at the bottom of drain , if you can rod the drain from below or remove to see if this empties
Oh OK, I'll give that a go today. No chance of doing that without a trolley jack. Could just about get my forearm under the sideskirt :lol: :thumbsup:

I removed the drain bungs years ago, so maybe it's just clogged up with mud and grit from driving down rural roads.
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by dhobbs » Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:17 pm

You can remove the cover in front of the rear wheel arch but needs small tools.
Best to jack it up to see what you’re doing.
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by ben g » Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:23 pm

dhobbs wrote: Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:17 pm You can remove the cover in front of the rear wheel arch but needs small tools.
Best to jack it up to see what you’re doing.
Just done exactly that :thumbsup: also removed the rear wheel to make it easier.

Poured some hot water mixed with fairy liquid down from the top and its now draining, but when trying to insert the metal rod from underneath, it still seems to be getting stuck going up. Perhaps the drain hole is too small for my tool? Either way, some debris came out and it seems to be draining OK, so time will tell if that's sorted out the boot leak.

Cheers all :thumbsup:
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by MACK » Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:19 pm

ben g wrote: Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:23 pm
dhobbs wrote: Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:17 pm You can remove the cover in front of the rear wheel arch but needs small tools.
Best to jack it up to see what you’re doing.
Just done exactly that :thumbsup: also removed the rear wheel to make it easier.

Poured some hot water mixed with fairy liquid down from the top and its now draining, but when trying to insert the metal rod from underneath, it still seems to be getting stuck going up. Perhaps the drain hole is too small for my tool? Either way, some debris came out and it seems to be draining OK, so time will tell if that's sorted out the boot leak.

Cheers all :thumbsup:
It might not be the tool, there might be something jammed in there like I had.
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by dhobbs » Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:22 pm

You should be able to rod the drivers side from inside the car. I did this with the roof up but it isn’t easy and you need to be flexible.

I use a piece of single core cable to rod mine.
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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by dhobbs » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:49 am

Lance wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2019 1:27 am Ben I had a water leak exactly how you're describing it and i spent weeks trying to trace it! It drove me mad!

Checked the drains, light clusters were taken out and seals checked, air vents checked but all with no obvious signs of leakage. I finally siliconed around the joins/creases around the boot opening, near where the hinges and struts sit, also the top line of the lights. Never leaked again after that and it's probably been 5 years.
Where does the water drain to around the boot area. I notice a pool of water around the hinge area when parked downhill, but mine seems to drain somewhere. Should it drain or collect?
3.0si roadster. Requisite stubby. Sound gen mod. LED numberplate lights. LED boot strip. Interior lights LED too. ZHP gearknob. Daily drive :driving:
Motor in boot. Bilstein B8 dampers. New radio, much better sounds :thumbsup:

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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by Z4M-2006 » Thu Jan 17, 2019 12:56 pm

I have see them leak where the rear 1/4 panel bolts to the inner panel

Remove bolts and gently lift the 1/4 panel lip and introduce sealer ... re bolt and leave to set

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Waterlogged battery compartment.

Post by Lance » Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:55 am

dhobbs wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:49 am
Lance wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2019 1:27 am Ben I had a water leak exactly how you're describing it and i spent weeks trying to trace it! It drove me mad!

Checked the drains, light clusters were taken out and seals checked, air vents checked but all with no obvious signs of leakage. I finally siliconed around the joins/creases around the boot opening, near where the hinges and struts sit, also the top line of the lights. Never leaked again after that and it's probably been 5 years.
Where does the water drain to around the boot area. I notice a pool of water around the hinge area when parked downhill, but mine seems to drain somewhere. Should it drain or collect?
I had water in one of the side dips and the battery compartment had a pool of water. Part of the main boot floor was also wet, I presume due to soak up.

I presume if draining correctly, it's down the channels, over the lights and away.

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