Very Wet Damp Seats K12

[busterdan]

I did see a couple of messages referring to the door drains being blocked, leaks from the rear lamps and also failure of the boot rubber seal, even seam issues but I've not had a chance to properly look yet... However my daughter notice this yesterday.... that's pretty extreme dampness (apparently carpets and boot are fine). I'm guessing the water is pooled under the seat and it's soaked up the seat belts and into the seat....

Any thoughts please folks

 

[Mika The Finn]

 

[plmval]

Suspect leaking roof gutters welded seams sealant cracked, door seals, previous accident damage botched repairs & or sunroof & its 4 drain down pipes blocked & possibly sill drain slots blocked?

References;
https://www.google.com/search?q=Nissan+Micra+(2005)+leak+in+boot+&+damp+rear+seat&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b

https://celicahobby.com/forums/ubbt...to-fix-water-leak-prevent-wet-back-seats.html

Good will searching.

 

[busterdan]

Thanks for your message but the car doesn't have a sunroof... I was only able to check a few days later and it seemed dry...very strange, just have to keep an eye on it.

 

[busterdan]

Car is still leaking, I thought it was the rear light cluster but this evening (30 minutes ago)... I pulled the covers off to get a better look. There is definitely wetness around the large rubber grommet that in my case has just two wires running from the car and into the void behind the rear bumper, I assume these are wires for the number plate light. I can only think that over the years, mud and crud have gathered on the outside edges of the grommet and this is bridging the seal. I'm going to check with a hose pipe tomorrow and then maybe seal it with silicone.

 

[busterdan]

Been out to the car today to try and work out where the leak is coming from, I have found where the leak is present in the car but it's still unclear where the entry point is. I do think the the bolts that holds the light cluster in place are the culprit. The leak does happen on both left and right sides although the leak inside the car is in slightly different places as shown in the pictures.

Having pulled all the lining out I am surprised just how poorly finished the panels are, they don't fit properly and have sealant plastered all over them. I'd be interested to know if this is the case for other Micra's or perhaps mine has suffered rear end accident damage? The right side light cluster mounting hole is damaged, I only noticed this today as the black plastic crumbled away, therefore this may be leaving the light cluster just loose enough to allow for a leak (also in the pictures). Consequently this bolt appeared to have more rust deposits on the thread suggesting that water may have been getting in here (see picture). Also this mounting point isn't totally flat, it's slightly raised so the light cluster body would have been affected by this and it's this that has possibly caused the housing plastic to crack.

To bodge this fix my options, short of ripping the whole back end off (not feasible), is to try to isolate/seal the bolts and create a rubber seal between the housing and the shell of the car. So I have taken some old bike inner tube, double sided tape and created some washers for the four mount holes. This might also help seal where the mount hole isn't completely flat. Finally I have used some thread lock/seal on the bolts.

If it still leaks then it's coming in through a seam/seal that I can't see or get to which will be very annoying.

The right side leak (directly beneath the light cluster bolt holes)

The left side leak.... it's very mucky on this side, possibly from sealant and spray?... the leak is slightly further over from the leak on the right side.... I'd say this is more in line with the bulb in the light cluster.

Slightly buldging/rusted mounting hold:

Mucky external seam on the right side behind the light cluster, but I cleaned this up and it looks OK to me:

The bolts don't look great and there's evidence of the threads rusting, I used some threadlock the other day but should have put it further down the thread:

My bodged inner tube washers:

Then I realised the housing was cracked, there's also a small hairline crack from the hole outwards (6 o'clock position) thats is only noticeable when it's tightened up:

From the back, I can't really work out what has happened here, the plastic just looks to have crumbled away?

 

[plmval]

DIY clear silicon sealant always quickly & cost efficiently fixes leaks non-invasively on the outside at source on many of my old bangers over the years.

Seam sealants tend to dry out harden with age & micro cracks as the joints & fittings flex, expand & contract.

I run it around the tail light fittings outside in position together with the tailgate hinge mountings, lift ram mounts, & tailgate wiring grommets & any cracked seam sealant metal roof gutter joints as leaks run down inside the roof pillars.

Reference;

Relevant video example info starts @ 130 seconds in.

Good luck

 

[busterdan]

Thanks for the reply, must admit I haven't really checked the external seams thoroughly, but the right side around the rubber gromit that feeds electrics into the hatch was completely dry.

Agree though the next option may be a bead of silicon to seal off the lights....

 

[busterdan]

Just a bit of an update, it looks like my bodging may have worked as the car has been dry since.... but we are due lots of rain over the next few days so that will be the real test.