Mercedes SL R230 2007 boot leak not a regular leak - Help!

NEERAJ

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Hi All,

Hoping someone can help please.

I purchased a 2007 SL and have noticed water in the boot.

I have checked the regular leak points and it is NOT the C Pillar and all seals are in tact. All drains clear and working as expected. All carpets are dry.

There is a set of wires that run behind the battery and these wires are covered in a cloth ducting. These wires travel up behind the trim towards the fuel cap side of the boot. The cloth ducting is soaked and very wet and as a result the water is dripping from the cloth ducting into the boot well.

Any ideas/ remediation as to how this issue would be gratefully received.

I have attached a picture with the set of wires that are wet circled in red.

Thank you all in advance.
 

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mercmancdi

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Hi All,

Hoping someone can help please.

I purchased a 2007 SL and have noticed water in the boot.

I have checked the regular leak points and it is NOT the C Pillar and all seals are in tact. All drains clear and working as expected. All carpets are dry.

There is a set of wires that run behind the battery and these wires are covered in a cloth ducting. These wires travel up behind the trim towards the fuel cap side of the boot. The cloth ducting is soaked and very wet and as a result the water is dripping from the cloth ducting into the boot well.

Any ideas/ remediation as to how this issue would be gratefully received.

I have attached a picture with the set of wires that are wet circled in red.

Thank you all in advance.

Is that dark patch to the right of photo damp carpet or just a shadow.
 

00slk

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If you don't have wet carpet or boot trim, it could be condensation forming in one part. I had this in our 2003 SL, the third brake light wasn't sealing properly and water was seeping in and drawing through the two skins of the boot lid. In turn this caused condensation to form on the screen edge of the boot lid which dripped onto the boot floor cover. Once the third brake light was replaced the condensation stopped happening.
R230's are renown for water leaks into the boot though......Sometimes :rolleyes:
 
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NEERAJ

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If you don't have wet carpet or boot trim, it could be condensation forming in one part. I had this in our 2003 SL, the third brake light wasn't sealing properly and water was seeping in and drawing through the two skins of the boot lid. In turn this caused condensation to form on the screen edge of the boot lid which dripped onto the boot floor cover. Once the third brake light was replaced the condensation stopped happening.
R230's are renown for water leaks into the boot though......Sometimes :rolleyes:[/QUOTIE]

In your case was the wire covering I have identified wet?

I have dried the wire covering it as much as I can and after it has been rained is soaked again. Re the condensation I am keeping the boot open during the day to air it out as much as I can. I really dont want to remove the internal carpets on the petrol cap side as this seems like a big job.

Thank you for your comments.
 

LostKiwi

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Check the seal around the fuel filler neck. That's a common source of leaks on r129 where water gets past a perished seal then drips onto the PSE pump killing it (PSE pump on the 230 is other side).
 

00slk

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It was a good few years ago but the wetness was around the wiring as far as I can remember.
 
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NEERAJ

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It was a good few years ago but the wetness was around the wiring as far as I can remember.

Thanks, are you referring to the fuel filler cap neck?
 
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NEERAJ

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Check the seal around the fuel filler neck. That's a common source of leaks on r129 where water gets past a perished seal then drips onto the PSE pump killing it (PSE pump on the 230 is other side).

Thank you - is it easy to establish if the fuel filler neck seal has perished?
 

LostKiwi

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Thank you - is it easy to establish if the fuel filler neck seal has perished?
Yes the rubber surrounding where the filler neck is will be perished but thinking about it the 230 is a different design.
There is on a a 230 a drain hole in the filler to let water trapped behind the filler flap. It may be worth checking the drain tube is connected and not split.
 
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00slk

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Yes the rubber surrounding where the filler neck is will be perished but thinking about it the 230 is a different design.
There is on a a 230 a drain hole in the filler to let water trapped behind the filler flap. It may be worth checking the drain tube is connected and not split.

On my 55 the rubber seal is missing around the tank neck, been like it since I bought it o_O
 

PHUNN

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Well, there's something dripping in my boot too...
And it's a bit of a mystery, because the boot does not leak when I've hosed down the car.
Hosing down the car includes direct application of mains pressure (which around here is fire-hose style) which I employ to clean out the bits of vegetation etc from the seals at the base of the roof.
Given the apocalyptic warnings on our treasured forum, I have always inspected under the boot 'floor' cover to see if water might be lurking around/below the spare wheel.
Nope! Drizabone!!
The 'drip' seems to get in only as a consequence of the boot being opened, and/or when the roof is lowered.
This has been a ' feature' (!) of the car since it joined the family. Up to now I've just opened the boot, glanced inside and mopped out the water droplets.
They occasionally collect on the carpeted 'ledges' (both sides, but mainly on the left) to be found below the boot 'divider'. Now and again there may be rather more water and the droplets then gather along the felt seam along the edge of the boot divider.
However the days of the kitchen towel remedy seem to be at an end...
Because I discovered condensation on the spare wheel, so removed it, together with the jack and base/ holder from the boot.
No water to be found, but the foam rubber 'suspension' which supports the PSE pump was soaking wet at the base.
I gave it a good squeeeeeze, and a trickle of water emerged, ran across the boot floor and disappeared under the grey plastic box (Whassat?) which sits in its' own little plastic carrier at the front and centre of the boot.
I lifted the box (gingerly; it is attached to something that looks rather like a tv aerial cable?!) and underneath I discovered what seems like a drain hole.
Next to the drain hole I found a moulded rubber 'bung' which had become detached from the hole and was just loitering on the boot floor.
I squeezed most of the water from the foam suspension/padding.
Then I mopped out that bit of the water which had not vanished down the drain (hope it's meant to be a drain; don't know what might be under the boot floor?) and paid attention to the rubber 'bung'.
It fitted back into the drain hole easily enough, after a bit of excitement when it nearly escaped into the 'Black Hole' under the boot floor.
The 'bung' itself is quite ingenious because the moulding incorporates a small sealing flap of rubber. This intrigues me. If it is indeed a drain, then why install a seal! So, in the interests of completeness, I fitted it back into the drain hole, but upside down, so the sealing flap hangs down into the space below the boot floor. Any major amount of water, which might enter the boot and inundate the PSE pump should, I thought, be better off flowing unimpeded out of the drain hole.
Anyway, if I haven't bored you witless with this meander through the boot, I'll get (at last!!) to the point.
Where/why could there be a reservoir of water located in the boot lid? The water certainly runs off into the boot as the lid rises and gathers at the 'front' (near the car roof) of the boot.
How can I drain it/make it drain before opening the boot, which causes the cascade to actually enter the boot?
Is there perhaps a reservoir in the roof panel which dumps itself into the boot when the lid is opened?
The answers to these mysteries are awaited with baited breath, please!
 

Oldcodger

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Well, there's something dripping in my boot too...
And it's a bit of a mystery, because the boot does not leak when I've hosed down the car.
Hosing down the car includes direct application of mains pressure (which around here is fire-hose style) which I employ to clean out the bits of vegetation etc from the seals at the base of the roof.
Given the apocalyptic warnings on our treasured forum, I have always inspected under the boot 'floor' cover to see if water might be lurking around/below the spare wheel.
Nope! Drizabone!!
The 'drip' seems to get in only as a consequence of the boot being opened, and/or when the roof is lowered.
This has been a ' feature' (!) of the car since it joined the family. Up to now I've just opened the boot, glanced inside and mopped out the water droplets.
They occasionally collect on the carpeted 'ledges' (both sides, but mainly on the left) to be found below the boot 'divider'. Now and again there may be rather more water and the droplets then gather along the felt seam along the edge of the boot divider.
However the days of the kitchen towel remedy seem to be at an end...
Because I discovered condensation on the spare wheel, so removed it, together with the jack and base/ holder from the boot.
No water to be found, but the foam rubber 'suspension' which supports the PSE pump was soaking wet at the base.
I gave it a good squeeeeeze, and a trickle of water emerged, ran across the boot floor and disappeared under the grey plastic box (Whassat?) which sits in its' own little plastic carrier at the front and centre of the boot.
I lifted the box (gingerly; it is attached to something that looks rather like a tv aerial cable?!) and underneath I discovered what seems like a drain hole.
Next to the drain hole I found a moulded rubber 'bung' which had become detached from the hole and was just loitering on the boot floor.
I squeezed most of the water from the foam suspension/padding.
Then I mopped out that bit of the water which had not vanished down the drain (hope it's meant to be a drain; don't know what might be under the boot floor?) and paid attention to the rubber 'bung'.
It fitted back into the drain hole easily enough, after a bit of excitement when it nearly escaped into the 'Black Hole' under the boot floor.
The 'bung' itself is quite ingenious because the moulding incorporates a small sealing flap of rubber. This intrigues me. If it is indeed a drain, then why install a seal! So, in the interests of completeness, I fitted it back into the drain hole, but upside down, so the sealing flap hangs down into the space below the boot floor. Any major amount of water, which might enter the boot and inundate the PSE pump should, I thought, be better off flowing unimpeded out of the drain hole.
Anyway, if I haven't bored you witless with this meander through the boot, I'll get (at last!!) to the point.
Where/why could there be a reservoir of water located in the boot lid? The water certainly runs off into the boot as the lid rises and gathers at the 'front' (near the car roof) of the boot.
How can I drain it/make it drain before opening the boot, which causes the cascade to actually enter the boot?
Is there perhaps a reservoir in the roof panel which dumps itself into the boot when the lid is opened?
The answers to these mysteries are awaited with baited breath, please!

Hmmm....I had reason to look at the plug you mention as it was loose underneath the boot floor

I also queried the design and wondered which way round was best. The arrow on the flat side seemed to suggest it should go that side face up and pointing towards the front of the vehicle and it went in easily.

The way you did it does seem more logical based on the plug design though

Anyone with a WIS that can confirm which is correct?
 

PHUNN

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SL350 September 2014 3500cc 7G Auto Iridium Silver R231
Well here we are; still locked down tight?!
The foam 'suspension' under the PSE pump seems now all dried out, partly due to some very assiduous mopping. The foam certainly holds a great deal of water. No wonder the car would mist up with condensation on cold mornings.
Still, two months of nice dry warm weather, with the sun shining into the lid-up boot, has finished the job.
The boot remains mercifully dry after the car is washed.
So I'll keep immediately mopping up any rainy-day ingress of water, and carry on with my fingers crossed....
 

Oldcodger

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Well here we are; still locked down tight?!
The foam 'suspension' under the PSE pump seems now all dried out, partly due to some very assiduous mopping. The foam certainly holds a great deal of water. No wonder the car would mist up with condensation on cold mornings.
Still, two months of nice dry warm weather, with the sun shining into the lid-up boot, has finished the job.
The boot remains mercifully dry after the car is washed.
So I'll keep immediately mopping up any rainy-day ingress of water, and carry on with my fingers crossed....

I solved my problem by getting rid of the offending vehicle and getting a different (and dryer) one!

Bit extreme sure!

Fitting a new seal did improve matters to the point where a small towel (actually an old fashioned baby nappy!) placed on the shelf either side of the boot was enough to catch any leakage and stop it getting down into the boot space.

Changed it after a rain storm for a dry one. Nuisance but better than doing the boot all the time.
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
Common leak points:
Boot seal (see Malcolm's guide).
Third brake light.
Aerial on left rear 3/4 (if fitted).
Fuel filler neck (rarely).

Also blocked drains at front corners of boot seal.
 

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