Urgent Water drain problem

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machone

machone

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w203 c200 estate Aventgarde
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Cannot find a heart valve on the other side, just the small rubber stopper bung. I am pretty sure these are not one way valves, just bungs. Diagram of parts also confirms.
 

BillyBoy

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Weird - there must be a drain somewhere - seems odd to just plug up holes and trap water.
 

sonic

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In your picture of the battery you can see the heater fan above & behind it. There should be a cover over that, otherwise water will get into the car. Have you removed the cover, sometimes you have to remove it to get access to the battery.
 
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Yes, I removed it in the picture, same with the other side - a cover over the sam. Problem is, everything looks ok/normal but water is still getting in. I think through the bonnet vents and it is filling these two compartments. Hopefully not the Battery side now I have cleaned the drain, but the Sam side which is in a way more worrying and does not have a drain. Should there be something inderneath these bonnet vents?
 
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7C5E2C3C-1222-4E67-B39A-497802C29C02.jpeg
 

grahamcol

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I might have misunderstood this a bit but the cover over the sam module surely has a drain at the end near the suspension turret? I have a similar cover on my 209 coupe and it definately drains near there or adjacent to there as the necessary "hole" is incorporated in the plastic moulding.
 
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I might have misunderstood this a bit but the cover over the sam module surely has a drain at the end near the suspension turret? I have a similar cover on my 209 coupe and it definately drains near there or adjacent to there as the necessary "hole" is incorporated in the plastic moulding.
F765D39E-693F-4D0A-AAC0-3AB73FEDDF2E.jpeg
Am I missing any covers here? As you said, it seems strange but the Sam unit/fuse box side does not have an obvious drain, unless it is underneath the Sam itself which is a pain to remove. I have found(& lost) the bung on that side but as there is no obvious hole in the wheel well I am going to risk leaving it out. The most strange thing is that as you can see above, the covers on both sides drain into these watertight tubs with inadequate drainage. The good news is, after removing the Sam, putting it in a food dehydrator and drying the car out properly, charging the battery and reassembling it is working again, which is great, because I think new sams have to be programmed and they are not cheap items!

Thanks to everybody for your responses. If I find a fix for the drainage problem(I am going to have to) I will post it here. Anybody with the same problem - a cheap food dehydrator seems to work and these two tubs were properly flooded!
 

grahamcol

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Don't think you're missing any covers.
Good luck with the fix.
 

M80

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Have a look beneath the wiper scuttle.
I'm going off memory from many years ago but when a screen fitter reassembled the parts around there he inadvertently folded the drains outlet hoses back on themselves.

I seem to remember there are 4 of them that require some careful refitting.
 

Oldspanners

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View attachment 63731
Am I missing any covers here? As you said, it seems strange but the Sam unit/fuse box side does not have an obvious drain, unless it is underneath the Sam itself which is a pain to remove. I have found(& lost) the bung on that side but as there is no obvious hole in the wheel well I am going to risk leaving it out. The most strange thing is that as you can see above, the covers on both sides drain into these watertight tubs with inadequate drainage. The good news is, after removing the Sam, putting it in a food dehydrator and drying the car out properly, charging the battery and reassembling it is working again, which is great, because I think new sams have to be programmed and they are not cheap items!

Thanks to everybody for your responses. If I find a fix for the drainage problem(I am going to have to) I will post it here. Anybody with the same problem - a cheap food dehydrator seems to work and these two tubs were properly flooded!
I had a look around my car this morning and ended up pouring water in the space below the SAM RHS obviously on a RHD car and although there is no visible sign of a drain the water did drain out behind the wheel liner. I would expect it to be the same on the other side for a LHD car. Checked the SAM and really the only way water can enter is if the cover isn't fitted tightly or the box is cracked. It did take quite a lot of water before it reached the drain but on the move the water will find its way there as the space was dry. I'll attach a photo which hopefully shows where it drains from behind the wheel liner, if nothing else it'll keep Wighty happy, he enjoys photos:D. WP_20201126_001.jpg
 
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machone

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I had a look around my car this morning and ended up pouring water in the space below the SAM RHS obviously on a RHD car and although there is no visible sign of a drain the water did drain out behind the wheel liner. I would expect it to be the same on the other side for a LHD car. Checked the SAM and really the only way water can enter is if the cover isn't fitted tightly or the box is cracked. It did take quite a lot of water before it reached the drain but on the move the water will find its way there as the space was dry. I'll attach a photo which hopefully shows where it drains from behind the wheel liner, if nothing else it'll keep Wighty happy, he enjoys photos:D. View attachment 63733


Thanks. I am not sure where the designed drain is but I think it must be under the Sam box which is a long and difficult job to take out - taking the Sam out was contortion. As a temporary/medium term fix I have taken the bung out. I tested it with a jug of water and it did not come out of the wheel well or foot well but underneath, near where your picture shows. I know there must be a drain somewhere. I think my Sam box is cracked too, so hopefully without a bung the water level will stay low. As the bungless hole is not directly into the wheel well the water will have to work hard to get in through there. I am going to try it for a while, anyway. Also bought a car cover for overnight. It is a strange design, to have that rain guard drain directly into an almost waterproof box!

A7F4B358-2B89-496A-8361-9B1EB6F5F5C4.jpeg
 

Oldspanners

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Thanks. I am not sure where the designed drain is but I think it must be under the Sam box which is a long and difficult job to take out - taking the Sam out was contortion. As a temporary/medium term fix I have taken the bung out. I tested it with a jug of water and it did not come out of the wheel well or foot well but underneath, near where your picture shows. I know there must be a drain somewhere. I think my Sam box is cracked too, so hopefully without a bung the water level will stay low. As the bungless hole is not directly into the wheel well the water will have to work hard to get in through there. I am going to try it for a while, anyway. Also bought a car cover for overnight. It is a strange design, to have that rain guard drain directly into an almost waterproof box!

View attachment 63734
I've a cover over mine as well:D but haven't had a problem so far. It's easier to take the wheelarch liner off and clear the blockage from that end and if you can see the crack in the SAM housing glue it up or seal it as moisture will certainly find its way in regardless and you'll be back to square one:(
Well at least it hasn't snowed:)
PS There should be a drain valve you show being washed out in the sink on both sides according to that parts diagram. All you have to do is find it:eek:
 
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Timeandleisure

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Apologies if this is not the right place...

Just got to wondering if schematics exist of where a particular model’s drain holes/sites are located?
 

mioba

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Apologies if this is not the right place...

Just got to wondering if schematics exist of where a particular model’s drain holes/sites are located?

I have never seen them mentioned on the various online parts sites. I would guess it is on WIS.
 

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