Heavy Rains in Sydney - Messing with my E34

Hi Guys, I have done a search however nothing helps my particular problem.

We have had very heavy rain in Sydney over the past 24 hours. My car was parked outside. I woke up at 3:00am thismorning to the sound of my car alarm ringing (not sure what caused the alarm to be triggered, Im thinking water in electrics?). I ran out in the rain to turn the alarm off and found firstly, my interior lights were on, then I found that an abundance of water had leaked through the sunroof, trickling its way down the passenger front windscreen pillar and creating a pool in my passenger footwell.

I tried to start the car and sure enough a flat battery. I had no choice but to leave it until the morning. 3 hours later I jumped the car and did my best and soaking up the water. 3 Problems I now face.

1. When the car is on, I get a chime on the dash saying that one of the doors is open (when they are all closed). Every time I come to a Stop and them move forward again, the "door open" chime rings again.

2. When I turn the car off the reverse lights remain on, even when the car is not in reverse. The reverse lights stay on even when the LKM is disconnected (not sure if the LKM controls the reverse lights or not)

3. From the searches I have done, the sunroof drain is probably clogged which is causing the water to leak inside. Anyone know any tricks and tips in getting to the sunroof drain and cleaning it?

Thanks in advance.

Sunroof drain - Fine wire. Get the seats and carpets out asap. Check the drain hols in the bottoms of the doors. When it finally stops raining there pull off as much interior trim as you find necessary and dry EVERYTHING out. You could even have water in the loom up to the dash cluster (capillary attraction). Water in looms does funny things. If you really want it dry - drive over here to Perth 33+ and dry as a chip. The kettle is on!

What kind of fine wire do you mean? I tried unwinding a coat hanger but it's too stiff.

Do you reckon I I dry it all out the problems will fix themselves?

Originally Posted by Ssuss34

What kind of fine wire do you mean? I tried unwinding a coat hanger but it's too stiff.

Do you reckon I I dry it all out the problems will fix themselves?

Possibly, but only one way to find out. But it may introduce rust into relay contacts and/or grounds at a later date.

I would use compressed air if possible.

With love from sunny for ten days in a row Wellington

Ok, ive just unblocked the sunroof drains. See pics of what I used.

Pic of the leaky issue (note the damp material next to the A pillar)


Leak making its way down the a pillar via the glove box into the footwell.


Filled up small drains with water to make sure this was what was causing the leak. The drain filled up with no drainage from the other end (behind front wheel)


Bought this mini electric eel from bunnings.

Perfect size for the drain hole


Pushed it all the way through and voila, cleared the blockage.


Only problem now is the "door open chime" and the reverse lights.

Do you really think its necessary to take all the panels and carpet out ? I have had a hair dryer in the footwell for the past hour drying it out? You reckon it will work?

Keep using the hair dryer and drive around in a hot place for a while. The foam is thick and you really need to air it out to prevent mildew. Use a wooden stick to hold up the carpet to let it air out.

The reverse lights staying on are the result of a bad/frayed wires at the trunk arm leading to the trunk lid.
Remove the cover on the trunk lid arm and take a look at the wires there. You will more than likely find your problem. It can be fixed with butt splice connectors.



The door open warning is due to a bad switch in the b-pillar door catch. If you look at the catch there is a black switch on it that may be loose. Try driving around with the switch taped closed. If that doesn't work it might be the wiring. See this:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...43&postcount=2



One more thing. If the leak comes back again(mine did) use some of that green weed wacker/trimmer line, like this:

If you have access to a dehumidifier, I recommend it in your car overnight to help dry it out. I do that to my boat in the fall just before I wrap it up for winter. It works well and keeps the musty smells away.

Originally Posted by paperplane94

Keep using the hair dryer and drive around in a hot place for a while. The foam is thick and you really need to air it out to prevent mildew. Use a wooden stick to hold up the carpet to let it air out.

The reverse lights staying on are the result of a bad/frayed wires at the trunk arm leading to the trunk lid.
Remove the cover on the trunk lid arm and take a look at the wires there. You will more than likely find your problem. It can be fixed with butt splice connectors.



The door open warning is due to a bad switch in the b-pillar door catch. If you look at the catch there is a black switch on it that may be loose. Try driving around with the switch taped closed. If that doesn't work it might be the wiring. See this:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...43&postcount=2



One more thing. If the leak comes back again(mine did) use some of that green weed wacker/trimmer line, like this:

Thanks paper plane, how do you mean "use a wooden stick"? Do you mean actually get under the carpet and lodge a stick under it? How is the best way to get under the carpet ti do this?

luckily I changed the fuse for the reverse lights ( even though it wasn't blown) and that actually fixed the reverse light issues.

For the "door open" warning I will look into that tonight.

Funnily enough I bought the weed wacker line as a backup in case the electric eel didn't work.

OK Good^

Yes, just remove certain things holding the carpet down like the black plastic door sill cover at teh bottom of the door, and the kickpanel with the speaker in it.

To remove the kickpanel, find a right sized allen wrench or use a small flathead jewelers screwdriver and turn the fasteners 90 degrees.

When you are able to pull the carpet up slightly it will want to go back down into its place. Jam the stick in between the carpet and the metal floor to allow air circulation. If you happen to find a pool of water, look for some metal plugs in the floorpan of the car right underneath the carpet. Pry those out to allow for drainage. When its dried-out, reseal the metal plugs into the floorpan with some silicone caulking.

Do the same for the rears if they are wet.