Strabge WATER LEAK E65 (PICTURES)

martin730 · Jun 4, 2012

Anyone can help me maybe with my very big problem ?

I discovered a huge water leak into my BMW, its comeing from passenger side front, makeing everything soaking wet.

Since i am in Europe, Estonia, i have little hard to explain with english that place, so i took some pictures for you to look :

1 PIC :

2 PIC :

From last picture you see a black plastik and a white plastic, the water is comeing between them.
This black plastic you can push inside with finger hardly and littlebit, then you can feel with finger tip that there is water iside.
Water is at the top of that point where black and white plastik meet, so if water level rises iside there, then its comeing inside to car..

WHAT is that white plastic box there with bolts connected to steel ??
On the right from that leak place its lot of cabels comeing from that box.

Possible that its the car `brain` box ?
It seems to be too low place for that `brain` what you can see under your cabin filter...

Anyone, please help...

Keif · Jun 4, 2012

Take a peek through the pictures in my DIY (here) and you might get a better idea of what you are looking at on the other side of the firewall. Hope this helps!

martin730 · Jun 4, 2012

So, the most important thing what i d like to ask: IS there allso a water drain in the bottom of E-Box ?

Then i think thats waht is my problem in somehow..

But still if all other water drains (under cabin filter pipe, and hatch drains) are working very nicely and clean, is it possible that E-Box drain is stucked ?

If i unconnect all that boxes and stuff then is it dangerous for the car somehow ?
Everything will work like it was before ?

martin730 · Jun 4, 2012

And is it normal that water can go to bottom of E-Box with rain ?
Was the hatch of that E-Box with a ruber seal or something ?
Then it should be water resistant, and why is there no fan in my car, is it because i have Diesel engine ?

Anyone have had a problems that water are comeing inside to E-Box ?

Keif · Jun 4, 2012

I want to say that the when doing that E-box fan replacement, the little drain for where rain would drain out below the microfilter ducting looked like it could back up into there if plugged, but I'd have to look again to say for sure...I'd maybe look at that... remove microfilter, remove microfilter ducting, look straight down where ducting meets firewall, there should be a hole there toward the middle of the car where water drains out (make sure it doesn't have junk in it). There are a few pictures here that might help in pulling it apart...I thought I had better ones somewhere, but can't find them at the moment.

alpinaman24 · Jun 5, 2012

hey man totally off subject but i wna see your alpina ..

if u can send me a pic always wondered what the alpine white would look

martin730 · Jun 5, 2012

Ok, this water drain whats under the microfilter pipe, allmost middle of the car, these are cleaned and tested, the water goes away very well and runs out in under the car where it should..

I have a real problem now for scare that if i take all the eboxes out and later but it back again, is it normal car back then ?
No problems with knowing ignition key or something ?

I am wondering how that water can be inside of E-box ? Wasnt it waterproof box ?

martin730 · Jun 5, 2012

Could anybody look next picture and give me some answers about that :

1. In the picture you see the windshield wiper on the rubber seal, i marked with green the position where my wiper is standing all the time. (not my car in the picture)
Must that wiper stand on the ruber seal and press that seal down for better water tight ?

2. Must that seal be water proof ?
Mine has a caps between window and water can go inside on some areas.

3. In the picture you see marked with red how water is comeing in, it goes between the window and that ruber seal and directly to the E-Box and all other places there.

4. But how can that water go to E-Box i cant understund.
I see that water can go between firewall and E-Box, is it possible, it leaks inside there where that leaks into my cabin ?

5. If i clean that E-Box water drain, then E-Box will be ok, but water still comes into cabin between E-box and firewall ?

PICTURE:

Keif · Jun 6, 2012

You can find all my stuff here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/28107540@N02/sets ...the first sets are stuff related to the B7 (general pictures, supercharger centrifugal clutch tear-down, and I'm sure more to come) almost all other sets are DIY write-ups for my previous black 745Li.

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martin730 · Jun 7, 2012

Nice offtopic, but any other solutions for me ?

Sircas · Jun 7, 2012

I am having the same issue with my 745i. What's the short & quick reason & FIX!!!!!!.

DFW had a rain drenching Wednesday afternoon coming home from work! I notice some wet spots in front of the passenger viser where the small vent is! This leaking must be from the sunroof. Does the rubber seal need replacing or can clear silicon be applied!

pkathee · Jun 8, 2012

martin730 said:
Anyone can help me maybe with my very big problem ?

I discovered a huge water leak into my BMW, its comeing from passenger side front, makeing everything soaking wet.

Since i am in Europe, Estonia, i have little hard to explain with english that place, so i took some pictures for you to look :

Anyone, please help...

Common problem with E65/ E66. Leak is originating from clogged microfilter drain hole.....

Read ENTIRE thread below;

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=586265&highlight=water+leak

Especially from Post #15.

martin730 · Jun 8, 2012

No, my problem is discovered, not yet solved..

I have water leak into E-Box and the water drain inside of E-Box, in bottom is water drain what is pluged or something, dirt iside.

Cant reach to the bottom of E-Box because cant remove the frame inside of E-Box because 2 wires what dont allow that..

What is UNDER E-Box ?
What if i drill a new drain hole to the bottom of E-Box with long drill ?
I have a 5-7 cm water inside of that Box, soon the electric stuff will be inside water.

I quess the problem is leaking seal in E-Box covering hatch or something...

Captain.beke · Dec 4, 2012

Hi I have just found the same problem. Your photo are great showing exactly the some as mine
How have you got to the bottom of the ebox and have you solved the water leak
Hope you reply soon
It's not my sunroof drains as others have sergested I put gaff tape over sunroof and went through a car wash got wet carpets

B7M4W5 · Dec 4, 2012

Estnia wow I nice place had a good time there, were you born in Estonia or just live there

B7M4W5 · Dec 4, 2012

You should try to clean and clear the holes spray some lube spry like WD40 into the holes and wait and see if any drains out by bottom of your car behined your front wheels I use PB Blast cause its Yellow that way I know it whent through clear spray looks like water, try that if nothing goes through then put a weed trimmer line in there push and twist and spry more to help loosen dirt and little sticks or what ever may be there, I just did that for mine then I use drill to twist faster when I had alot of line in

cmpcpro · Dec 4, 2012

Frame inside ebox is a little hard to fish out but were talking 4-5min tops.. just move the wires out of the way.. if you have water coming into ebox, god help you.. fan is at the bottom so should probably spend $100 and replace that.. hope electronics and wiring are okay.. there is a seal on the lid of ebox.. so if that is on right then could only be water coming from bottom up.. which I would guess would be a drain clogged somewhere in that area like the microfiber drain talked about above..

E92-Lighting · Dec 5, 2012

sorry to hear

Captain.beke · Dec 20, 2012

E box drain

I Have got to the bottom of this proberlem. having disconnected the battery, taken out the filters and ducting, Take off ebox cover, remove plugs and remove ECU, two screws to take out plastic insides, I do not have a fan ( 730 LD ). From inside car 4 bolts secure ebox to bulkhead 2 easy to get to ( see early photos ), 2 hard to see. I had to do by feel. Then ebox can be moved out of the way to get under it still with main wiring passing through it
The drain from under the fresh air intake duct was clear and passed through the steelwork and comes into the ebox side with a plastic tube and exits out of the bottom under the ebox. The tube has a hole in the side so water from the ebox side also drains down this tube as well.
The tube passes through the steelwork but can be moved out of the way and with your finger pocked down the hole there is a rubber tube with a flapper valve on the end this is what my problem was it had become clogged
The Ebox has a drain hole as well which has a float valve in it, if this was stuck open water would fill up the ebox untill it reach the level of the hole in the bulkhead and then water would come into the car as was my case

ssm1991 · Nov 13, 2013

Some useful updates. My water drains under the microfilters were clogged too, so I decided to fix it.

1) Remove the microfilter parts. DIY and a few more photos are here.

2) Test drainage flow by pouring water in the water drain pan. The drain hole is at the bottom right. In my case, it took several minutes to empty out, and even worse for the passenger side. Not good for a tropical country.

The pan is part #14 below. Apparently it's some kind of aluminum alloy to avoid corrosion, then bonded to the steel body. The pans on each side have a short outlet that exits to the brake booster compartment for the driver's side, and the e-box compartment on the passenger side. For the passender side, the outlet is under the e-box case, not inside it. The previous post explains how to get to it. Part #15 is a short plastic pipe that connects that drain pan outlet and exits out behind the fender liner. Part #16 (photos further below) connects to that pipe and is behind the fender liner.

3) I couldn't unclog it enough even with compressed air or running a stiff wire through the drain to try and loosen the blockage. So I decided to check the drain valve (#16) behind the fender liner. You'll have to remove the front wheels and the fender liners (14 screws on each side). But trust me, this actually saves time and is the better solution.

Photo shows water just dripping when the drain pan was actually full. Driver's side wheel well:

4) The valve (#16) was full of gunk, and so was the pipe (#15). Cleaning the insides of course made the flow faster, but I was still skeptical. So I removed the valve, and somehow disconnected the pipe (#15) too from the drain pain (#14). The photo below shows the drain hole with the valve (#16) removed. The other side of the drain hole is the brake booster compartment.

5) I've decided not putting back both the pipe (#15) and the valve (#16). The reason is the photo below:

I drew a circle around the valve inlet where pipe #15 fits in. The way it works is that water from the drain pan (#14) goes directly to the flap via pipe #15, bypassing the brake booster compartment (or e-box compartment). But only a small space is left to drain the whole brake or e-box compartments. That small crescent space is just waiting to be clogged.

True, most of the water that pours down the hood grill goes through the drain pan, but there will always be water and debris collecting in both the brake booster and e-box compartments. Removing the pipe and valve will make the water flow from the drain pan to the brake booster/e-box compartments first, then drain down the much bigger hole.

I don't see any downside to this approach. As an option, you can keep pipe #15 connected.

Soldier_ · Mar 11, 2020

ssm1991 said:
Some useful updates. My water drains under the microfilters were clogged too, so I decided to fix it.

1) Remove the microfilter parts. DIY and a few more photos are here.

2) Test drainage flow by pouring water in the water drain pan. The drain hole is at the bottom right. In my case, it took several minutes to empty out, and even worse for the passenger side. Not good for a tropical country.

The pan is part #14 below. Apparently it's some kind of aluminum alloy to avoid corrosion, then bonded to the steel body. The pans on each side have a short outlet that exits to the brake booster compartment for the driver's side, and the e-box compartment on the passenger side. For the passender side, the outlet is under the e-box case, not inside it. The previous post explains how to get to it. Part #15 is a short plastic pipe that connects that drain pan outlet and exits out behind the fender liner. Part #16 (photos further below) connects to that pipe and is behind the fender liner.

3) I couldn't unclog it enough even with compressed air or running a stiff wire through the drain to try and loosen the blockage. So I decided to check the drain valve (#16) behind the fender liner. You'll have to remove the front wheels and the fender liners (14 screws on each side). But trust me, this actually saves time and is the better solution.

Photo shows water just dripping when the drain pan was actually full. Driver's side wheel well:

4) The valve (#16) was full of gunk, and so was the pipe (#15). Cleaning the insides of course made the flow faster, but I was still skeptical. So I removed the valve, and somehow disconnected the pipe (#15) too from the drain pain (#14). The photo below shows the drain hole with the valve (#16) removed. The other side of the drain hole is the brake booster compartment.

5) I've decided not putting back both the pipe (#15) and the valve (#16). The reason is the photo below:

I drew a circle around the valve inlet where pipe #15 fits in. The way it works is that water from the drain pan (#14) goes directly to the flap via pipe #15, bypassing the brake booster compartment (or e-box compartment). But only a small space is left to drain the whole brake or e-box compartments. That small crescent space is just waiting to be clogged.

True, most of the water that pours down the hood grill goes through the drain pan, but there will always be water and debris collecting in both the brake booster and e-box compartments. Removing the pipe and valve will make the water flow from the drain pan to the brake booster/e-box compartments first, then drain down the much bigger hole.

I don't see any downside to this approach. As an option, you can keep pipe #15 connected.

Thanks for the images and link. I can see that you're referring to numbers and whatnot, but in what reference? I don't see a diagram or the parts in the picture numbered. Could it be that it's just not showing due to the age of the thread?

I know this is somewhat of an old thread, but it beats making new ones, seeing how much work has been done in the past to help others AND it great to bring back these posts so others can see them!

oskino222 · Mar 25, 2017

yea I clean thoese out before but I still get a wet headliner
must be leaking for upper part like sun roof

Rick in Yuma · Mar 25, 2017

Have you checked the seal on your sunroof? If the seal is bad you may be getting more water in then the drains can handle, overflowing the sill. Get some blue painter tape, mask the seal off, see if it stops. Tape will come off without harming the paint or leaving glue residue.

oskino222 · Mar 25, 2017

So put the tape on the out side and wet it heavy and see if the headliner get wet if not redo seal

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oskino222 · Mar 25, 2017

Ill get on that haven't done the seal since i was told the water run through the car didn't think the seal would be an issue but more than what I can handle seems like a reasonable reason

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Rudie · Mar 29, 2020

Sveiks

I had this too and it was what ssm1991 (and I think what captain.bebe) described, the rubber flapper on mine was plugged. I pulled the wheel well plastic liners and pulled both of these flappers out completely. I would think it merits at least checking, I bet they're plugged. I don't know why euro cars love these flapper things, had this problem on the XC90 too.

HUGE pain, I had half the interior out to properly dry/clean it so my car wouldn't smell like a used sock.

Strabge WATER LEAK E65 (PICTURES)

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