Soaking wet floor? Xantia

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Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by scr8pdo »

I went out to my car this morning, and fistly found the rear passenger floor soaking wet, at first I thought I had left a window open but no, then I checked the front passenger under the mat and it was also sodden, first thoughts were the heater matrix, so I popped the bonnet and found the level down, anyway I started to top it up and it onl;y took about a cup full if that, there must be a bucketfull on the floor, so I tasted the coolant in the bottle and it was the usual sweet/bitter taste of antifreeze, but not the water on the floor.

Very strange, I havent had a proper examination yet, the heaters blow nice and hot with no steaming up as you would expect from a leaky heater rad, I poured a couple of jugs of water over the door seals, nothing obvious, the car doesnt have a sunroof. the only weird thing I have noticed over the last few days is when going round a corner the interior light comes on???

Could there be a wet contact somewhere, is there any common faults I should be looking for before I strip the car out and run a hose all over it to find the source, any help would be great, iam glad it doesnt appear to be the matrix as it looks a real PITA

All the best, Steve
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by KennyW »

Hi Steve,

Is it a leak from the tail gate, estates are quite bad for it.

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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by RichardW »

Estate or hatch?

If estate could be the boot door seal leaking - check to see if it's wet under the rear seats / the boot carpet. Otherwise,it;s probably the scuttle seal let go of the windscreen - it needs to be firmly fixed on, or the water pours right in through the blower - this is most likely given the rear floor is wet. The computer for the alarm and door light controls lives under the passenger seat, so giving it a bath may produce odd effects..... #-o
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by MPV »

What about the rear washer pipe? Has it come off? I take my hat off to you, tasting toxic anti freeze, then licking the carpet for comparison...not sure which is worse!!!
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by CitroJim »

The wet passenger footwell is often caused by a failed seal on the windscreen scuttle panel - the black plastic panel that abuts the bottom edge of the screen. This must be bonded back to the screen with good silicone sealant between the edge of the passengers side screen to almost half-way across. If not sealed then water on the screen can pour under it and run straight into the heater air intake and straight onto the passenger footwell; most ends up UNDER the carpet and the foam backing soaks up bucketloads.

Check by lifting the weatherseal on the door and sliding your hand right under the carpet.

Easy way to tell, just try prising gently the scuttle panel away from the screen. If it comes away easily then the seal has failed. Take the scuttle panel right off and seal it.

If this is the case it's essential to have the carpets out and thoroughly dry them. there's wiring under the carpet and this can corrode in the presence of damp and in a MK1 there's the alarm/central locking ECU too and this can suffer badly. To take out the carpets, the seats and centre console needs removing.

On others, the same problem has been caused by a failure of the bonding of the screen to the bodyshell in the corner. This will be given away by the edges of the screen having a milky appearance.

Last cause can be a broken aircon condensate drain on the heater box but normally this only causes a big problem if the aircon is in constant use...

Check under the rear footwell carpets too. If a bad leak is at the rear then water can travel to the front but the leak has to be bad for this to happen.
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by scr8pdo »

Thanks for the replies guys, the most water seems to be in the rear passenger side footwell, although this may have travelled from the front as the front is soaking too, I first thought the matrix although there doesnt seem to be any water loss/coolant and there is no wet from the heater box and down to the floor, ie no wet trail, so we reckon its the front screen scuttle???

The car is a saloon/hatch on a R reg, as I say the interior light kept coming on on corners the other day and the central locking is playing up when you press the key, sometimes it works other times it wont.

So just to re cap and be clear, do I need to check the plastic scuttle at the base of the front screen or do I need to check the tailgate or door seals?

Many thanks in advance lads, I was gonna scrap it if the matrix had gone, but looking under the bonnet, the car has been so well looked after/maintained it seems a shame to get rid, someone pranged my Mrs the other day, not too bad, it has a scuff down the nearside, knocked the bump strip off the front N/S door and flexed the front door in a touch, but other than that its a bonny old motor and I would like to keep it going for a bit, it does need a few bits like the spheres doing as its very boingy/bouncy, a couple of tyres soon, I have got all the service items sitting here ready to give her a freshen up, but I was in 2 minds after I saw the water whether to bother or not, there is no way iam getting involved with a matrix job, it looks a nightmare
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

definitely the boot door seal by the sound of it, the water rolls across the boot floor when you brake and runs under the carpet down under the rear seats to the rear seat foot well. to do a temporary stop on this put dry news paper under the back seats.also check under there to see if the carpet is wet. the easy fix is tiger panel glue a very thin bead squirted under the bottom rear window seal, or lots of mastic and replace an or repair the rear door plastic water guard panel a much bigger job and a bit of a Task in comparison.
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by scr8pdo »

Thanks for the help guys, I have just bought another Xantia 1.9 TD, I gonna pick it up Tuesday and make a good car out of the 2, aint decided on what iam gonna base the car on either the 2.1 or the 1.9, see other thread about the spheres :)
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by artdjones »

Does it have a sunroof?
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by scr8pdo »

No it doesnt have a sunroof, what I need to know is where the pipe for the rear washer goes route wise?

The rear washer doesnt work at all, does the washer use the same reservior as the front washer ie the same washer bottle or is there one in the rear, I havent fully investigated yet as Iam in a lot of pain waiting for an operation and bending down is a very painful experience, what I have noticed is I detect a smell of screen wash from inside the car and my wife has been trying to use the rear washer jet.

So if someone could describe the route for that pipe if it runs the length of the car or not I would be greatful
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by Xantidote »

FWIW the rear washer on my Xantia is the one thing that has never ever worked, since I bought the car 13 years ago. Think you'll find the washer bottle (front offside wing) is common to all washer duties.

The one on my BX never worked either, and it was many years before I discovered it actually had a rear washer
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by CitroJim »

The pipe runs up through the inner wing on the drivers side, up the A pillar and across the roof in the top rail and then down the C pillar to run into the tailgate (MK1) or across the rear of the roof (MK2) to the washer jet.

Some have a non-return valve in the line under the wing and this is occasionally the cause but more often than not it's a blockage on a MK1 where it runs through the centre of the wiper mechanism. Compressed air often relives it but you need access to the rear of the wiper mechanism to do it effectively.
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by scr8pdo »

Thanks Jim, have I got a MK1 or 2, I think its a MK1 being an R reg with smoked rear lights rather than the clear ones, and the small glovebox, please educate me, also does the pipe run down the O/Side along the roof or N/Side?

All the best Ste
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by CitroJim »

Yours is a MK1 Ste and the pipe will run across the Offside C Pillar and enter the tailgate along with the wiring loom through the concertina you can see up by the tailgate hinge. The pipe itself is made of very soft and flexible rubber and they seem to last very well indeed...
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Re: Soaking wet floor? Xantia

Post by scr8pdo »

Cheers Jim, I will have a lok tomorrow, are there any joints of the pipe along that stretch ie a non return valve within the roof lining etc, I just wondering if in the past it may have frozen and popped off if there wasnt sufficient screenwash in the system etc?

Other than that I shall try a pin in the washer jet to see if its just blocked as it may well be another leak elsewhere?
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