Cabrio Water Drains

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Battery Guy
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Cabrio Water Drains

Post by Battery Guy » Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:12 pm

My weekend project is to pull the hardtop and clean out the drains. Problem is water by the back seats. Going through all the threads on RL there are plenty of pictures of what the drains look like but I did not find any tips for cleaning them out. Can I just use a piece of string trimmer line and go down through them? Or is there some reason that would not work? And are the accessible with the top down and the rear lid open?

Other question - is there any other way that water could be getting back there? Right now it is almost completely dry; it has been over a week since it went through a car wash or was driven in the rain. Other places that I should check for water coming in? Front floor is completely dry - only water is in the rear floor at the rear seats. Slightly wetter on the drivers side than the passenger side, but both are damp.

Thanks in advance!
Daryll
1999 Porsche 996 Cabrio
Black/Black/Black
No Options!! (How did that happen??)

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32wildbilly
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Re: Cabrio Water Drains

Post by 32wildbilly » Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:26 pm

Battery Guy wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:12 pm My weekend project is to pull the hardtop and clean out the drains. Problem is water by the back seats. Going through all the threads on RL there are plenty of pictures of what the drains look like but I did not find any tips for cleaning them out. Can I just use a piece of string trimmer line and go down through them? Or is there some reason that would not work? And are the accessible with the top down and the rear lid open?

Other question - is there any other way that water could be getting back there? Right now it is almost completely dry; it has been over a week since it went through a car wash or was driven in the rain. Other places that I should check for water coming in? Front floor is completely dry - only water is in the rear floor at the rear seats. Slightly wetter on the drivers side than the passenger side, but both are damp.

Thanks in advance!
Daryll
On a coupe with sunroof I always heard low pressure air to clean out the drains. Never have done it but always read it. You are aware that there is an important electronic control box under the driver's seat that does not like water!!
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Battery Guy
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Re: Cabrio Water Drains

Post by Battery Guy » Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:41 pm

32wildbilly wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:26 pm
Battery Guy wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:12 pm My weekend project is to pull the hardtop and clean out the drains. Problem is water by the back seats. Going through all the threads on RL there are plenty of pictures of what the drains look like but I did not find any tips for cleaning them out. Can I just use a piece of string trimmer line and go down through them? Or is there some reason that would not work? And are the accessible with the top down and the rear lid open?

Other question - is there any other way that water could be getting back there? Right now it is almost completely dry; it has been over a week since it went through a car wash or was driven in the rain. Other places that I should check for water coming in? Front floor is completely dry - only water is in the rear floor at the rear seats. Slightly wetter on the drivers side than the passenger side, but both are damp.

Thanks in advance!
Daryll
On a coupe with sunroof I always heard low pressure air to clean out the drains. Never have done it but always read it. You are aware that there is an important electronic control box under the driver's seat that does not like water!!
OK, will give the low pressure air a try too if my string trimmer line does not work. And yes, the control box under the driver’s seat is the main reason that this is my immediate project this weekend. Fortunately the carpet is dry except for the inch or so right in front of where the carpet goes up and under the back seat - so the dampness is a relatively long way from the seat, but I don’t want to have any dampness in the car. I’m sure eventually it would start to smell...
Thanks!!
1999 Porsche 996 Cabrio
Black/Black/Black
No Options!! (How did that happen??)

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Battery Guy
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Re: Cabrio Water Drains

Post by Battery Guy » Sun Mar 24, 2019 3:10 pm

Got the drains cleaned out, but after some more research on the RL it looks like I may have a disconnected drain tube. But it is not clear what that particular tube actually does. This is an amazingly complex system for what it does but when clean it does appear to work OK. At least I’m not driving in fear of getting caught in a rain storm.
Daryll
1999 Porsche 996 Cabrio
Black/Black/Black
No Options!! (How did that happen??)

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B3DAWG
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Re: Cabrio Water Drains

Post by B3DAWG » Sun Mar 24, 2019 4:18 pm

yea, no doubt. In some ways, it's an overly complex system. Both of my Carreras had clogged drains. Glad I got it sorted especially on the cabriolet which was known to have water ingress into the cabin that would kill the immobilizer.

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Battery Guy
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Re: Cabrio Water Drains

Post by Battery Guy » Sun Mar 24, 2019 4:49 pm

When I removed the speaker, I discovered that both of the “pans” were packed full of mud - probably had never been cleaned, or at least not for a very long time. Had to break up the mess with a screwdriver and suck it out with the shop vac. But when done I poured a cup of water into the pan and it ended up out the drain where it was supposed to. So a (very small) successful project.
D
1999 Porsche 996 Cabrio
Black/Black/Black
No Options!! (How did that happen??)

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