Rain eats the installations

Namely, due to the negligence of the owners as well as the repairmen who should check this during regular maintenance, drainage channels are blocked on many cars. Their role, as the name implies, is to drain excess water that ends up in the area where the windshield and the hood cover touch. Unfortunately, this is an endangered area because it is where dirt is collected - the most rotten leaves, mud and other impurities, which then very effectively clog the drainage channels and thus cause a mini-flood in the interior of the vehicle, which directly results in corrosion on the power cables.

Problems for the owner

So, instead of going out of the vehicle through the drainage channels, the water overflows and slowly but unstoppably reaches the cabin. The floor was soon flooded, and then, in addition to creating an unpleasant odor in the cabin, there could be more serious consequences - that is, corrosion on electrical installations. We say yes, because with some car models, the joints with which the electrical installations are made are well protected and do not pass along the floor. However, in models where there is a risk of such corrosion, the consequences can be various, sometimes only slightly irritating, but often very serious. Conditionally speaking, "minor" problems can occur in the operation of the rear power windows and the rear window wipers stop working. There are more serious problems that are already a bit of a threat to safety, and that is the failure of the stop lights, turn signals and so on, all the way to the biggest shortcomings. The biggest problem can certainly be when the central lock completely fails due to corrosion, so the vehicle can no longer be locked. Also, with models that have an electric parking brake, it can fail, which can also have serious consequences for the owner.

Check out the halfbacks

According to the experience of repairers, blockage of drainage channels is most common in poorly maintained vehicles older than six years, which is interesting because this is precisely the category of the most sought after used vehicles in the Serbian market. That is why we must emphasize that this is one of the checks that should be done before buying a used car aged six and over, as they are subject to this problem. Namely, in addition to the year, the increased risk of clogging of drainage canals in such half-carcasses is also influenced by the fact that many of them have spent long hours at motorways waiting for customers. During that time it was raining, snowing and who knows what else, the channels were clogged, and the sellers, in honor of the exceptions, would certainly not bother to check and clean the drainage channels. So take care and check your car before buying. Check the vehicle for any problems we have listed. If the rear window panes are on strike, the tail lights, the wipers or the central lock are likely to have a problem with the installation.

Are there any solutions?

As can be concluded, the rain leaves serious problems on the car. Fortunately, all this can be dealt with quite effectively by replacing the cables and connectors that have been damaged by the rain. We demonstrated this on a used 2005 "hay hood", a model that, due to the inaccessibility of drainage channels, often happens to be clogged. Here is how repairing this failure looks like in practice, noting that this is an operation that requires an experienced repairer and a considerable amount of time. It should also be said that while the material itself (connector and wires) is not expensive, this operation is not very cheap as it is quite time consuming and the cost in official service is around 60 Euros.

Corrosion problems - emergence and solutions

The place where the flood begins, an opening under the hood close to the windshield.

Here are the openings we're talking about. The rotting leaves, mud, and other dirt clog them and as a result the water floods the space under the windshield and ends up in the car.

The consequences of water can be easily seen - the floor layout is completely covered. In addition to creating unpleasant odors, there are other more serious problems.

Here are the more serious issues - the corrosion on the connector that connects the front and rear of the vehicle electronics cables is clearly visible. Moreover, some lines have already fallen out of the connectors due to corrosion.

Reparations follow. The most complicated part is to ensure unhindered access to the cables. To begin with, we remove the protective plastic sills and begin dismantling the seat.

The seat must be removed and removed. Unfortunately, this is not the end to the troubles of a servicer…

… The plastic seat supports, carpet and insulation remains to be removed. Only then are the cables fully accessible.

The cables are finally available, followed by their replacement as well as the connectors. This is a very tiring job that requires an experienced craftsman and the schematics obtained from the manufacturer. An experienced craftsman will eventually move the connector out of reach of water.

After the replacement, we also clean the drainage cables to prevent the flooding from occurring again. Checking and, if necessary, cleaning the drainage ducts should be done at each regular service.