RustyShackle

We've been having unseasonably cool temperatures in the pacific northwest recently. I am having some condensation building up on the inside cabin windows overnight and into the morning until it warms up.

The vehicle is always stored outside and since the trees above shed pine needles I hose it off a few times a week. Since my hose outside froze solid and ruined my spray head I had to use another hose this week to clean some crap off. I had no spray head so I basically just flooded water over the car which is where I think my problem started. As I drove away that day I could hear what I though was a small amount of water crashing back and forth in an unknown space behind me.

I keep a pair of gloves in my trunk and the other day I went to put some beer in and found the pair of gloves completely soaked?? There were also some condensation drops suspended on the exposed metal?? The rest of the trunk fabric seemed dry? No water in the spare tire well.

I had some similar ice build up on the inside windows a few winters ago - but that was after I left damp dog towels sitting in my car like an idiot

Anyone have tips for drying out and finding a possible moisture leak?

ezone

You'll have to get it inside the house, keep it warm and dry. LOL

Seriously get it at least warm enough to melt the ice inside, and if it's really cold it may take a while.
Get the carpet lifted up in a few areas of the cabin, see if there's water soaked into the padding under the carpets. Same with the trunk.

Sunroof? Drain tubes not getting all the water to the outside?

Vapor barriers behind the door panels (the sheets of plastic) not sealed properly?

Rusting out below the rear window, or along those trunk seal areas?

I found an old Civic with seam sealer dried out and cracked near the lower corner of the windshield, it would fill the drivers side of the car with water during a good rain.



Drying...big fans? This is the car that soaked the drivers floor...most of the interior is removed, carpet lifted and held up off the floor with lumber and bungees and straps, and a YUGE fan on it overnight

Colin42

There's a flapper vent thing in the left side of the trunk behind the side fabric, see if thats loose or clogged full of crap. or maybe your trunk isn't sealing properly? eric the car guy had a video about finding trunk leaks

RustyShackle

I wasn't able to find any wet spots and the weather is supposed to turn around very soon so looks like this problem will be solved another day.

Seeing as how I already lured ezone into this thread I have another question to pick your brain(s):

I've noticed recently that the vehicle is making a whirring sort of REEEEEEEE sound on acceleration (not Pepe the frog screaming in my engine bay - I already checked). The only way I can describe it is the sound of a 737 engine spooling up.

I had Honda do my input shaft bearing in the summer so I don't believe it's that and it sounds nothing like that.

Timing belt and water pump were done a year ago at Honda and I got brand new PS and aux belts. Power steering fluid is at normal level.

Ideas?

Edit: I found this video and the noise I'm hearing sounds very similar - mine seems a little higher pitch and not as loud though.

Another interesting anecdote: A few weeks ago it was pretty cool out (just below freezing) and I went to fire up my car after getting out of the grocery store and heard a big belt chirp on startup for a split second. It really surprised me because I have never heard a belt noise from this vehicle before - I looked around and figured it was someone else's vehicle making noise. Maybe related?

ezone

Is that a belt SCREECH (belt not tight enough) or is it a continuous whine that varies pitch with engine RPM? Video has a quiet whine that sounds like alternator or something.



Stethoscope first! Use your own ears/senses to figure out where the noise originates.

(Also, make sure the alternator bolts are tight.)

I'm just assuming it's coming from the drive belt end of the engine compartment here:

Have someone hold the RPM up a little so the whine is loudest, or operate throttle by hand if this is needed.... or if noise is obvious at idle, then proceed with:
Unplug the alternators 4-wire plug so it quits charging...Did the noise go away? (could be regulator whine while charging at max, bad diode, failing alternator, bad battery)

Remove drive belts one at a time, start engine after each belt comes off to check if noise is gone....when noise is gone, spin each pulley using that belt by hand to see which one is not silent and smooth.

RustyShackle

It seems to be a continuous whine that varies in pitch with RPM.

The video author commented that it was a power steering leak causing that noise?

A bad alternator or PS pulley would not surprise me since, to my best knowledge, they have never been replaced.

guitarsnlikker

leave pacific northwest.. everything will improve dramatically.

RustyShackle

But I enjoy cool weather, rain, high humidity and 2 weeks of snow per year!

Maybe I am my own worst enemy.

ezone

No reason to be guessing and wasting money.

Just about every problem can be proven with a little sleuthing and/or deductive reasoning.


If yours were power steering noise, I'd expect the noise would vary or change as you turn the steering wheel while sitting still (varying the system pressure would make the noise change).... you might see low fluid, or aerated (foamy) fluid in the reservoir, and the noise would be gone if you take its belt off so the pump can't turn. Removing the belt only isolates the noise to a system or component, you still have to figure out why it made noise.

RustyShackle

I think I may have found the source of the water leading to the condensate forming on the windows:

I ripped apart my trunk and really found no significant signs of moisture except a slight dampness on the chassis near the plastic flap on the left hand side behind the trunk liner. What the hell is that thing anyway an air pressure release??

The sunroof drain tubes? that run back through the trunk look crystal clear.

My driveway is quite slanted and when I park the driver side sits higher - I washed my car today and noticed a bit of water sitting on top the plastic covers where you step in on the front and rear driver side door.

I imagine some water can leak down under that plastic cover and get the carpet wet although I didn't feel any dampness.



Also about the sound while accelerating - I checked and hear nothing from the PS pump when turning the wheels. No aerated fluid in the resevoir either.

Since the weather has warmed up the noise is less noticable.

ezone

Izzou talkin bout the body vent? If so, it's for flow-through ventilation. And yes it would flap when you slam the last door.

Vapor barrier behind the door panel is no longer attached all the way around? That can allow water to enter the interior panel side of the door. The plastic liner is supposed to stop water from reaching the door panel, channel it toward the inside of the door and out through the drain slots along the bottom edge. But you may want to see if it's actually reaching the carpet that way before diving in.