Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

Pop top leak following roof corrosion repair and fitting of new canvas

DelB53

DelB53

Messages
18
Location
South Wales
Vehicle
T5 SE 180
Hi Everyone,

Last December my 2012 California SE had its roof corrosion fix completed by Sinclair in Swansea (Sinclair Cardiff don't deal with California bodywork issues) after 6 years of waiting. As the roof was coming off I asked for the new style canvas with a fully opening front to be fitted.

Job done and everything seemed OK, but due to pandemic restrictions, it has only been used a few times with the roof raised. In July and August, we managed to escape to France for a few weeks. No problems at first even with a few rainy days, but when we had some heavy rain for @2 hours with the front pointing pretty much into the rain and with a slight tilt towards the rear, I noticed that water was appearing to be soaking through the headlining above the driver's door. This continued to spread and the headlining became soaking wet. No water was appearing on the metal door frame above the headlining.

I checked outside and noticed that water appeared to be pooling in the roof area and grooves outside the raised section. From checking the forum it would appear to indicate blocked drain channels, but prior to the roof fix, this has never been an issue even though I've experienced plenty of heavy rain over the last 8 years including a 2 day thunderstorm in the South of France. So I'm concerned the problem might not totally due to blocked drains, but that the roof and canvas might have been fitted incorrectly. I'm currently waiting to get it looked at by Sinclair Cardiff and I'd like to point them in the right direction, so any thoughts from experienced Cali owners here would be appreciated. I've attached a few pics to illustrate the problem.

Thanks in anticipation.

Cheers Del

IMG_20210807_120012235.jpg

IMG_20210807_131330578.jpg

IMG_20210807_121415672.jpg

IMG_20210807_115725034.jpg

IMG_20210807_131218676_HDR.jpg

IMG_20210807_121415672.jpg

IMG_20210807_131330578.jpg
 
First check would be the roof drains are not blocked ….. which by the puddles they look to be, then the sealing of the large grommet (where your thumb is in the 5th picture).
Assume they didn’t replace the front cap on the roof? If so could be a leak where the sealant is not doing its job.
 
First check would be the roof drains are not blocked ….. which by the puddles they look to be, then the sealing of the large grommet (where your thumb is in the 5th picture).
Assume they didn’t replace the front cap on the roof? If so could be a leak where the sealant is not doing its job.
Thanks for that. It's booked back into Sinclair in a fortnight. I don't want to poke around too much, as a) The problem only appeared after Sinclair worked on it, so I'd like them to rectify any problems they have caused, and b) I'm noted for being clumsy and don't want to risk making things even worse or breaking something vital :). As Sinclair Cardiff aren't Cali specialists I'm looking for ideas as to the root of the problem, so I can pass them on to them. I'll certainly mention the grommet.
 
That puddle of water is because the roof drains are blocked.

I had a similar headline water mark many years ago when my
left hand side roof drain was blocked. Mine got blocked over
time with the build up of dirt.
Yours could be a kinked drainage tube, seeing that its been
played with.
 
That puddle of water is because the roof drains are blocked.

I had a similar headline water mark many years ago when my
left hand side roof drain was blocked. Mine got blocked over
time with the build up of dirt.
Yours could be a kinked drainage tube, seeing that its been
played with.
Thanks for the info. Glad you resolved the problem, and as you had a similar experience to mine with water in the headlining I'll be able to point Sinclair towards the probable problem area
 
Hi Everyone,

Last December my 2012 California SE had its roof corrosion fix completed by Sinclair in Swansea (Sinclair Cardiff don't deal with California bodywork issues) after 6 years of waiting. As the roof was coming off I asked for the new style canvas with a fully opening front to be fitted.

Job done and everything seemed OK, but due to pandemic restrictions, it has only been used a few times with the roof raised. In July and August, we managed to escape to France for a few weeks. No problems at first even with a few rainy days, but when we had some heavy rain for @2 hours with the front pointing pretty much into the rain and with a slight tilt towards the rear, I noticed that water was appearing to be soaking through the headlining above the driver's door. This continued to spread and the headlining became soaking wet. No water was appearing on the metal door frame above the headlining.

I checked outside and noticed that water appeared to be pooling in the roof area and grooves outside the raised section. From checking the forum it would appear to indicate blocked drain channels, but prior to the roof fix, this has never been an issue even though I've experienced plenty of heavy rain over the last 8 years including a 2 day thunderstorm in the South of France. So I'm concerned the problem might not totally due to blocked drains, but that the roof and canvas might have been fitted incorrectly. I'm currently waiting to get it looked at by Sinclair Cardiff and I'd like to point them in the right direction, so any thoughts from experienced Cali owners here would be appreciated. I've attached a few pics to illustrate the problem.

Thanks in anticipation.

Cheers Del

View attachment 84217

View attachment 84222

View attachment 84223

View attachment 84224

View attachment 84225

View attachment 84226

View attachment 84227
Sorry to be a pain, but is this where the large square shaped rubber part is behind the front spoiler / infront of the pop top? We have water getting under the roof spoiler / cap from somewhere? Im keen to seal ANY possible sources of water ingress. Thanks
 
Sorry to be a pain, but is this where the large square shaped rubber part is behind the front spoiler / infront of the pop top? We have water getting under the roof spoiler / cap from somewhere? Im keen to seal ANY possible sources of water ingress. Thanks
No problem at all. If you check the photos you'll see the water pooling along the roof behind the front spoiler and in my case this caused the water to soak through to the interior head lining above the front door and pillar. This turned out to be blocked drainage channels, which, I suspect, became blocked with dirt of some sort when the roof was removed to carry out the corrosion repairs (I had never experienced problems prior to the repair). The problem was resolved by Sinclair VW in Cardiff - they cleared the drainage channels with an air line - the 2 front channels were totally blocked, and one rear channel was half blocked. If you've got a similar blockage, check to see if the water is be pooling around the roof ( see my photos) which could indicate blocked drain channels, and I guess the water could then seep through at any weak spot. Hope this helps
 
Sorry to be a pain, but is this where the large square shaped rubber part is behind the front spoiler / infront of the pop top? We have water getting under the roof spoiler / cap from somewhere? Im keen to seal ANY possible sources of water ingress. Thanks
No problem at all. If you check the photos you'll see the water pooling along the roof behind the front spoiler and in my case this caused the water to soak through to the interior head lining above the front door and pillar. This turned out to be blocked drainage channels, which, I suspect, became blocked with dirt of some sort when the roof was removed to carry out the corrosion repairs (I had never experienced problems prior to the repair). The problem was resolved by Sinclair VW in Cardiff - they cleared the drainage channels with an air line - the 2 front channels were totally blocked, and one rear channel was half blocked. If you've got a similar blockage, check to see if the water is be pooling around the roof ( see my photos) which could indicate blocked drain channels, and I guess the water could then seep through at any weak spot. Hope this helps
 
Sorry to be a pain, but is this where the large square shaped rubber part is behind the front spoiler / infront of the pop top? We have water getting under the roof spoiler / cap from somewhere? Im keen to seal ANY possible sources of water ingress. Thanks
No problem at all. If you check the photos you'll see the water pooling along the roof behind the front spoiler and in my case this caused the water to soak through to the interior head lining above the front door and pillar. This turned out to be blocked drainage channels, which, I suspect, became blocked with dirt of some sort when the roof was removed to carry out the corrosion repairs (I had never experienced problems prior to the repair). The problem was resolved by Sinclair VW in Cardiff - they cleared the drainage channels with an air line - the 2 front channels were totally blocked, and one rear channel was half blocked. If you've got a similar blockage, check to see if the water is be pooling around the roof ( see my photos) which could indicate blocked drain channels, and I guess the water could then seep through at any weak spot. Hope this helps
 

Similar threads

couplands
Replies
45
Views
4K
Andy C Berks.
Andy C Berks.
P
Replies
70
Views
10K
KGCali
KGCali
cpjb@btinternet.com
Replies
8
Views
597
cpjb@btinternet.com
cpjb@btinternet.com
C
Replies
20
Views
4K
GrannyJen
GrannyJen
Back
Top