T6 OCEAN 2016 - Wet Cab Floor under drivers seat

[Fergie Collier]

I noticed in between the front seats was wet but it extends and I think started under drivers seat- its wet right across to passenger side though. I am pretty certain nothing has been spilled and it appears clean water - carpet and underlay is soaking any ideas ? I also suspect its coming up the way but cannot think how any water pipes would be near that area ?
Surely all tank, sink pipes are in the rear ?
Could it be rain water coming up - unlikely this amount ?
Could it be rain water dripping down inside a panel ?
the cables are really wet and as you know there is electrics around that area !
HELP anyone any ideas ?
Warranty runs out in June 2019 so I want to ensure its fixed.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Sorry to hear this.
I know its not the area you have in mind but if you expect to have water in your waste water tank, have you checked?
Its paranoia on my behalf but if the inspection lid is not tight it can run down under the kitchen and who knows where else. Worth a check and good luck.

 

[Fergie Collier]

Sorry to hear this.
I know its not the area you have in mind but if you expect to have water in your waste water tank, have you checked?
Its paranoia on my behalf but if the inspection lid is not tight it can run down under the kitchen and who knows where else. Worth a check and good luck.

Thank you so much for replying - I am pretty sure the waste tank is empty but I will double check. How do you access the inspection lid ?

 

[jts46]

Have you checked roof drain tubes are not blocked or damaged

 

[Fergie Collier]

Thanks for your reply - no I haven't checked the drain holes ?. Is this at the bottom of the widescreen where leaves gather ?. Why would the water gain access to area under the seats from blocked holes ?. I will have a look today - many thanks for your advice.

 

[Loz]

Thanks for your reply - no I haven't checked the drain holes ?. Is this at the bottom of the widescreen where leaves gather ?. Why would the water gain access to area under the seats from blocked holes ?. I will have a look today - many thanks for your advice.

Open the roof and check that water poured into the channel runs out behind the front wheel arch.
Check for stains on the roof lining.
If the drain gets blocked you need to be really gentle when putting anything down the hole (under the cables) so that you don't push off the joiner behind the roof lining above the screen. If anyone uses an airline this can pop this off.

This was mine before I cleared it.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Thank you so much for replying - I am pretty sure the waste tank is empty but I will double check. How do you access the inspection lid ?

Its right in front of you in the cupboards below the shelf. It happened to me on the first fill up. Clean water in the clean water tank > turned on the tap to flush it through into waste water tank > these lids I'm told can crack but mine wasn't tight from new and I never checked it. Despite how the picture looks there was a constant stream of water.
If it gets past here then it reaches the floor and if you lift the other inspection hatch in the cupboard floor you would see the water. From there its path could go in many directions when driving.
With the wet being where you described perhaps this isn't the problem you have but the good thing is, if it is its easily fixed.

 

[Hotel California]

Could be lots of thing causing this .
Most possible actions to take are written in existing threads .
Roof drains , watertanks , condensation , leaking higher-breaklight 3th breaklight, doorseals , sliding window
Did i forget one ?

 

[WelshGas]

I noticed in between the front seats was wet but it extends and I think started under drivers seat- its wet right across to passenger side though. I am pretty certain nothing has been spilled and it appears clean water - carpet and underlay is soaking any ideas ? I also suspect its coming up the way but cannot think how any water pipes would be near that area ?
Surely all tank, sink pipes are in the rear ?
Could it be rain water coming up - unlikely this amount ?
Could it be rain water dripping down inside a panel ?
the cables are really wet and as you know there is electrics around that area !
HELP anyone any ideas ?
Warranty runs out in June 2019 so I want to ensure its fixed.

The most likely causes, if you are correct in surmising that it started around the Drivers seat area are:
1. Roof drain front drivers side, blocked or disconnected. Water dribbles Down the Drivers A pillar and onto/under wheel arch carpet.

2. Windscreen. The windscreen is bonded on and vibration can cause the mastic to crack etc.. Get someone to spray a hose on windscreen and push a wad of kitchen towel up under the dashboard against the engine bulkhead. If it gets wet then try and look up with a torch.
Try both the Drivers and Passenger side as water can track from side to side.

 

[Ting Tong]

It’s been raining a lot and the sliding windows are shite and can leak badly unless you carefully press them closed with hands on both sides. Check the left side one is properly closed and the seal is clean. They completely ruined 2 sets of door cards on my T5.

 

[ArunAlec]

It’s been raining a lot and the sliding windows are shite and can leak badly unless you carefully press them closed with hands on both sides. Check the left side one is properly closed and the seal is clean. They completely ruined 2 sets of door cards on my T5.

If the window above the cooker/sink is leaking (I've had 2 that did) you should find water collecting on top of the waste water tank. In theory if the window seals leak there are 2 drains at the bottom of the window which should clear any leakage but they don't always work!

You might try carefully stuffing some paper towel around the bottom of the A pillar just accessible from the footwell. If there's a leak from the roof drain it will be running down the A pillar and the paper should be wet. Watch out you don't disturb the wiring connectors.

 

[Calimarie]

In my case it was fresh water from a leaking pipe connection. Had some work done in the area. Any water on floor below kitchen area can run to the front if vehicle is parked on a slope. First empty your water tank and put a portable fan inside the vehicle overnight. Mine was dry the next morning. Good luck.

 

[Fergie Collier]

Can I say a massive thanks to all of you who taken your time to respond with advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it and will look at all the areas suggested. Have a great Christmas everyone. Fergie

 

[Spottydog]

I noticed in between the front seats was wet but it extends and I think started under drivers seat- its wet right across to passenger side though. I am pretty certain nothing has been spilled and it appears clean water - carpet and underlay is soaking any ideas ? I also suspect its coming up the way but cannot think how any water pipes would be near that area ?
Surely all tank, sink pipes are in the rear ?
Could it be rain water coming up - unlikely this amount ?
Could it be rain water dripping down inside a panel ?
the cables are really wet and as you know there is electrics around that area !
HELP anyone any ideas ?
Warranty runs out in June 2019 so I want to ensure its fixed.

I had this problem last year and VW found the roof drains had been inserted back to front!!

 

[Fergie Collier]

I thought I would update you all on this problem with the wet cab floor. It turns out that it was down to having a tow bar fitted to the vehicle.
When you open the engine compartment you will see on each side of the bulk head there are 2 black grommets - they look like blank grommets. However, only in a California they are not blank they have small drain holes on them and a tube is connected to the back. This tube runs up the A pillar to the roof drain hole. So when the tow bar wiring was installed they pushed the grommet into the A pillar and renewed it with another grommet and the wiring. It looked fine and on any VW van apart from a Cali it would have been. But the grommet with the tube was dangling inside the A pillar and water was running in and underneath the carpet of the cab floor.
Solution is seats, trim and carpets are all removed to dry them out and the wiring has been installed properly with original grommet put back in place. The Cali has been in the garage now for 10 days - expensive and annoying mistake made.
When I purchased the vehicle as a demonstrator the VW garage got the tow bar fitted at my request so they are sorting it out.
Now there must be loads of California's out there with aftermarket tow bars fitted - so please check the wiring. This problem has taken 22 months to be noticed due to the water eventually coming to the surface of the carpet.
Hope all this make sense and is helpful - thanks again for all your postings.

 

[Hotel California]

Tkx for pointing out the problem .
So the list just gets longer...
A few pictures might help to locate the exact place so people can check themselves.

 

[Nick Stubbs]

I thought I would update you all on this problem with the wet cab floor. It turns out that it was down to having a tow bar fitted to the vehicle.
When you open the engine compartment you will see on each side of the bulk head there are 2 black grommets - they look like blank grommets. However, only in a California they are not blank they have small drain holes on them and a tube is connected to the back. This tube runs up the A pillar to the roof drain hole. So when the tow bar wiring was installed they pushed the grommet into the A pillar and renewed it with another grommet and the wiring. It looked fine and on any VW van apart from a Cali it would have been. But the grommet with the tube was dangling inside the A pillar and water was running in and underneath the carpet of the cab floor.
Solution is seats, trim and carpets are all removed to dry them out and the wiring has been installed properly with original grommet put back in place. The Cali has been in the garage now for 10 days - expensive and annoying mistake made.
When I purchased the vehicle as a demonstrator the VW garage got the tow bar fitted at my request so they are sorting it out.
Now there must be loads of California's out there with aftermarket tow bars fitted - so please check the wiring. This problem has taken 22 months to be noticed due to the water eventually coming to the surface of the carpet.
Hope all this make sense and is helpful - thanks again for all your postings.

Must have look myself, not long had a tow-bar fitted, like has been suggested a couple of photographs would be great. Thanks for the info.

 

[Spottydog]

I thought I would update you all on this problem with the wet cab floor. It turns out that it was down to having a tow bar fitted to the vehicle.
When you open the engine compartment you will see on each side of the bulk head there are 2 black grommets - they look like blank grommets. However, only in a California they are not blank they have small drain holes on them and a tube is connected to the back. This tube runs up the A pillar to the roof drain hole. So when the tow bar wiring was installed they pushed the grommet into the A pillar and renewed it with another grommet and the wiring. It looked fine and on any VW van apart from a Cali it would have been. But the grommet with the tube was dangling inside the A pillar and water was running in and underneath the carpet of the cab floor.
Solution is seats, trim and carpets are all removed to dry them out and the wiring has been installed properly with original grommet put back in place. The Cali has been in the garage now for 10 days - expensive and annoying mistake made.
When I purchased the vehicle as a demonstrator the VW garage got the tow bar fitted at my request so they are sorting it out.
Now there must be loads of California's out there with aftermarket tow bars fitted - so please check the wiring. This problem has taken 22 months to be noticed due to the water eventually coming to the surface of the carpet.
Hope all this make sense and is helpful - thanks again for all your postings.

This fits with the explanation I had about the roof drains being the wrong way round and draining into the pillar inside the vehicle. My van has a retro fitted toe bar which was there when I bought it. This explains a lot!

 

[Ocean Spirit]

@Fergie Collier
Thanks for feeding back the solution to your issue, if that happened more regularly it would be brilliant.

 

[WelshGas]

That explains why P F Jones who supply a full T6 wiring loom for retrofitting a WestfaliaTow Bar use an Underbody Loom rather than trying to copy the original Factory Installation.

 

[Andy]

That explains why P F Jones who supply a full T6 wiring loom for retrofitting a WestfaliaTow Bar use an Underbody Loom rather than trying to copy the original Factory Installation.

Yes that is what I was thinking. No wires go to engine compartment.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Fergie Collier]

Got the Cali back yesterday all dried out - thank goodness no damage done but many hours of time to put right. The grommets I refer to aren't easily seen but sit on the bulk head at top left and right - don't touch them !. There is a route to wire into the van lower down on left hand side along with other cables. Hope this helps and saves others a similar issue. Many thanks

 

[Taff Tenor]

Open the roof and check that water poured into the channel runs out behind the front wheel arch.
Check for stains on the roof lining.
If the drain gets blocked you need to be really gentle when putting anything down the hole (under the cables) so that you don't push off the joiner behind the roof lining above the screen. If anyone uses an airline this can pop this off.

This was mine before I cleared it.
View attachment 40144

Hi Loz - I’m a newbie having only purchased Herman our T6 at the end of 2018. ‘H’ has for much of the time been sat on our drive but with some planned trips coming up, I wondered if you could advise of the best way to ensure the drain tubes are clear as it does seem I have to be very careful with them reading the forums?

Cheers

Taff

 

[ArunAlec]

Have a look at this thread....

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/argh-we-have-a-roof-leak.29107/

 

[Taff Tenor]

Have a look at this thread....

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/argh-we-have-a-roof-leak.29107/

Thanks Arun - I’ll give it a go....as soon as it stops raining that is!