Hi all,
I've owned my B5.5 for almost five years now and I love it. All except one bit. The leaking and then the subsequent electrical issues. I've had almost every form of water ingress possible. I've had the rear wiper fluid leaking (fixed), the door seals leaking (fixed), and the pollen filter housing leaking (trying to fix)...
The electrical issues started after the car got driven through a flood and then sat for about six months. You might wonder why I sound surprised that the car is so broken but it seemed fine at first. When I came back to start it it was complaining about the boot being open when it wasn't. Then the alarm started going off. I took the whole carpet out and dried it and the interior of the car completely during this last Summer. I left the car with the carpet out for a good two months or so checking for leaks after rainstorms (none as far as I could tell). The electrical issues all went away after it had dried out and the carpet had gone back in.
There were a couple of months of smooth sailing. I had some issues with the windows so I checked the CCM splice points and found that they had disintegrated. I cut the wires and reconnected them using crimped connectors and everything worked fine again. Car was in a better state than it had ever been.
I can't really pinpoint when the most recent issues started happening or why. I found some water in the front passenger footwell again that had come down the pollen filter. It wasn't loads of water and the CCM was still only very slightly damp when I pulled up the carpet - there was no water inside the CCM compartment itself.
The main two issues I'm having at the moment are:
1. Water is not coming in through the pollen filter housing seal BUT somehow seems to drip on to the top of the pollen filter itself. I found the pollen filter to be wet and water underneath it. I've read some forum topics about the windscreen cowl being a bit poo but I just can't understand how, with the battery cover panel also in place, water is getting in there.
2. My car does not flash indicators when locking like it used to. The alarm also goes off sometimes if I do not remove the 10A central locking fuse. When I do remove this fuse, the car warns me that the drivers door is open. When the fuse is in place, it doesn't say the drivers door is open, this seems so backwards to me.
Problem number #2 started at the same sort of time as I broke a wire on the front passenger door puddle lamp. I found it was blowing the 10A CL fuse so I bought this great kit (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255085469971) and replaced the wires. It seemed fine at first but I can't help feel this drivers door open issue must be somehow related (but I can't fathom how)...
I'm at the end of my tether with this car. I love it but I can't own a car which I have to remove and replace fuses in order to use. It's embarrassing when giving lifts if nothing else! That being said, I also don't want to take a financial hit selling it for spares or repairs (I've put a lot of money into maintaining this car). I'm even considering just taking it to the dealership but I don't really trust them and I have no VW specialist within 50 miles (Plymouth).
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have to offer.
A few photos, some relevant: https://imgur.com/a/2yKdvsR
Almost done with this car due to pollen filter / CCM issues... Any help greatly appreciated
Moderators: water01, vwnutant, desertstorm
-
- still on the production line
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2020 3:50 pm
- Passat model: B5.5