I've known this happen on other cars, so it's worth a mention.
The heater plenum - the area under the plastic trim between the wiper spindles - has a drain.
It's in roughly the centre of the bulkhead at the back of the engine bay. It's a tube about 35mm diameter, and if you can see the bottom of it, it has a nozzle and maybe a ball shape.
Leaves, debris, twigs, dead birds, mice and other rubbish filter down from the heater air intake. This debris blocks the drain nozzle (which is there to stop water going UP the drain).
Worst case is the water level in the heater plenum overflows into the heater and into the car. At this level, the wiper motor is half submerged. There may be other electrical stuff there too.
When I replaced my front struts I took off the cover to find a lot of water in there!
A judicious squeeze of the ball and nozzle produced crud and probably a good 6 litres of water.
It's worth, particularly in autumn, to give the ball a squeeze (!) when you check your levels and washer water. No need to remove the top cover. Mind your feet though, if it's full, you may get wet!
When Rover fitted the BMW diesel to the 75, they put the ECU in the heater plenum. There were 2 drains, but when, not if, they got blocked, they drowned the ECU, meaning an expensive replacement.
The heater plenum - the area under the plastic trim between the wiper spindles - has a drain.
It's in roughly the centre of the bulkhead at the back of the engine bay. It's a tube about 35mm diameter, and if you can see the bottom of it, it has a nozzle and maybe a ball shape.
Leaves, debris, twigs, dead birds, mice and other rubbish filter down from the heater air intake. This debris blocks the drain nozzle (which is there to stop water going UP the drain).
Worst case is the water level in the heater plenum overflows into the heater and into the car. At this level, the wiper motor is half submerged. There may be other electrical stuff there too.
When I replaced my front struts I took off the cover to find a lot of water in there!
A judicious squeeze of the ball and nozzle produced crud and probably a good 6 litres of water.
It's worth, particularly in autumn, to give the ball a squeeze (!) when you check your levels and washer water. No need to remove the top cover. Mind your feet though, if it's full, you may get wet!
When Rover fitted the BMW diesel to the 75, they put the ECU in the heater plenum. There were 2 drains, but when, not if, they got blocked, they drowned the ECU, meaning an expensive replacement.
