Technical Sun Roof Drain tubes

[SDP79]

Suffering from the old problem of a leaking sun roof on 2003 Multipla JTD ELX. Comes in around the sunroof switches. I have read many of the previous posts and have had this problem on other cars. I have tried to clean out and check the drain tubes. However I cannot find them! The seals around the sunroof are in good condition and it is my understanding that any water the gets in past the sunroof and the seal can be dealt with by the drain tubes.
I have poured water around the gap when sunroof open and water finds its way down to the rear of the front wheels. But when I dropped the head lining there is nothing connecting the tray around the sunroof to the A post. It appears that the water runs across the headlining! Are you kidding this cannot be right? Some of the water finds its way out through the switches. Oh and on the passenger side the water comes out on the indside of just below the parcel shelf on the A post as well at to the rear of the front wheel.

Any advice would be welcome

 

[Zundapp]

I don't believe the Multipla has drain tubes from the sun roofs - that would cost more in production!

 

[SDP79]

Thanks Zundapp.

Thought I was going mad, but it seems the only one in need of therapy is the clown at Fiat that designed this system All sunroofs leak to a certain degree and any minor seepage of water is dealt will by the drains which take the water away and prevent it from getting in to the car with all the problems that entails.

How did Fiat get approval for a system that essentially allows water to get directly on to electrical components and switches?

Is this the same on new models?

I've read the threads about sealing the sunroof with silicone etc. But this seems extreme, perhaps I should lock the car in the garage and never use it - guaranteed no breakdowns or leaks and maintenance is nil!

If the car has sunroofs then you should be able to be used with out too many problems.

Has any one been in touch with Fiat under waranty to get this sorted? As you can guess my car is used and well out of any warranty!

Or is there a part for the new cars that can be retro fitted?

 

[mum2oneplustwins]

Since we got loads of rain over the past week, we've had this problem and the car is starting to smell of mildew. This can't be right?... What canwe do about it?! Grrrr.....!

 

[jwmultipla]

I had this problem on my 'w' reg multipla and had seen posts that suggested silicon sealer which i thought was a bit of a bodge. The way i cured mine was to open the sunroof and have a good look at the seal and the surrounding area of the sunroof. You will see that there is a build up of slimey sludgy stuff, the thing to do is clean the whole of the roof around the sunroof and also clean the seal and the underside of the glass. This is a bit tricky as it gets tight and you have to keep moving the roof to make sure you clean it all. I just used some household glass cleaner for the whole lot and some kitchen paper. Next thing to do is make sure it is totally dry, again use kitchen paper to do this. When all clean and dry i then sparayed the underside of the glass and the seal with 'cockpit spray' or 'back to black' or similar, this is a silicon based product! close the roof and you will hopefully have cured your leak. The trick is to keep it clean and if you do continue to use the sunroof make sure it is dry before you close it.

 

[SDP79]

I had this problem on my 'w' reg multipla and had seen posts that suggested silicon sealer which i thought was a bit of a bodge. The way i cured mine was to open the sunroof and have a good look at the seal and the surrounding area of the sunroof. You will see that there is a build up of slimey sludgy stuff, the thing to do is clean the whole of the roof around the sunroof and also clean the seal and the underside of the glass. This is a bit tricky as it gets tight and you have to keep moving the roof to make sure you clean it all. I just used some household glass cleaner for the whole lot and some kitchen paper. Next thing to do is make sure it is totally dry, again use kitchen paper to do this. When all clean and dry i then sparayed the underside of the glass and the seal with 'cockpit spray' or 'back to black' or similar, this is a silicon based product! close the roof and you will hopefully have cured your leak. The trick is to keep it clean and if you do continue to use the sunroof make sure it is dry before you close it.

[FONT=&quot]Like what you are saying this is the way I am going. The seal seems in pretty good condition and it is my view that the water is getting between this and the glass. I will be using Captain Tollys wonder ointment on some areas but a good clean up of the contact surfaces is the key.[/FONT]

Many thanks for your reply

 

[widemouthfrog]

You've probably figured this out from all the other threads on the forum on this topic, but the Captain Tolleys isn't to go on the glass/rubber seal interface. It is very watery and won't build up a thickness like a builders silicon sealant will.

After cleaning everything (as described above), feed the Captain Tolleys into the shallow groove where the outer rubber seal (actually this is more of a hard plastic than rubber) meets the painted roof panel. Do it in the sun on a warm day. Leave the first pass to be sucked in by capillary action and go off (I think it's an anaerobic cure, but I could be wrong) for a few minutes, then repeat the whole process until the silicon no longer disappears into the joint. Captain Tolleys is intended for marine use around yacht window rubbers and will give a very durable, weatherproof seal if used correctly.

Unfortunately the glass is printed with a black border on its underside so it's not possible to see if the glass is/isn't touching the seal when it's closed. As a test, it may be worth smearing a silicon lubricant (something that won't drip - Wickes sell a plumbers silicon lube that would do the job if used sparingly) on the underside of the glass roughly where it would touch the seal when closed, then close the roof and open it again. The silicon will be transferred to the rubber seal where contact has been made. Look for any bits of rubber seal that haven't got silicon on!

If you suspect the leak is where the glass panel meets the rubber seal, you'll need to take a different approach. The glass panel has two steel pressings bonded to its underside. Six screws pass through the travelling rails of the sunroof mech and secure into the pressings. I've not had cause to take this apart as mine thankfully seal, but it looks to me as though it would be possible to close the gap between the pressings and the travelling rails (might need a visit to a friendly machine shop to have the bushes that the screws pass through skimmed down a bit!) and so the glass would be pulled more firmly onto the rubber lip seal. I haven't seen this discussed on any Multipla forum before - maybe someone else has tried it?

 

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I used to get wet on a regular basis but what I did was to shut the sun roof then get the manual winding key (under the plastic cover) and wind it manually, it went a little more and not leaked since.

 

[widemouthfrog]

If that's the case, I wonder if it's possible to adjust the start/end points of the sunroof motion when it's motor driven? That would be an easy fix.

I was looking inside the closing mechanism earlier today and there's what I'd describe as a 'claw' towards the back end of the side rails on either side of the roof that engages on a robust fixed plastic hook as the roof closes, presumably to help pull the glass shut. It may be possible to tweak or pack this claw to make it shut more firmly.

By the way, welcome to the forum!