XSeries-forum

Hi.

So long story short (ish), a few weeks back I had a few strange electrical issues that somehow sorted themselves out. (yeah right.... ) And I had not given it any more thought. However today when I went to go out I had a flat battery, not that this was an issue other than an annoyance as its winter, I get up in the dark, get home in the dark, lights, radio, heater etc, and somewhat foolishly leave my dashcam plugged in 24/7 just in case I get hit when parked up. So went to get the battery out to charge it overnight. This is when I find out my battery is sitting in about an inch of water?? this appears to not be new as some of the area was rusted, and a few terminals in this water. (possibly the cause of the electrical issues previously stated.

So I tried to see where this water had come from. my boot seal is not damaged or cracked/perished in any way, I then noticed the nearside boot lining seemed wet and popped it off to were the dvd nav system is located and in the well beneath was about 4 inches of sitting water, so the checked the offside area opposite, and again was about 2 inches of water inside...!

Can anyone please help with a few pointers to where this has come from, as its been in the garage latley and had in my opinion a small fortune spent on it for other things, and tbh just cant afford to send it in again for this....

The car does have the panoramic roof, but i thought the drainage holes went to the front of the car, and the front footwell is dry, so i assume they are not blocked.

Any help is greatly appriciated.

Sunroof drains are common sources, they block and the water leaks into the boot. Other possibles are the rear light cluster seals which are known to fail (bad foam).

As X5Sport has said more than likely sunroof drains....get a length of strimmer twine melt the end so not sharp...use some warm soapy water, pour down channels and push twine gently up and down each of the drain holes until they clear....

Thanks for the help.

Just to add, I managed to siphon most of the water out and had a further look around. Are there any drain hole in those area that also maybe blocked? And regarding the source of the water, i noticed that the dvd nav system which is fixed say halfway up the rear quarter is also wet. that being said would you think the water is more likely to be from the taillights as opposed to the sunroof?

If it is the taillights, what is the solution? Do i have to buy the seal from BMW? Or could i just remove the light cluster and refit using silicone to give a good seal?

Thanks again.

New seals will be needed. If you silicone them you may struggle to remove or correctly tighten them. Have a look at Realoem (BMW parts list on line and use the last 7 of your VIN to pull up your model) to get the part numbers and have a hunt on line.

Never had an X3 so can’t help about the drains - sorry

When you fit the new seals, smear some silicone grease on them.....NOT builders silicone

Thanks for the assist.

Tho, just to add (again). I have noticed there is some sort of plastic ledge that has some sort of foam inside that sits about 5 inches above the sat nav box. This is saturated with water, but is above the rear tail light, so for this to be wet, i would have assumed it can not be the taillights now? Any other areas to think of too? As i thought for the sunroof drains to be blocked the water would be at the bottom of the car first and work its way up. Annoyingly due to work and not having a driveway/garage available, its the weekend before i can have a proper look.

Thanks again.