My father has a mid 90s A6 with a sunroof and it sleeps outside all the time. Last week we had torrential rains and he discovered 2" of water inside the car. He scooped most out with a cup then went to the car wash and sucked up the rest with their vacuum. When he went to leave the car wouldn't start.
He got a jump from AAA, went home, put it in the garage with fans on it all night. At 5:00 am the 4-ways came on and stayed on all day, no way to turn them off.
Now the car starts intermittently, funny flasher things and has a humid smell.
I peeked into the sunroof hole and didn't see where any drain holes are. My only experience around these things is on an 80s Mustang, easy to spot the hole.
Any thoughts?
Dan
Ian F
Dork
10/4/10 7:06 a.m.
If it's similar to a VW MkIV, check the outlets near the door hinges. On the MkIV, there are hoses with 'crimped' ends (presumably to prevent insect intrusion?). These are prone to clogging with debris. Cut the crimp off and clean out the hose. Do NOT use compressed air, which can blow the hose off the internal fittings which will mean you're taking the interior apart to fix. You'll need a really long hose cleaner - a cleaning kit for a Camelback looks like it's long enough.
I have gone through leakage issues with a 93 S4 and just this past weekend found the rear drain tubes that were clogged.
On my car the front tubes exit into the bottom of the a-pillar which you can see with the door open. The rears, which have the "crimped" ends that Ian F described seem like a failed design from the start. They exit behind the rear wheel well in the area to the outside of the trunk floor.
If there is still as much electronic junk hidden under the rear seat in an A6 as there is in the older cars make sure you pull the seat bottom and dry that area out well.
