I suppose it’s unlikely, but before I engage a priest to carry out an exorcism, I thought I’d consult the forum for a more logical explanation. This evening a neighbour rang the door to tell me the lights were on on my 09 2.0 Sportstech. This was strange as I hadn’t been out in it all day. However the lights were on on the dash and the lights themselves. Except the switch was off. Fearing the battery would be run down I started the car, it fired up and I gave it a couple of revs. I switched off tHe ignition and took the keys out. The car continued to run. In fact it ran for about 30 seconds Before finally stopping. The lights were now out. An hour later another neighbour rang the bell to say the lights were on.
i went out the car wouldn’t,t start this time but after a number of attempts to start the lights went out.
I assume either some electrical component has failed or somehow water has got into the electrics. Or maybe I should just phone for the priest.
This could well be caused by leaking windscreen scuttle grommets. Water can get into the fusebox in the passenger side footwell and cause all manner of problems.
If it is the scuttle grommets which is the most likely cause it usually happens just after having a new windscreen fitted. Has yours been changed recently?
No the screen hasn’t been changed. It has been raining really heavily here and my daughter parked the car on the drive at at different angle than I would have. My drive has a slope and I would normally reverse on so all the rain on the bonnet would have run off. The angle it is at would let the water run towards the passenger side of the screen.
I just need to find a thread on scuttle grommets to suss out what needs doing.
I think you should get a priest out - it’s the only way to be really sure and with Halloween just around the corner you don’t want the ghosts to be out running about in your car!
Either side at the base of windscreen black plastic cover panel (it’s in two halves) there’s a fixing screw under the cover caps, ease the cap off each side to reveal the screws (see picture below) these screws hold the panel in place each side. The screws fasten into the grommets mentioned above, it’s the gaskets under the grommets that dry out and then the possible leaks start and drip down into the cabin from under the dash. Passenger side leaks can drip down on to the small fuse box at the base of the A pillar and are known to cause electrical gremlins.
To get the black panel off or partially removed to gain access to the grommets you need to removed both wiper arms and lift the bonnet and remove the rubber strip along the bulkhead, this is clipped in, you can see how all this is fastened when you take a look. You can even disconnect the washer pipes for better access but I didn’t find this necessary. Once you’ve gained access to the grommets you can remove and replace or as I did clean the area up and use some clear silicone to seal around the existing grommets. Once done put it back together and for good measure replace the securing screwes with a blob of silicone too. I checked mine after a year recently all still looks good and firmly sealed.
Just got my MK3 and have to park on a slight slope outside my house
Is there a better way to park, bonnet facing down hill, I parked the other way thinking that would stop water running towards the roof it’s a PRHT if that makes any difference.
If i turn it around so the bonnet is facing downhill because it’s half parked on the path that would mean the passenger front would be down thus water would run that way…wow the stress this MX5 is causing me…
I can’t really see why the worry, park up hill facing or down, if your grommets leak or your hood drains are blocked it’s going to get wet inside. Keep things sealed or unblocked wherever and treat the hood and rubber seals with whatever (Fabsil and Autoglym rubber treatment respectively) other products available and you should keep dry inside.
I shouldn’t worry. Mine’s a PRHT & I have a sloping drive; although the car’s garaged, I wash it on the drive - sometimes pointing uphill & sometimes downhill. I always give it a good wetting with the hose before washing with the sponge, then I rinse it well with the hose again. Never had any water ingress at all, regardless of whether the car’s facing uphill or downhill when I hose it down.
I’ve also driven it in torrential rain on the motorway on many occasions - no water leaks at all. The roof’s sealed very well in my opinion.
Mate, if you keep spinning your car round you will need the exorcist!
As others say, you probably have leaking scuttle grommets. Mine leaked and the water ran down a cross-member behind the dashboard, and yes it does run into the fusebox on the passenger side.
I know the final comment is tongue in cheek but I know what you mean!
With the scuttle grommets issue it’s forewarned is forearmed. If left the electrical problems can get bad and cost big money to fix. So occasional checks for damp carpets after heavy rain is a good idea. When I had the screen changed on my NC I printed the forum download sheet and presented it to the Autoglass guy on arrival. When the scuttle panel was off he cleaned around the grommets and applied a good coat of sealer all around.
The forum is great for advice when we do have a problem plus it’s great to have the knowledge to know what to look out for.
Thanks to all for your support and advise. I ordered the groomets on Sunday using the suggested link. They arrived today (Tuesday), and I popped them in at lunchtime in just over an hour. The old grommets were a bit tricky to lever out, but once I realised finesse wasn’t part of the job description I managed okay. The near side grommet seal was completely shot so I am very comfortable the problem has been correctly located and rectified.
To those of you who have no leaks from these grommets at the moment, don’t wait until they start leaking and risk expensive electrical problems, seal them ASAP. You don’t need new grommets, just gain access to them, clean the metal around them and apply mastic or similar around the grommets.
