Hi fellow MX5’ers. We have a mk3.5 PRHT which was misting up quite badly during the last few weeks of cold and damp weather. So I used a moisture detector to determine where in the cabin things were dampest.
Now I have often noticed when the roof of the PRHT is wet and you open the doors, water drips down in two particular areas…which you’ll see in the start of this video. Pease note, in the video the water trail is on the outside.
In the video you’ll see that the damp area is worse on the passenger side towards the front of the floor and side section just in front of the seat. However, to a lesser degree, it’s the same on the driver’s seat side.
To check whether it’s still a ingress point (in the roof or top of window) when it’s been raining heavily I’ve sat in the car to see if anything is dripping from the roof/windows/anywhere, or there are internal water trails running down the windows or plastic. But there is no sign of water ingress anywhere during heavy prolonged rain.
We’ve had the grommets sealed up just over a year ago and, as you’ll see in the video, the passenger side damp patch is a little further towards the seat than where it would drip off the bottom of the dash iro grommet ingress.
So I’m trying work out is this just water dripping in when the doors are opened (although the passenger door is much less used than the driver’s side), or is it condensation. Or is there some other way water is building up in the areas highlighted in the video?
I’d expect a little water drippage with a removable top whether soft or as you and I have on the PRHT.
Mine gets washed often more over than actually being driven in wet conditions, it still drips (a little) when I open the doors but doesn’t leak past the seals when they are shut.
What I’m trying to say is, I think the he damper patches are just as above, drippage. Most noticeable as we are in winter with little chance of a proper dry out.
Nothing to worry about here me thinks.
Just to add too, my daily driver gets more drippage, sometimes soaking my arm if i open the window. Bad design of the roof, they don’t fit gutters these days to cars, remember them.
Prior to purchasing mine with the PHRT, I asked a couple of people about their issues with it.
They both highlighted the problem you have, but said they weren’t too bothered about it.
Mine does the same, but it does dry out👍.
Our PRHT also drips water onto the edges of the seat - very noticable when in the car and we lower a very wet roof. Not an issue for me, just a slight irritant when a few drops fall.
I used to gently wipe the roof with a sponge before opening the door BUT now I cant be bothered!
Presume that windows are properly closed.
Maybe put a container/bag of dehumidifier crystals in the car and see if that helps dry it out?
The drip onto the seats when the door is opened is normal. But that shouldn`t mean you have wet carpets etc.
What you may find is that your rear plastics around the drip trays are wet. Water can just sit in the tray especially if the car is parked at an odd angle. This can cause condensation on the glass.
Sudden changes in temperature, freezing to say 12 or 13 degrees will also cause condensation.
Check the boot floor / carpet and see if that’s wet too. Thiird brake light seal or water coming in via the rear lights if it`s damp in there. This can cause condensation in the cabin.
check your drains,Check under your carpets (maybe take the seats out if you can, good excuse for a proper vacuum too) and double check your scuttle grommets. Tiger seal over them again to be sure they are water tight.
I find a good long run out with the heater on and the aircon to dry out any moisture helps massively.
My own car has no water entering the cabin but the last spell of very cold then a lot warmer did make it look like the typical signs of a damp interior…
I know you said you’d had the windscreen cowl grommets sealed I would check them by opening your glove compartment and shine a torch to the back left hand side where the bodywork is exposed. This will probably be rusty and wet if the cowl grommet is still leaking. It’s a very common problem.
