water under floor mat passenger side only
 

I noticed under the floor mat on the passenger side that I had water under the mat. It was a lot of water, and the thick black insulation pad is saturated. I removed the floor mat, and removed the pad to dry it up. I know it's not coolant. The water is crystal clear. The car is under a cotton cover all winter long, and it was dry before storage I check these things out before storage. I have not washed it yet this spring. The defroster/heater was run a few days this winter when I drove it for a few short distance runs. Any ideas where the water might be coming from?

Thanks !!!!! :(

dcoisson,

The most likely source of water is rain or melting snow, that would normally drain off the car through the drains near the hood hinges. These drains can be plugged with things like rodent nests, acorn shells, leaves, pine needles and so on. I did not see what model MB you have, but they all seem to have a drain under the hinge pocket, and the flow of draining water off the roof, windshield and hood (when the car is moving) can cause the debris on these surfaces to get washed to this area. Open the hood to the vertical positon and inspect for debris, or if the car was sitting for a while, nests from rodents and the like. Clean it out and run water in the area to see if the drain is clogged. If it is you can run a stiff wire, like a hanger, through the rubber grommet to clean it out.

If you have a sunroof there are drains in the A pillars and C pillars that can get clogged from having the roof open under trees and having debris fall in. The A pillar drains can be seen by looking in front and outboard of the sunroof openning, and these can be cleared with either compressed air or some kind of stiff wire. Good luck, Jim

dcoisson:

You may have a leaking evaporator hose like me. Your defroster would engage the AC and would produce condensation in the heater box inside the dash.

It's worth a check. See the following post:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=35875

~Paul

_____________________
'91 300E, 210k miles

water leaks
 

Use the search feature and check my other posts on this topic. What year and model is your car?

We had a similar problem in our 300E (w124). It was a missing rubber plug...

I think I created another problem?
 

I found a rubber plug, about 1" in diameter under the black floor insulation on the drivers side when looking for my water source.

I can't locate the water source yet. I tried to remove this plug to get a look inside, and it fell into the flooring which is about 2 " deep. I tried, but with no success to get the plug back out it just rolled out of reach. I ran the car, did not run the AC/DEF last night, and the floor remained dry. I hope I can replace the plug, does anyone know what that plug is for. While driving, I put my hand over the hole, felt warm air out of it. Do I need to be concerned ?

I'll look further into the water issue this weekend. I think it's AC related.

Sorry I did not post model/yr it's a 1981 280sl euro model. I've kept the car dry all winter and spring too. This should help determine where the water is coming from.

Thanks for the advise.

I had the same problem not to long ago, and after going nut taking the interior apart, covering holes I took the console apart and ran the ac, I found a steady trickle of water coming from the condensator housing, all I had to do is reatach the little hose and presto, done deal.

87 300E