How Does Water Get Into The Doors?

[deano469]

Does anybody know where the water actually gets into the doors? After having problems with my windows at the weekend i stripped the door cards of and cleaned both regulators, thankfully they are both working again at the moment but thinking its only a matter of time (or it starting to rain again) before i get the same problem again. Was thinking if i could stop the water getting into the door in the first place, then i shouldn't see the window problem again unless something has actually failed rather than electrical faults.
Although a bit crude, i have also thought about wrapping a plastic bag around the motor/regulator to stop moisture getting to it. Anybody got any thoughts on whether this would be a possible solution or not?

[neilldrever]

The water gets in from the horizontal felt seal along the bottom of the window I think. As the car ages these lose their flex and become stiff, therefore ruining the seal. Problem is too tight a seal and the window won't move so I would guess the only thing to do would be replace them periodically.

As for the bag idea, not sure how hot the motor gets so it may be a bad idea. If you're positive everything is in perfect working order then a sealant around the connections might be the way to go?

[joeishmather]

You could move the motor to the inside of the door, still behind the door card but out of waters way,
The water is actually, as far as I'm aware, supposed to run into the door, and rather than getting through the seal itactuly drains along and into the door at either end if the seal. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to actually stop the water getting in the door.
I posted a whole about moving the window motor I shall find the post and put up a link.

[Stranger]

Make sure the drain holes at the bottom of the doors are clear, water gets in to doors and that's a fact with any car but it's stopped from getting through to the interior by the seal, often though this seal between door card and door chassis isn't attached properly either from the factory or, for example, if the door speakers have been changed and then the water finds the course of least resistance and ends up in your door pocket or pools on your floor rather than draining out through the holes.

[deano469]

Cheers for the advice guys, i made sure all the drain holes were clear at the weekend and also assembled all the connectors back together with silicone grease so it should keep the water out for a little while, im probably over reacting a bit but after getting to B&Q at the weekend and not being able to close my windows, i ended up having to go home and sort the car straight away as i wasn't comfortable leaving my car on the carpark with the windows open therefore wasting my trip.
joeishmather, if you could post up the link about moving the motors it would be greatly appreciated, im a firm believer in trying to prevent something from going wrong if its a known problem, especially if its an inconvenient problem like windows. I've also seen something about replacing the relay with a higher rated one (40 amp i think) but can't seem to find a link to that either, is this another modification or am i just mixing up the fact the front windows have 25a fuses and the rears have 40a? If it is a mod, does it work or just increase the risk of burning out the wiring trying to run too much current through it?