Alfa Romeo 156 / 147 takes in street water when driving in heavy rainy conditions?

Updated 15-01-2006 email: bjarne@[remove-this]flyvholm.dk Actual statistics Best solution

Check your Alfa 156 / 147 for water under noise-reducing carpet.
In my case it was there for 2 years and I had no idea!

These cars are great driving, 
but we certainly don’t want water in the cabin!

Open backdoor. Then: 1) Remove the running board from the 4 retainers using a bended metal piece. 2) Lift the carpet off the plastic hooks. 3) Lift away the upper carpet as much as possible. 4) Locate the noise-reducing under-carpet. (Thick carpet with rubber surface) and price it as much away from the floor, so you can just get a hand under the carpet to feel any water on the floor. Hopefully there isn’t any. Also check other side and floor in front. 5) Finally: Please let me know: - The result of your investigation and in case of inside water: - Car model, year (required) - Climate control? - Country - Workshop, name and city - Approximately repair date(s) - Free complimentary    car during repair? - Your name (required) - Your email (required) You can be anonymous at this web site, if you wish.  Just let me know.

Background information: My 156 has been 5 times to the dealer with the symptom: Water in cabin under carpet, and I could not se or feel any water before lifting both layers of carpet. The Alfadealer had the car for 11 days. They ripped off all interiors  and fixed some unsealed sealing at bottom plate behind front seats. They took a test drive on a rainy day and even took the car 2 times to a car wash with spraying water from underneath. Then they replaced the thick noise-reducing under-carpet completely while it was all  ruined by water contact for a long period of time. Also they found that the drain from the climate control unit was incorrect placed at let condensing water to the floor. They fixed that too. Now after 3 weeks I drove half an hour in heavy rainy conditions on the highway. I then lifted the 2 layers of carpet behind the left front seat, and guess what: The floor was completely wet!! I delivered the car to the dealer again and wondered: I could not se or feel any water before lifting both layers of carpet, so how many 156's / 147's are driving around with wet, rotten, rusty under-carpet? Got it back again now. They found and sealed  some other missing body plate sealings at the outer wheel arch. It seems to be OK now. The 19. sept. '01 I heard from a dealer in Island that they had a 156 repaired for several times with the same symptom. Under heavily rainy conditions and fast driving it takes in water, so the troubleshooting takes time. It has been  at the garage for the last 4 weeks  now. The 23. of sept. we also have seen the water problem with the 147 serie. In the case mentioned, the garage cut some foam out of the left front door to solve the problem!?

If any other had this problem, I will try to co-ordinate experiences from owners and workshops and put relevant information here.

olle.sandgren@[remove-this]swipnet.se

Email 28-09-01:
"Strange I should look at your site today!I restore only 50's and 60's Alfas but someone came into my workshop todayand told me of a problem with water in the 147. it appears that the water collects in the panel under the windshield/behind the dashboard and that there is no drainage hole to allow it out, so eventually it runs into the car.This may not be related but I thought I would pass on the info. Hope it is of some help.
Chris"

Best solution:  
Seal the holes where sealing is missing.
We have seen water coming from these points (both sides):

a)
Water from underneath comes into the left and right tunnel under the front seats from missing body plate sealing. From here it will run all over the floor in either the left or right side.
Seal from the outside.

b)
Missing plate sealing and sealing around a metal plug in at the outer wheel arch can lead water and dirt to the inner panel under the doors, where it finally fills up the panel with water so it can run into the car.
Seal from the outside.

c)
Tear or missing welding at the jack lifting point can lead water to the panel and into the car.

d)
Water from missing sealing around front windshield.

e)
Condensing water from the drain of the climate control unit: 
- Incorrect placed drain so water runs out on the floor.
- Drain blocked. Water could fill up the climate control housing to finally run out on the floor.
- Faulty unit housing

Testing is easy: Run the engine for about 20 min. with climate control activated. If there is no wet spot under the car, you know where the water is.  :-( 

I one case I have seen some fault in the plastic housing surrounding the whole unit.
The lower part of the unit contains two chambers: One to build up condensing water and leading it to the drains. Another that should be dry at all times.
If condensing water gets in to the “dry” chamber, it would eventually overflow and run into the cabin.

A successfully repair is seen by drilling holes between the 2 chambers so that water never builds up in the “dry” chamber. Some silicone sealing were also added inside the housing corners just in case of plastic damage.

Disassembling of the unit for outside testing and repair needs disassembling of the whole fascia panel, which takes about 3 hours at the garage and the same for assembling

Tim Devloo wrote:
In my case the problem was that in the motorcompartment, the drain that lets out the condenswater was blocked off because of the rubber pipe that aims downwards. 
It is mentionned in a service news of 98 distribuated by the Fiat-group to all dealers.
According to yhe service news you should take a tube and cut it in a way and get it over the condenstube as far as possible. You can only get it fot about 1 cm over the other one and it has no other effect than not putting this on!

So i just made a cut with a a sharp knife so the hole isn't pressed any more by the rubber. This isn't the way how it is mentionned in the service news, simply because their explenation doesn't match with reality. According to yhe service news you should take a tube and cut it in a way and get it over the condenstube as far as possible. You can only get it fot about 1 cm over the other oneand it has no other effect than not putting this on!

f)
There is a protective sheet behind the interior door panel that should be glued to the door. In one case it wasn't stuck very well.
Water runs down the window glass and (correctly) drips into the door where the protective sheet should direct the water to the drain holes at the bottom of the door. Water was running through the gaps in the protective sheet onto the interior panel, dripping through the bottom onto the rubber door seal then under the tread plate and under the carpet.

Bjarne Flyvholm
Copenhagen
Email: bjarne@[remove-this]flyvholm.dk

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