Mother Of All Whore Threads Non-VIP Edition v.1

So, I attempted to figure out where my water intrusion issue was coming from today with my Civic. As stated in an earlier post, I was confident it was not the sunroof drains as I verified they were clear and draining. So, I pulled the front cowling to look for possible problems and sources of water. Since it was tight back there, and I couldn’t really see anything, I decided to look inside the cabin. Again, not much could be seen, but, if I pulled the dash, I’d get a better view. So, that’s what I did (what a pain).

Anyhow, I wasn’t able to get the dash completely out because of the electrical, but enough to look entirely behind the dash as a way to see what was wet/rusted. The footwell was wet, but the carpet up behind the pedals and firewall insulation were all dry, so it was even more irritating to narrow down (although, I hadn’t driven the car in a couple of days). But, this bracket looks more corroded than the others, and right on that ledge.

IMG_0772.jpeg

And, when I looked at the ledge, it looks wet (so, it has to be coming from above it, right?).
IMG_0774.jpeg

So, I think it is sunroof drains now. But, not in the way you think. I had previously tested them and verified they were clear. And, when I drove in the rain or when I was testing them, I didn’t get any water in the cabin. It was only when I’d make that first turn while driving after the car would get wet. I’d make that turn, like when leaving in the morning, and I’d hear sloshing from in front of the dash and then a bunch of water would run down the back of the dash and my dead pedal would get wet. And, the carpet, particularly the driver’s footwell is constantly wet. And, now that I have the dash removed, and I can see where rust is accumulating on brackets, I think it is leaking from the seam where the 2 parts of the sunroof drain come together.

IMG_0771.jpeg

I think water is seeping out of there, resting on a ledge on the firewall, and then dumping in the car after I turn. At least that is what is making sense at the moment. To test this, I plugged the drain and filled it with water, sure enough, seeping out at the seam between the parts.

IMG_0773.jpeg

Does this seem logical? Should I be looking elsewhere like a body seam (which is kinda what I expected to find) but I’m not seeing anything like that?
 
Does that hose just sit in there as a friction fit? I wonder if there is supposed to be some type of sealant?
 
webby said:
Does that hose just sit in there as a friction fit? I wonder if there is supposed to be some type of sealant?
Click to expand...
It took a bit to separate the two (L and R in the front) so I think there is some mild sealant or glue that has degraded. I used some RTV to reseal the 2 halves and did a test on each after letting them dry, held water without leaking. So, I’m going to put the car back together and see how it goes.
 
AlmosN8kd said:
Does this seem logical? Should I be looking elsewhere like a body seam (which is kinda what I expected to find) but I’m not seeing anything like that?
Click to expand...

So, still curious, am I on the right track here? Is there something else that could be leaking from above that ledge on the firewall?

What's weird is that when I had the sunroof drain out and poured water through it without closing the end, I didn't get any leakage. So, I know I verified the drains were clear a few months ago but still, somehow, was getting water buildup in the car (this is partly why I was convinced that the problem wasn't with the sunroof drains). Either way, I know they shouldn't be leaking now; however, I wonder if I'm giving myself a false sense of hope here and that I haven't actually found/fixed the problem. I don't see much of anything that goes through the firewall above that ledge (although, it is masked by the insulation making more challenging to find). So, I'm curious if I should be looking at anything else? I guess it doesn't matter too much as I'm going to start putting the car back together after I post this (but, this was the thing I was mulling over in my head last night). Fingers crossed I got it right.
 
AlmosN8kd said:
So, still curious, am I on the right track here? Is there something else that could be leaking from above that ledge on the firewall?

What's weird is that when I had the sunroof drain out and poured water through it without closing the end, I didn't get any leakage. So, I know I verified the drains were clear a few months ago but still, somehow, was getting water buildup in the car (this is partly why I was convinced that the problem wasn't with the sunroof drains). Either way, I know they shouldn't be leaking now; however, I wonder if I'm giving myself a false sense of hope here and that I haven't actually found/fixed the problem. I don't see much of anything that goes through the firewall above that ledge (although, it is masked by the insulation making more challenging to find). So, I'm curious if I should be looking at anything else? I guess it doesn't matter too much as I'm going to start putting the car back together after I post this (but, this was the thing I was mulling over in my head last night). Fingers crossed I got it right.
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I would pour water all around your windshield edges. I wondered if you had a spot where it was missing sealant and it’s running down?
 
Well, I haven't ruled that out yet but I think I'm going to put it back together and see what happens. If the carpet continues to get wet or hear that sloshing when I first start driving, I'll know at the very least it can no longer be sunroof drains and I'll start looking at the windshield seals. I did have the glass changed about 2yrs ago but I do not recall if this issue started around that time or later. So, I haven't ruled that out but it is a difficult one to test with the car in my garage (I don't want to make a huge mess). Besides, I have the car ready to be "finished" but I can't for the life of me solve an electrical connector problem. I have a green plug with 4 or 5 wires that I put into slot E on the under dash fuse box (it was a male plug).
1768771043231.png

The schematic says it is not used; but, I have a few Honda accessories (auto dimming mirror, interior lighting add on, remote start system) so I do not know if that slot is or is not used after adding those accessories. But, out of the back of that plug is 1 blue wire with a white female connector that I cannot find a mate to. This is the last thing from finishing up this car and testing it back out. Preliminary testing of components (everything except starting the engine) have gone well, I did have one thing backwards (had the VSA and the interior lighting plugged in backwards as they have identical plugs). So, I'm hesitant to start the engine as I want to try and figure out if that plug wraps around to itself or if I have it right and can't find the other connector which is extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, I didn't make a good mental note of the electrical as I thought I had everything disconnected only to end up fighting with it as I tried to back the dash further away from the firewall. So, at that point, I was sort of unplugging things as I went to get more room; I marked a few things to ensure they went back properly but that one is not one I got.
 
I don’t seem to have a full schematic for the car other than the Factory Service Manual which is a bit frustrating to use (I’m just used to the layout and nomenclature of the Mitsubishi ones I’ve used for 20+ years and haven’t taken the time to adapt to Honda wrote theirs). However, I do believe I figured it out. The 4-pin connector I put into that slot on the interior distribution box is for the remote start and where it goes. I had to go digging through my old installation instructions to find it. So, it appears as though that random plug is for any other accessory to daisy chain and as far as I can tell remains unused since the other accessories I have (auto-dimming mirror and accessory lighting kit) daisy chain off of the VSA switch. Or, that’s as best as I can tell; going to give it a go.
 
Well, it's back together and road tested around my neighborhood. Glad I did that though as shortly after driving around the neighborhood, the car started acting up, throwing codes for VSA and Power Steering. Ran the codes and had a pretty good idea what the issue was. When I was reinstalling the steering column after reinstalling the dash, it has you verify center for the cable reel. When I did this, I noticed it was 1 turn extra clockwise. So, I centered it (it should turn about 3 full revolutions in either direction, mine was only 2 clockwise, 4 counter clockwise); well, after getting the codes, I was unsure how to accurately recalibrate it, so, I just removed the airbag and wheel, readjusted it to the extra turn clockwise, and reassembled it. Took it back around my neighborhood and cleared the codes. Drove fine. Now, we wait to see if all that crap over 2 days actually stops water from getting into my car.

EDIT:
While I had the center console removed as part of pulling the dash, I found what's left of my shift boot retaining clip (something that has always been "missing" since I bought the car in 2018). By chance, does anyone know of a readily available model for 3D printing? I poked around on Thingiverse with no luck; not sure if I'm just not seeing it, searching for the wrong part (using the wrong name), or that it's not there. This is what's left of mine:
1768782803356.png
 
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AlmosN8kd said:
Well, it's back together and road tested around my neighborhood. Glad I did that though as shortly after driving around the neighborhood, the car started acting up, throwing codes for VSA and Power Steering. Ran the codes and had a pretty good idea what the issue was. When I was reinstalling the steering column after reinstalling the dash, it has you verify center for the cable reel. When I did this, I noticed it was 1 turn extra clockwise. So, I centered it (it should turn about 3 full revolutions in either direction, mine was only 2 clockwise, 4 counter clockwise); well, after getting the codes, I was unsure how to accurately recalibrate it, so, I just removed the airbag and wheel, readjusted it to the extra turn clockwise, and reassembled it. Took it back around my neighborhood and cleared the codes. Drove fine. Now, we wait to see if all that crap over 2 days actually stops water from getting into my car.

EDIT:
While I had the center console removed as part of pulling the dash, I found what's left of my shift boot retaining clip (something that has always been "missing" since I bought the car in 2018). By chance, does anyone know of a readily available model for 3D printing? I poked around on Thingiverse with no luck; not sure if I'm just not seeing it, searching for the wrong part (using the wrong name), or that it's not there. This is what's left of mine:
View attachment 68479
Click to expand...
https://makerworld.com/en/models/30...r-for-9th-gen-honda-civic-si#profileId-878589
is this it?
 
I can get diagrams if you need them.


That's a lot of work for a weekend. I hate pulling dashes.

I ended up rupturing my left ear drum yesterday.
I fly to Mexico on Saturday. Lol.
 
webby said:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/30...r-for-9th-gen-honda-civic-si#profileId-878589
is this it?
Click to expand...
Looks kinda Iike it; title is right, that’s for sure. I’ve just never seen a whole one in person to know if it is correct. Guess I’ll give it ago.

Janz3n said:
I can get diagrams if you need them.


That's a lot of work for a weekend. I hate pulling dashes.

I ended up rupturing my left ear drum yesterday.
I fly to Mexico on Saturday. Lol.
Click to expand...
I’d really love to have a whole schematic of the car (one giant pic, in color), but that is asking a lot; not sure that is even possible (I’ve actually been thinking about making this for my Stealth but it comes down to finding the time that doesn’t exist). Wouldn’t have made a huge difference though since the random plug was on an accessory and likely wouldn’t show up in most schematics. But, I did get the starting system schematic from you a little while back for another project I have in the background if I ever get time to figure out why my remote start doesn’t remote start; had I checked it, that may have told me what I needed to know (but, pretty sure the install instructions got me there).

I hate pulling dashes as well; the only reason I really pushed to do it was because I was having a difficult time seeing behind it (even trying to use a borescope) and knew that it would bug me unless I got it out of the way to find where the problem was. So, I fought my way through it. And, I thought it couldn’t be as bad as pulling the dash on my Stealth. . . . .which turned out to be a woefully incorrect assumption. It was way worse. I’m sure part of it was lack of experience doing it but the other bits, where you pull the whole crash support with the dash panel, that I was not expecting (and it made it insanely heavy). And, F-those stupid “special” bolts on the right side; they didn’t want to cooperate worth a damn and I wasn’t going to replace them like the service manual said. So, I made them work but it was a bit more ‘manual’ than it was supposed to be (an 8mm Allen key did the trick).

What were you doing to cause ear damage? Will that mess with you not he flight to Mexico? Can’t be good for your equilibrium that’s for sure.
 
AlmosN8kd said:
Looks kinda Iike it; title is right, that’s for sure. I’ve just never seen a whole one in person to know if it is correct. Guess I’ll give it ago.


I’d really love to have a whole schematic of the car (one giant pic, in color), but that is asking a lot; not sure that is even possible (I’ve actually been thinking about making this for my Stealth but it comes down to finding the time that doesn’t exist). Wouldn’t have made a huge difference though since the random plug was on an accessory and likely wouldn’t show up in most schematics. But, I did get the starting system schematic from you a little while back for another project I have in the background if I ever get time to figure out why my remote start doesn’t remote start; had I checked it, that may have told me what I needed to know (but, pretty sure the install instructions got me there).

I hate pulling dashes as well; the only reason I really pushed to do it was because I was having a difficult time seeing behind it (even trying to use a borescope) and knew that it would bug me unless I got it out of the way to find where the problem was. So, I fought my way through it. And, I thought it couldn’t be as bad as pulling the dash on my Stealth. . . . .which turned out to be a woefully incorrect assumption. It was way worse. I’m sure part of it was lack of experience doing it but the other bits, where you pull the whole crash support with the dash panel, that I was not expecting (and it made it insanely heavy). And, F-those stupid “special” bolts on the right side; they didn’t want to cooperate worth a damn and I wasn’t going to replace them like the service manual said. So, I made them work but it was a bit more ‘manual’ than it was supposed to be (an 8mm Allen key did the trick).

What were you doing to cause ear damage? Will that mess with you not he flight to Mexico? Can’t be good for your equilibrium that’s for sure.
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i doubt theres such thing as one giant pic. but if you need them let me know.


webby said:
How’d you rupture it?
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not exactly sure but i did fall off a cliff above my property while drinking with my neighbour. i slid on my back and didnt hurt anything else some how.
should be fine for flying, maybe a little painful. i phoned telehealth since we dont have a family doctor yet ( probably years away ) and got a script for ear drops just to make sure i dont get an infection while im gone.
 
webby said:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/30...r-for-9th-gen-honda-civic-si#profileId-878589
is this it?
Click to expand...
So, I printed a couple of these last night; I did one of each type. These were printed out of ABS which I’m still learning to get to print semi decently (my printer is not enclosed).

Unfortunately, while I was cleaning the printing slag off the 2-prong one, it broke (one of the tabs). I assume the designer made this one as it is likely more user friendly than the 4-prong one (on the 4 upper tabs, it either has 2 or 4 “teeth” to grab the holder on the shift lever).
IMG_0789.jpeg

Oh well, good enough to give it a go at least using the 4-prong one. And, certainly better than what I had before which was absolutely nothing.


EDIT:
Well, I took a few minutes to install the 4-prong one into my car. Well, unfortunately, it broke in the same way the 2-prong one did when I was pushing it into the boot collar. But, I figured, F-it, it’s good enough for now and I’m not really out anything so let me give it a go. Still better than nothing:
IMG_0790.jpeg
Guess I need to get better at printing ABS. Or, maybe redesign this part with slightly thicker tabs to be more durable…? Or, is it just because it is printed, it will always be a bit brittle?

Maybe I should've put this in the "Official 'What did you do to your car today?' Thread" thread . . . ?
 
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