[smatanovic]

I knew it was a matter of time until I encountered water problems, and they struck earlier this week. We had a couple of days of torrential rains, and on Friday my stereo system would not output audio.

I took a look, and the amp was sitting in about 1.5 cm of water. The battery, on the other hand, was bone dry. From this, I assume it's either 1) a leak in the LH tail light seal; or 2) a clogged drain from the panoramic sunroof, also LH. I am leaning toward the drain, as the tail lamp is completely dry. Am I missing something? Also, are there any tutorials on clearing out the rear sunroof drain on a E91? All I can seem to find are sedans and coupes.

Separately, do I even bother with the flooded amp? I removed it from the car and am drying it out.

Thank you!

[TunafishE93]

Drill a hole in bottom of battery and amp pools, I have done this, never have to worry about a flood.

[smatanovic]

Originally Posted by TunafishE93

Drill a hole in bottom of battery and amp pools, I have done this, never have to worry about a flood.

Well sure, that prevents a flood, but I would love to prevent the leak in the first place. What is directly below those little pods?

[TunafishE93]

Just open space, you can see bottom laying under car, its actually in the muffler area. Fixing the issue is wise but having a drain is the best defensive. Especially in the battery area which could cause major issues.

[ctuna]

I believe the Sunroof Drain only goes to one side on that model .
The amp side. I have an e91 to .

The following are mostly for the coup and convert but the drain system
and general location are the same.

Water Drains
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...hlight=battery
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1566005
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1680103

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/s...eaning.691644/

I have heard you have to be careful about disconnection of the tube inside the column at the top.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=54_0354

[caldep]

Had the same thing happen on my 2006 e91. Panoramic sunroof was the culprit. Drain clogged and roof did not fully seal per my indy.
If you have wind noise from the roof you too may have the sealing issue.

After repairs to the sunroof no more noise. When I purchased it in 2017 it had the wind noise. I had taken it to the dealership and they told me the wind noise was normal.

It took a day of torrential rain before it flooded amplifier though.

Good luck on the radio afterwards. I had to replace the amp. I have since moved on to an aftermarket amp so I do have a spare working OE amp.

[smatanovic]

Originally Posted by caldep

Had the same thing happen on my 2006 e91. Panoramic sunroof was the culprit. Drain clogged and roof did not fully seal per my indy.
If you have wind noise from the roof you too may have the sealing issue.

After repairs to the sunroof no more noise. When I purchased it in 2017 it had the wind noise. I had taken it to the dealership and they told me the wind noise was normal.

It took a day of torrential rain before it flooded amplifier though.

Good luck on the radio afterwards. I had to replace the amp. I have since moved on to an aftermarket amp so I do have a spare working OE amp.

Interesting. Definitely have quite a bit of wind noise, and I have purchased a replacement seal. Will install and see how it goes…

[nsjames]

this just happened to me friday.

probably tail light in my case.

I guess I need to investigate sunroof drains as maybe they're not where I though?

[whyzee125]

What sound system do you have? I have a good hifi amp I'd sell

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

What sound system do you have? I have a good hifi amp I'd sell

mine is logic 7.
I have a lead on a local one in a junkyard, but of course everything is closed today.

[nsjames]

so I went out, opened the sunroof and poured 4 cups of water in it.

sunroof drains on my E91 drain into the upper corners of the hatch opening above the tail lights. Almost even with the hinge line.
I have no cruciform rubber gaskets.

I saw no water from the tail light either, but it may only happen with a pressure washer.
I'll have to dust the inside with some baby powder and hit with the pressure washer and see I guess.

but on my pre lci e91, the rear drains do not go down through any of the d pillar or interior trim, they're a straight shot right out the back of the body.
The front drain was left side and drains right out the floorboard next to the jacking point under the piece of plastic trim that covers the front driveshaft.

[smatanovic]

I replaced the main sunroof seal today and I cannot believe how much more quiet the car is. Wow. Now, let’s see what happens when it rains…

[caldep]

Glad the seal took care of your wind noise! Hope it fixes the water issue. We ended up having to rebuild the sunroof cassette on mine. It is quite the hassle.

[smatanovic]

Good lord that sounds awful.

[smatanovic]

Originally Posted by caldep

Glad the seal took care of your wind noise! Hope it fixes the water issue. We ended up having to rebuild the sunroof cassette on mine. It is quite the hassle.

We has some pretty intense rain last night; checked the car this morning, and it's bone dry! I also took some compressed air to the drains, and it seems like everything is flowing properly. So, for now, it appears that I have solved my problem. Thanks for the input, everyone.

[tlow98]

Happened to me. It was the tail light seal. Replaced both. Didn’t happen again.

[caldep]

Originally Posted by smatanovic

We has some pretty intense rain last night; checked the car this morning, and it's bone dry! I also took some compressed air to the drains, and it seems like everything is flowing properly. So, for now, it appears that I have solved my problem. Thanks for the input, everyone.

Great that worked out for you! Rebuilding the cassette was indeed a chore. My Indy said he will probably never tackle that job again. But the sunroof is now so quiet.
In addition to the wind noise it clunked and rattled every time I hit a bump.
Now it is completely quiet.

Did the amplifier and speakers make it? My water event took out the amplifier. The crackling took out two of the speakers.

[smatanovic]

Originally Posted by caldep

Great that worked out for you! Rebuilding the cassette was indeed a chore. My Indy said he will probably never tackle that job again. But the sunroof is now so quiet.
In addition to the wind noise it clunked and rattled every time I hit a bump.
Now it is completely quiet.

Did the amplifier and speakers make it? My water event took out the amplifier. The crackling took out two of the speakers.

Amp is toast; I ordered a replacement, which should arrive this weekend. We'll see about the speakers...

[smallseafishie]

Tail lamp gasket was dried out on my e91. My leak was on the battery side.

[King Rudi]

E93, clogged rain channels. I cleaned my channels, then drilled a hole in the amp/battery area to drain future problems. Sealed the hole with RTV. After 3 days of constant rain, I got in the car, turned the key and my speakers sounded like I was receiving alien transmissions. Turned off the radio, drove the car home and preformed the above. Didn't have another problem after. Disconnected the amp for a couple of days for everything to dry out, reconnected, no issues. I got lucky.

[nsjames]

well it ended up being one leaf in the sunroof drain channel on the driver's side.
had to take off the headliner.

[smatanovic]

Originally Posted by smatanovic

Amp is toast; I ordered a replacement, which should arrive this weekend. We'll see about the speakers...

Amp arrived, and it looks essentially brand new. Installed, and it sounds terrific, better than the one that got fried. Speakers seem completely fine.