Mk2 condensation in the cabin

[kingarthur83rd]

Hi All

I have a mk2 (2005) Focus Titanium. It appears that there is an amount of damp/condensation getting into the cabin (more noticeable during winter) which seems to be (in my opinion) coming from the boot. I say this as I had the car valeted in Aug/Sept time, and by Dec specs of mold have appeared on the rear seatbelts. (these have been cleaned with branded APC for now).

The reason I bring this up is that as i think the car isn't damp proof, its FCKNG freezing in winter and takes an age to heat up, compared to a Mk2.5 Focus CC3. plus the fact that if damp is getting in, its all the stuff i cant see like playing havoc with electricals etc

I know the boot seals/design are an issue/common fault on the Mk2 (due to poor design/build quality) with countless YouTube vids explaining how to resolve (which i had to do on the offside rear cluster, will be attacking the rest following a trip to the parents) the boot feels dry, and the seats feel dry, though condensation appears on the windshield/rear screen and in more extreme temps (I've noticed) the ignition barrel exterior. Other than keeping everything dry and packing the interior with de-humidifiers, has anyone else had something similar? or has any other advice/experiences than the rear clusters/hinges/boot seal as per YT? 

[troy45]

Is the boot carpet wet or any water in the boot under the carpet?

That’d be first sign of water getting in there then you can investigate more depending which side it’s on etc think you’d need a fair bit of water in there for it to start showing up as condensation and mould on things.

Guessing favourites to be the seals on rear light cluster screw inserts, possibly tailgate hinge pockets or coming in through body panel seals i rear corners of the boot. Think they apply sealer here from the factory but it’s a blind area to see properly.

[Botus]

there's a few posts suggesting water comes in the screw holes for the tail lights....  it was updated to say no, it's coming in the rear spoiler at the top of the tail gate, and this where it comes in on mine

trouble is the design is *****, and the bolts rust and they don't come out with the terrible fixing spinning around that you can't reach - if you try to remove you can get stuck worse than it, was unable to tighten or remove....   I suggest getting a couple of the nasty fixings as spares before trying.  At the top of the interior tailgate trim a cover just pops off with your hands, where you'll find three more of the five 10mm headed bolts

I had one that wouldn't come out and then another go wrong as I refitted it.  I used silicone gunge around the holes - its mostly a 15 min job, till those fastenings turn it in to 5 hours of hell on a sunday with no spares and you have an undrivable car

If you have AC never turn it off, it helps keep moisture down, with covid bs work from home never use the car, it fills with water on its own and with pathetic UK weather the AC switches out at 4C and the car stays full of moisture, the AC can't turn itself back on turn off till the dash ice light goes out

It'll take 3 eight hundred mile trips to scotland, to actually remove ALL the moisture stuck in the trim and carpets when using the AC to de humidify after half a bucket of water has absorbed itself into the most of the soft trim of the car,

under the bonnet the spark plugs are usually in a bath of water hidden under the cam cover, where it leaks in via the drivers windscreen washer jet, not only is it good for misfires, it helps rust out the core plugs - the other side is beautifully designed to wash the coil pack and HT leads with water in case shorting the plugs to ground in 3 litres of water didn't get it to miss

[StephenFord]

1 hour ago, Botus said:

If you have AC never turn it off, it help keep moisture down, ...

👍

[kingarthur83rd]

17 hours ago, troy45 said:

Is the boot carpet wet or any water in the boot under the carpet?

Good question

After some initial poking and prodding this morning the boot isn't bone dry, to be fairly anal (heh, "anal") theres a couple of spots of water under the boot carpet (not a terrible amount of water, not an unexpected amount of water in my opinion). the boot carpet that covers the spare wheel itself is bone dry. i observed some small patches on the right side, suggesting a re-seal of the screw holes is in order. next check is after heavy rain. 

for now a disposable De-humidifier in the boot is the order of the day, with more regular drives.

 

1 hour ago, Botus said:

If you have AC never turn it off, it help keep moisture down

Not to humblebrag but its the titanium spec. the only thing this doesn't have is cruise control and heated seats(as the original purchaser opted for the 1/2 leather interior, H/S were optional iirc)
No bluetooth as... well... its a 2005 Ford 😂

Funny you should mention that, the AC in this car has always been problematic, had it re-gassed when i got it, within a month a pipe split, fixed it, within a fortnight of repair another went, had that ally welded, within a month of that repair i smelled refrigerant, the condenser failed. Had that replaced in Nov 2021 and yep, within 3 trips out, that familiar smell of refrigerant, and it no longer works. Its going back to the garage next week for a service, brake discs and AC diags.

I don't think this model suffers from terrible leaking, just the fact that moisture is getting into the cabin. everything else is A1, starts on the key, puts the power down great, pulls like a train, fuel is kinda meh, but its not bad for a 2 litre. 

 

[Botus]

under the boot floor panel it should be 100% dry, when they leak the tools go rusty

pop the trim off the inside top of the tailgate trim just rip it off no tools (the bit just above the window), if the bolts are rusty its leaking 

 

 

[F0CUE]

Get some rubber washers for the screws to seal them to see if it continues.

[troy45]

17 hours ago, F0CUE said:

Get some rubber washers for the screws to seal them to see if it continues.

Problem I’ve seen is the foam seals for the screw inserts rot away so they need sealing not necessarily the screws themselves

[kingarthur83rd]

Sorry for the late reply

 

I got my car back. The AC system requires new seals which are c. £4-£7 each. there's 6 of them. Unfortunately its a 3hr/4hr job (I'm lead to believe) at £45/hr plus a re-gas. Given the cars age its not really a surprise. However, the cost of the job is a bit of a concern, with no REAL guarantee that it'll not fail in the future.

since the visit to the shop there has been no damp or condensation in the boot (its been about a week, with there being rain this evening) and more to the point no condensation on the front/rear screens. the boot carpet feels bone dry and everything seems okay? I can only surmise that its a build quality thing as the damp only seems to get in when its super cold. I will go ahead and re-seal anyway (as it just makes sense) and see how I get on.

next on the list is a funny idle, which I am leaning towards either a dicky lambda sensor or the idle air control valve is stuck/seized/gunked, despite what the internet wants me to believe: low compression 😳

Old age doth not become her!

[StephenFord]

9 hours ago, kingarthur83rd said:

Sorry for the late reply

 

I got my car back. The AC system requires new seals which are c. £4-£7 each. there's 6 of them. Unfortunately its a 3hr/4hr job (I'm lead to believe) at £45/hr plus a re-gas. Given the cars age its not really a surprise. However, the cost of the job is a bit of a concern, with no REAL guarantee that it'll not fail in the future.

since the visit to the shop there has been no damp or condensation in the boot (its been about a week, with there being rain this evening) and more to the point no condensation on the front/rear screens. the boot carpet feels bone dry and everything seems okay? I can only surmise that its a build quality thing as the damp only seems to get in when its super cold. I will go ahead and re-seal anyway (as it just makes sense) and see how I get on.

next on the list is a funny idle, which I am leaning towards either a dicky lambda sensor or the idle air control valve is stuck/seized/gunked, despite what the internet wants me to believe: low compression 😳

Old age doth not become her!

I too have a vintage car, I just wonder if you have a 'specialist A/C guy local? I'm lucky in that I do, and the reason I use him when needed is that this is his bread & butter stuff, and can very often save much time in labour as it's all he does all day week after week! I have used him for over 20 years for leaks in the system, replacement condensers, replacement compressors, re gassing etc (all different cars LOL). Try the old fashioned Yellow pages 1st rather than a generic garage...