[pcmike]

Let me preface all this by letting you know that I've only been through a automatic car wash twice in the ownership of my MCS and those two times are within the last month (I got lazy, ). Also, you should know I have a ham radio hooked up to the battery in the boot (pictures at http://pcmike.net/gallery/mradio) and thats what led me to finding this problem (the ham radio would just cycle on/off indicating the power was doing the same, the power wire ended up being corroded away).

I'm not entire sure how water can get into the battery compartment as it looks pretty sealed, but low and behold water has gotten in. I'll let the pictures do the explaining for me, but let this be a warning. If you have ever used a automatic car wash in which water is blown upwards as you drive in, check your battery compartment for water and report your findings here!

All pictures (larger than the one below) available at: http://pcmike.net/gallery/mcsbat):

[SFJAMES]

ah Florida.......humidity, nice place to visit though. Dry it up with something and go back to that carwash....see if it gets wet again. I hope thats just condensation. good luck!

[SFJAMES]

oooops, just saw the other pics. Car wash that cleans undercarriage huh? Take it to the dealers or DIY, get it re-sealed. take care.

[pcmike]

Thats just it.. it appears to be sealed just fine. Heck there are only a few places water can get in, in the first plac. Anyhow, I wasn't dumb enough to let the water sit, it's been dried up and I don't plan on going through an automatic car wash in the near future (not good for your car anyhow). That'll solve the problem! I'll be sure to point this issue out to the dealer upon InspectionI though (only about 3,000 miles or so).

[GBMINI]

Aren't there vents along the back of the trunk (below the door) ... there is a mesh covering them. Those vents must go somewhere and maybe a high pressure can force water the wrong way back in?

[SFJAMES]

I personally would not count on the dealer figuring out exactly what it is, but if you want to find out, take Battery out and fill that badboy with some H20 and find out where it leaks from. hmmm, I might do just that, I never know what the heck I'm run thru

[pcmike]

The water doesn't "leak out" of anywhere if you were to fill it, thats why the water was still in there and corroded away my positive wire. If the water was able to leak out I wouldn't be any wiser as to water getting in, in the first place.

My posting this at all was just to let people know that the water could possibly be collecting in their battery compartment if they use automatic car washes and to check your compartment. If someone wants to figure out exactly how the water could get in, go for it.. but I don't have the time to do all sorts of experiments and I don't have the ability to get underneath my car to look at all the possible options.

iancull, that's what I'm thinking as well... but I can't be 100% positive.

[SFJAMES]

cool man, take care and motor motor motor!

[ScottyB]

Yikes. Thats alot of water to be sitting around the battery...

Ive never owned a car which has a 'compartment' for the battery, so this will all be new to me. Usually just sits out in the open engine bay.

[NJ Bob]

Thanks for the info, and nice pictures. I'm going to check mine tomorrow. Bob

[pcmike]

Well, for something so potentially damaging I would of thought more people would have been interested in this thread and of responded by now. Let me remind you this issue is not limited to my car by any stretch of your imagination! Check your battery compartment and report back your findings...... PLEASE!

[minikai]

Why is the water blue and why do you get this residue?
I've never seen an automatic car wash using that amount of soap.
Have you checked the line for the rear window washer? I've got blue anti-freeze in that water and it looks like the liquid on your photos. Maybe the tubing has a hole and it leaks somehow into you luggage departement.
Just an idea.

Good luck
Kai

[pcmike]

Does that line even pass through the battery compartment? Where exactly could one find the rear washer line easily? Let me know and I'll check that out...

[minikai]

No, that line does not pass through the battery compartement, but the battery is the lowest point and water will collect there. I don't know where the line goes, but it has to be somewhere behind the side panels. I assume the tubing runs on the floor, inside, on either side of the car and then goes up the c-pillar into the trunk door.
If you have a hole in there, the water can flow unseen under the trunk carpet and into the battery box.
You could lift the trunk carpet, let someone else apply the washer and have a look. Maybe do it from the backseat with the trunk closed.

Good luck
Kai

[pcmike]

Well.. I'm not even going to bother, I'm pretty convinced that its the car wash. I never had the problem before I used the automatic car wash and the residue (blue spots) IS soap.

[Ron J. B.]

if you used copper wires for your radio installation, then the blue spots are Copper-oxide CuO2, because that's blue and results from a redox-reaction between copper and oxygen (water contains oxygen), sped up by the electricity as it was an electrolysis. (seeing your last picture with the fuse i assume it was inside the battery compartment).

[sjbartnik]

I go through an automatic car wash (with undercarriage wash) on a regular basis and have never experienced water collecting in the battery compartment.

Something is definitely amiss with your car, and it would seem by the other responses to this thread that this is not common at all.

Another avenue to trace might be the rear hatch seal. Any water that got in past the rear hatch seal would naturally collect in the lowest place, which is of course the battery compartment.

[pcmike]

No no, there is no problem with the rear hatch seal.. ayda yada yad. It's due to the high pressure jets that shoot upwards when you drive into the automatic car wash. The blue is not caused by the reaction with the copper.. I'm not stupid. It's soap, pure and simple.. it is soap from the automatic car wash. I've got no clue why you people keep trying to give me different possibilities for the water. I know what it is.. I know how it got there... I wasn't asking for suggestions. I was *TELLING* you that you run the risk of having water collecting in your battery compartment if you use an automatic car wash that happens to spray water at the proper angle upon entry. Enough suggestions, thanks.

Let me also clarify.. the blue-green in the fuse holder on the positive wire is caused by the reaction between water/copper, that's obvious. The blue I've been pointing out to you people is *NOT* that blue, but the blue in the battery compartment that has collected in certain depressions as well as the blue ring around the battery. Those blue deposits *WERE CAUSED BY THE SOAPY WATER*.

[ScottinBend]

Quote: Originally Posted by pcmike

No no, there is no problem with the rear hatch seal.. ayda yada yad. It's due to the high pressure jets that shoot upwards when you drive into the automatic car wash. The blue is not caused by the reaction with the copper.. I'm not stupid. It's soap, pure and simple.. it is soap from the automatic car wash. I've got no clue why you people keep trying to give me different possibilities for the water. I know what it is.. I know how it got there... I wasn't asking for suggestions. I was *TELLING* you that you run the risk of having water collecting in your battery compartment if you use an automatic car wash that happens to spray water at the proper angle upon entry. Enough suggestions, thanks.

Let me also clarify.. the blue-green in the fuse holder on the positive wire is caused by the reaction between water/copper, that's obvious. The blue I've been pointing out to you people is *NOT* that blue, but the blue in the battery compartment that has collected in certain depressions as well as the blue ring around the battery. Those blue deposits *WERE CAUSED BY THE SOAPY WATER*.

ummmmm..........sounds like you need to lose the attitude. Lots of nice replies and some very good ideas as to where the water is coming from. The rear washer hose would be the best start. What kind of washer fluid are you using?

So please tell us all how it got in there if you are so positive it came from outside the car. I have had my MCS on the rack and have found no way water could get into the boot from the outside.

[I'MKEITH]

i live in upstate ny ,we've had tooo much rain recently .
this morning i found almost a quart of water in the battery
tub .
i can't remember the last time i used a pressure washer or a
car wash
very frustrated
removed the battery only to realize the i now have to
crawl into the back to open the hatch, or jump start
the terminals to open the hatch