Damp headlining / courtesy light

[cbeeson]

Here's a strange one. On a very wet night, after a long drive in heavy rain, I discovered that the Bongo's roof lining was wet on the inside surface in the area immediately to the rear of the cab courtesy light. What's happened there? My best guess is condensation on the underside of the roof seeping through between the light and the lining, but it would take a lot of water to make that happen. The lining in front of the light, right down to the windscreen, was dry; and I'd have expected some drips at the front edge at least. Any thoughts? If rain's getting in, I'd like to sort it out, but where to begin?

Chris

[Simon Jones]

AFT or tin top? Never heard of condensation that would make the headlining actually wet. It could be a leak where the windscreen is bonded to the bodywork. As you're driving along in the rain, it is more likely to find its way into any weak spots.

[dvisor]

During an almighty thunderstorm, with the AFT raised and facing into the wind (happened suddenly before I had chance to turn vehicle round or lower roof), we had rain coming in around the courtesy light in the cab. Never had it before, or since, but I think it was the extreme winds lifting the roof and run getting in under the seal where the roof tent meets the cab. If you have an AFT it might be worth checking around the seal. The reassuring thing, though, was that the roof withstood the wind.

[rita]

Hi cbeeson,

The I would check the AFT weather seal is intact and not split/perished and the mating surface is clean,also the windscreen rubber seal.

Cheers.

[cbeeson]

Thanks for suggestions. I suspect dvisor is about right - wind lifting the whole AFT assembly. I'll get up there and check seals etc.

Chris

[bongo frenzee]

I've had exactly the same problem! Mine is a converted tintop though, so I wondered if water was seeping in around the bases of the two bolts that are used to lock the roof down, but this can't be the case if yours is a factory AFT as you won't have those. Mine gets wet between the courtesy light and the top of the windscreen, but there was a bit of water inside the light housing last time too. It does seem to occur if the rain is particularly heavy or prolonged.

I'll be watching this thread with interest to see if anyone comes up with a cause and/or solution.

[bongo frenzee]

Just adding another post as I'm still having this issue, though on re-reading the previous posts it looks like some folk are having this problem when their roof is down - mine only occurs when it's up.

I was thinking of removing the headlining to have a look underneath (or rather above it) - is it a simple enough job? I'm guessing I just have to remove the sun-shades and the courtesy light housing then wiggle the lining out. Anything I should look out for?