Pesky Leak!!

smlranger · 04-07-2008, 10:14 AM

Last trip out, we had water dripping from the TV enclosure down on the dash. I thought I found the culprit topside (where cable from King Dome enters the roof) and caulked it.

Well, I still got the leak. I had already made neoprene rubber gaskets for the marker lights when one of them leaked and I have used Eternabond on the front cap-to-roof seam. I see nothing else obvious on the roof.

Maybe I've got a windshield leak? The coach is sitting still so would not think a windshield leak would manifest unless you are moving. Plus, there is no water on inside the glass or front part of dash.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

smlranger · 04-07-2008, 10:14 AM

Last trip out, we had water dripping from the TV enclosure down on the dash. I thought I found the culprit topside (where cable from King Dome enters the roof) and caulked it.

Well, I still got the leak. I had already made neoprene rubber gaskets for the marker lights when one of them leaked and I have used Eternabond on the front cap-to-roof seam. I see nothing else obvious on the roof.

Maybe I've got a windshield leak? The coach is sitting still so would not think a windshield leak would manifest unless you are moving. Plus, there is no water on inside the glass or front part of dash.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

ISLAPP · 04-07-2008, 10:21 AM

What portion of the TV enclosure is it coming from? Any signs of moisture in any of the cabinets around the area? No offense, but are you sure you got the area around the dome sealed properly?
Mike

smlranger · 04-07-2008, 11:03 AM

Mike:

The water drips from the back of the underside of the TV enclosure, runs along the bottom of the enclosure, then drips on the dash. Wherever it is coming in, it seems to be over the TV

. I may have to pull the TV out to locate the source. I did not see or feel any moisture in either of the cabinets beside the TV enclosure.

No offense taken...I sealed what I thought was an obvious point of entry and that was where some flex conduit enters the coach roof just forward of the King Dome. I am not sure how the King Dome is sealed on the coach but may have to start taking it apart to investigate. On the way out to the Branson Rally last July, I did hit one of those 'no trucks' hanging signs at a Walmart in Jackson, TN. It banged the dome and left a scuff in it so I may have broken a bead of caulk, etc. However, the leak just started last month.

Lorene and John · 04-07-2008, 12:50 PM

We had some interesting leaks on our Vectra - it's really hard to see where they are coming in - I agree. It was suggested to us to run a hose on the area we thought it may be coming from for about 5 minutes - that seems to work - we managed to fix all our leaks that way. Good luck

John and Lorene Storck
1995 Vectra
1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara

ichn2go · 04-07-2008, 01:28 PM

Gary, the hose may solve the problem if you can concentrate it on a certain area.

Check those marker lights again, those are a known culprit. Good Luck and hi to Bear.

wagonmaster2 · 04-07-2008, 07:47 PM

Doesn't Winnebago do anything to seal those marker lights? After about a year I happen to notice several of the front marker lights had a gap around the lower edges wide enough to stick a pencil eraser in. Its a wonder I didn't have water every where. Only indication might be the fact I now have a passenger side windshield with a crack running from the lower edge toward the middle of the windshield . I was never able to find a rock chip causing this and I've heard rust can form in the windshield channel and put excessive pressure on the glass causing it to crack.
Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G

John_Canfield · 04-08-2008, 03:46 AM

Gary - how about pressurizing the interior with a couple of box fans (or maybe a powerful leaf blower) sitting in windows and then spray a soapy water solution around the suspected areas?

smlranger · 04-08-2008, 05:06 AM

Wagonmaster...I was also surprised to see no gaskets or other attempts to seal the marker lights. I fashioned rubber gaskets 2 years ago. I even called the manufacturer of the marker lights and they told me every light was shipped with a gasket....not sure why Winnebago did not use them.

John...I have thought of that idea if I can't find something else obvious.

I'll let folks know what I find for future reference. Thanks for all the suggestions.

CaptBill · 04-08-2008, 05:32 AM

Before you remove the TV, I'd take the dome cover off the satellite dish, and look carefully at it (for a crack from hitting that sign), and at the sealant on the mounting screws.

You may be better off to remove and re-seal them, and double check the cable entry seal.
There's a good chance that it is still leaking there. I have a boat that has radar on the hard-top, and water leaked into the upper electronics box from the factory sealed cable entry. I had to completely remove the radar, and clean out the cable entry and cable, and the re-seal using 3M 5200.

Always use an elastomeric sealant instead of silicone. It bonds, and weathers better than silicone, and will last much longer. Let us know what you find.

traveler of california · 04-08-2008, 10:14 AM

I had a similar leak. I sealed along the top of the windshield and over the the top of the molding on the left and right side of the windshield. Seemed to do the trick.

Nick

Moder2 · 04-08-2008, 11:51 AM

I just had a similar leak, coming from up front.

I think I got it now, I hope... It was my front Marker lights... I think.

Mine did have gaskets under them, but they were of foam rubber and quite dried out and cracked. I remade them with a rubber gasket material, and was very generous with silicone above and below the gasket and a nice bead around the base. I am also hoping that will end the annoying black streaks I was gettign down the front part of my cap.

Sans that, I would guess it is your kingdom...

John's suggestion of pressurizing the coach is probably the best idea, which if mine still leaks, is what I will be tring next.

John

Fossilhog · 04-08-2008, 12:08 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Moder2:
I just had a similar leak, coming from up front.

I think I got it now, I hope... It was my front Marker lights... I think.

Mine did have gaskets under them, but they were of foam rubber and quite dried out and cracked. I remade them with a rubber gasket material, and was very generous with silicone above and below the gasket and a nice bead around the base. I am also hoping that will end the annoying black streaks I was gettign down the front part of my cap.

Sans that, I would guess it is your kingdom...

John's suggestion of pressurizing the coach is probably the best idea, which if mine still leaks, is what I will be tring next.

John </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Had the same problem, drip from TV enclosure. Marker light gaskets were cracked and brittle. Called Lichtsinn, .90 each and they Prioity mailed them to me. Spent the last few days near Assateaque Island in Virginia in Monsoon weather, no leaks. Thinking about it, I'm glad the water came thru instead of lying up in the ceiling and growing mold.

tomsm · 04-08-2008, 02:22 PM

Well, I haven't seen this mentioned yet so here's my 2 cents. I had a leak in the same place - into the tv cabinet and it was coming from the factory installed am/fm antenna. It wasn't where the base contacted the roof, but (pardon my 65 year old memory) I think it was where the upper part of the antenna joined the base. Sealed it with something clear and very flexible from CW, but can't remember what. That was several years ago and no more leaks. Take a look at your am/fm/cb antennas. Can't remember what I saw (obvious case of CRS), but it must have been obvious...

ChasA · 04-08-2008, 03:00 PM

I second Tom's suggestion. I had a leak caused by the rubber ducky antenna not being fully screwed into its base. Mine was not up front, it was the aft antenna -- the one for the outside radio. I didn't seal it with anything, just screwed the antenna down firmly into the base. BTW the base is a tube shaped thingy which the antenna goes down into. Try grabbing the upper part of the antenna and see if you can tighten it.
Chas

Randy Chesnutt · 04-08-2008, 06:36 PM

I had one of those leaks. It took awhile to find it. What it ended up being was one of the screws that held the dome on was leaking into the a/c duck and running out the end of the duck and running down to the tv. I looked every where for that leak. So one day it was raining and I pulled the a/c vent off above the driver seat and took a look and guest what was there, it was a leak running into the duck. Removed the hold down screws and put sealer in the thread hole and put the screw back in and the leak stop. It takes a flashlight and a mirrow to look down to the end of the duct.

smlranger · 04-09-2008, 01:49 PM

UPDATE: Got away from work early today and climbed onto the motorhome roof. The culprit seems to be the Kingdome, or at least the poor installation of the Kingdome.

What I found....my dome is/was mounted with 12 screws, 3 at each corner thru a plastic plate mounted to the bottom of the dome. While there was self-leveling caulk slathered on top of the screws, there was no evidence of any caulk applied to the screws or any gasket/caulk on the underside of the plate. It was obvious that water migrating between the plate and roof easily entered the screw holes. In fact, the screws had disintegrated with rust. When I tried to remove the first screw, it just twirled in the hole. I was able to pull it out by hand and it was a 1/4" rusted nub with no threads. When I found several more in the same condition, I literally lifted the entire dome from the roof easily by lifting it...with all of the rusty screw-nubs stll in the holes. Frankly, I'm amazed it hasn't blown off the roof at 65 mph

I don't know if the dome was factory or dealer mounted but shame on whomever installed it! Taking some steps to waterproof those holes and use stainless screws does not take craftsmanship...simple common sense workmanship would have been sufficient.

A warning to anyone who might have the same mounting scheme...suggest you check on it. If it isn't leaking now, it surely will in time.

I hope this will fix the leak. If not, this repair needed to be done anyway.

becks · 04-09-2008, 02:31 PM

Gary.....Good thing you dug into it hard and fast. Much better than sailing off going down the road, as that would have really been a mess. We find ourselves playing detective with these rigs quite often. Another fix well done I,m sure.

Randy Chesnutt · 04-09-2008, 04:10 PM

I'm glad you found that leak. It sounds like it was telling you something.

ct78barnes · 04-09-2008, 05:09 PM

We had the same one and found it to be where the cable went through the roof the clear sealent was gone. The hole was a little biger than the cable. I put a new bead of sealent and let set up. Then I got a tube of self leviling calking and re did the area after cleaning everything with mineral spirits.Before this I use the tape and going over the old calking but did not find the lose wire till I removed all the old calking and saw the hole . That was last summer and still dry.