I have a 2006 XJR with 171XXX miles on it. Last night we had heavy, heavy rain in Louisiana. Floor mat and carpet on front right seat are wet. I am assuming that it is due to drain tube being clogged. I had a problem similar on my 99 X-308 and blew compressed air into the tubes that drained at rear of right wheel well.

Where does the pan drain tubes discharge under the X-350?

 

There is a drain tube at each corner of the sunroof. I have only ever been able to see the front pair from above the car while the sunroof is open. I suspect the rear pair are near the back of the track (under the roof), which likely means pulling the headliner. In my case, I have only had the front drain tubes get clogged. As to the front pair, the holes are not very large, and they easily get clogged at the opening or within the tube. The front lines run down the A-pillar and exit under the car, between the door and front wheel. You will not find a tube sticking out the bottom of the car or a specific exit hole. I believe the rear drain lines go down the C-pillar. I have cleared mine drain lines using a combination of a long flexible bicycle shift cable and compressed air. Be careful not to poke a hole in the drain tube, or use sufficient pressure that you pop the tube loose.

 

Weed wacker line, works every time. Better attached to a drill.

 

Front drains likely but there are other areas of water ingress on the X350 cars. Search for the TSB.

 

Hi Mike,

Your issue could also be a clogged drain in the engine compartment below the cabin air microfilter. This drain is notorious for collecting seeds and leaves, then allowing water to pool up around and over the ECM electrical connector and then sloshing down the air duct above the ECM into the front passenger footwell. If you find wet leaves below your filter, clean them all out and purchase an inexpensive set of 5-lobe Security Torx bits so you can disconnect the ECM connector and ensure that it is clean and dry. You may also find that your cabin air microfilter is moldy.

I believe the sunroof drains exit the monocoque just behind the front wheels and just ahead of the rear wheels. Do be careful if you try compressed air because there are elbows in the drains near the sunroof frame that can easily blow off the sunroof fitting or the drain hose, and if that happens you have to separate the entire corner of the headliner for access.

I am attaching the TSB abonano mentioned.

Cheers,

Don

 

Decided to pop the bonnet latch and take a look. Lucky me, latch handle appears to have broken when I pulled it. So, it will be a while before I tell you what I found.

I will post a new post asking about bonnet latch.

 

Cabin air filter after debris removed.

Leaves and debris as initially observed view is from front of car facing toward rear.
With the bonnet latch problem resolved, I found leaves and debris in front of the cabin filter. I have removed the leaves and such.

 

Hi Mike,

Your photo is very representative - it happens to all X350s. The drain is partially hidden by the microfilter housing - did you take the filter out so you could thoroughly clean the drain?

Cheers,

Don

 

Despite the leaves the drain looks ok from what I see in the pic.

Take some hot water and pour it in the vicinity of the drain, slowly.

You should see/hear it exit from beneath the car rather quickly (3 - 5 seconds)

If it backs up or doesnt drain, or drains slowly then stop and stick some trimmer line in there.

 

I have been fighting with my internet provider all day with repeated sudden service interruptions. I am going to try to get this update posted before my internet service stops again.

I tried to get a photo of the front right sunroof drain, but I can't get the camera to focus that close. I ran a piece of trimmer line into the drain. I could not get past about three feet. Perhaps I was hitting an elbow? I tried using a cordless drill, but I had about a six foot long piece and it was not stiff enough for the drill to rotate it.

Anyway, I did not see any dirt, etc. on the end of the trimmer line when I removed it.

I will go back and remove the cabin filter and see about the drain that Don mentioned. I will post an update later.

 

Albano;

Is the drain that you are referring to on the left side of the photos? I will try the warm water trick. and post an update.

 

Well, I've been called worse... lol

Yes, lower left side of drain.

 

No elbow. It's a straight shot all the way down but if you got three feet in your good.

 

Where did you get access to the ECM? through the Cabin Filter or from inside the passenger footwell? I have Torx bits and will see if the connection to the ECM is wet.

 

The ECM is in the passenger compartment under the glove box, but its electrical connector passes through the firewall into the engine room under the microfilter housing, where it connects to the wiring harness. The microfilter housing is held in place by two or four 10 mm hex-head screws. The ECM connector is fixed by a 5-lobe Security Torx, which has a pin in the center of the head of the screw, so you need a 5-lobe bit with a hole in the center. Standard Torx bits have six lobes. You can get an inexpensive set of 5-lobe Security or Tamper-Proof Torx bits on eBay. Before disconnecting the ECM, disconnect the battery negative cable and wait 10 or 15 minutes for the keep-alive memory capacitors to discharge.

 

I assume this is the ECM?

The Quart of Water that I poured in to test drain rate drained quickly

The Housing Drain for the filteris almost centered in this photo

Part Number for Cabin Air Filter

Retainer for Filter Element

Make Sure to insert the two Tabs on the bottom of the retainer into the slots before inserting the element. I found out the hardway that it cannot be inserted with the element in place.

Insulation under the glove box

The two retainers for the insulation located at the two corners of the insulation. Insulation just slid out to the rear after the retainers were removed

Water draining from the cabin filter housingat the rear of the richthand fender well
I poured about a quart of warm water into the cabin filter housing and in only a few seconds water drained from the rear of the front wheel well.

I did not see any water stains on the insulation under the ECM and the insulation seemed dry to the touch.

After removing the four Torx screws, does the ECM drop down enough to be able to remove the screws securing the plug?

 

Mike,

Great post and good photos!

As I recall, the wiring harness is not long enough to pull into the footwell to disconnect the connector. The connector has to be disconnected from the engine bay side. The ECM can then be removed.

Cheers,

Don

 

I ordered the five lobe security TORX bits from EBAY this afternoon with delivery next Monday.

So, how did you get access to the connector in the engine bay? I don't even see the connector. Did you have to remove the wipers and the whole plastic cowl vent?

 

The ECM connector is below the bottom side of the microfilter housing. To remove the housing, remove the two 10 mm nuts in your photo below, plus, I think, two more nuts, one on each outer flange of the housing. I use an extensible/telescoping magnet to turn the outer nuts off the last thread or two of the stud to help prevent dropping them into the abyss.



The air duct in the microfilter housing that you can see above the nuts in your photo passes into the passenger compartment right above the ECM and is one path for water that winds up in the front passenger footwell.

Cheers,

Don

 

Behind inner fender well. Only need to remove the two plastic rivets to access with wheel turned out of way.