Hi - I did a poor job of replacing the windshield cowls apparently and the result was water getting in to the cabin and the horn blasting endlessly. I now have it dried out and the horn is no longer firing off but the barn door keeps popping open. It's acting like I either have the key fob button pushed or the keyh is in the cabin. Neither are the case. Any ideas on where to start?

Thank you!

 

First things first! Round up all the horses that got out before you attempt a fix on the cowling!😉

 

Ok. Horses rounded up. Any ideas on where in the fuse panel or under dash I need to be looking for issues?

 

May not be fuse panel issue, more likely something with the CAN BUS box above it. There's one on both sides of the footwell, behind the plastic panels.

Water INSIDE a MINI is not something you want.

Ever.

My '13 R55 suffered a sunroof drain port leak while parked outside early in 2020 during a toadstrangler. Found out after an hour's drive, back door intermittently unlatching by itself after I'd braked slightly.

Water was sloshing forward in passenger footwell, my first evidence of The Problem.

Two weeks later, after a trip to 'local' MINI dealer 100 miles distant, the carpeting had been replaced (risk of mold growth according to dealer tech), corrosion on that CB box's connectors had been remediated, and the drain hose reconnected in a (hopefully) more robust manner than factory'd managed.

My comprehensive coverage picked up everything but the original drain leak fix or I'dabeen out close to $3 Large for the visit.

Two weeks later water again in passenger well.

This time it was the passenger door seals that'd dried out & cracked (MINI ~ 8 years old at the time) so yet another return to dealer for diagnosis & repair, $400 bill for that trip.

If your lucky it may just be the wire connectors at that box, or elsewhere. If water got into the box your fix may be more elusive, to say nothing of the expense.

 

I lucked out I guess. I put a space heater in the footwell and baked the inside of the car for a few days and all is right in the world again.

 

I tried a dehumidifier for a couple of days after first discovering the leakage but then after pondering just how so much water might have gotten where it wasn't supposed to be it seemed worth the effort to get the leak diagnosed then fixed.

Otherwise the now-evident water would soon be joined by more of its kind, have more opportunity to wreak further havoc over time on what I hope I can continue to drive until this pitiful thing we call an 'economy' can get back onto its feet.