So I forgot to close the sunroof and windows on the car last night. Came out to about 1.5" of standing water in the car this morning. I didn't even know it rained last night!

Everything seems to be working except the drivers side door speaker. It's just hissing and popping rather loudly. Regardless of the radio being on or not.

I spent about an hour this morning drying and cleaning the inside. I would rather not pull that door panel off to dry back there, but if I have to then I will. Does anyone have a link to a how-to to remove the drivers side door panel?

Thanks in advance

 

http://rx8.becomeanidiot.com/puddlelights.pdf - half way through it goes into how to remove the door panel

I suggest removing the door panel because if you really do not take care to dry back there, you risk mold, and/or corrosion/rust on the wires and terminals. Also, if you haven't already, I would go to the local hardware store and get some antimicrobial cleaners to prevent mold buildup. Also, I suggest parking the car with the windows cracked open, even if the floors are slightly wet, it is going to start to smell really bad as it dries up

 

I have the car sitting with the windows and sunroof cracked, and abut 6 beach towels throughout to dry everything. I've done this once before about 10yrs ago in my old S10 pickup with a sunroof. The smell wasn't terrible then, just a matter of getting it good and dry.

Of course with 95* temps and 110* heat index the humidity might fight me a bit to get it dried quickly.

 

Don't know how to remove the door panel, but you might also want to use a hair blow dryer to help dry stuff faster. (It's not that hard to lift the carpeting; I had to do that a little to install the footwell lamp kit.) Also, obviously, park it in the hot sun with all the doors/sunroof open. (I suspect direct sunlight is the enemy of mold.)

 

Hissing door panel? Sounds like u got snakes! Lol.

 

 

Damn. That blows.

I'd get a shop vac and vacuum the **** out of the carpet.

 

taking everything out now and cleaning it > waiting till things start to smell and rust.

It's going to take you a weekend but remove everything: Seats, center console, carpet, door panels. Dry and clean everything, get some electrical grease on all the connectors, and get rid of all the water.

You'll either spend two days now or countless hours later chasing down small to big issues.

 

^^^ This.

it will be tedious work and it wont' be fun but it's better to just do all that now then deal with the consequences down the road.

 

and you may find some change when you take the seats out :D

 

Perhaps you should bite the bullet and take the car to a trusted auto body shop. Let them strip the interior and clean it good for you. Expensive but probably good insurance for future headaches.

 

Don't use heat...it speeds up mold growth .....just put some big fans in there to ventilate the air out...and let them run for a few days and you should be good

( inside a garage or shop if it is wet and raining out)

 

Oh well, the damage is done. Just gotta let it dry though.

 

OK, the car sat out in the sun all day. All the water appears to be gone. I'm sure there is still some dampness remaining, but the car will be living the next few days in the company garage with the windows, and roof open. It should dry out completely in the next day or so I would think.

I pulled the door panel off tonight. The hissing/popping noise is coming from the large speaker in the bottom of the door. There is a small amp attached to that speaker that smells terribly bad of burnt electronics. Once I disconnected that small amp, the bad noises went away, however so did all the sound out of that larger speaker. I put the panel back on without that small amp in there, and will run that way until I can get a replacement.

Here's a few pics of the item in question. Anyone know where to get a replacement one of these besides the dealership!?!?



Here is where it mounts inside the door:


I'm hoping that's not a terribly expensive part, but having the Bose logo on it isn't encouraging at all. A quick google search of those part numbers isn't turning much up. Anyone have a spare laying around that they want to part with? Any good online sites to purchase genuine Mazda parts for less expensive than the dealership?!?!

Thanks guys!

 

Look in the For Sale section here, I got a complete used Bose system here for pretty cheap. Jusst look for someone parting out a car.