why would Honda design such a vehicle where the underhood fuse boxes get wet whenever the car is washed? I wipe down under the hood at each wash (hand wash always) and notice a substantial amount of water sitting on the fuse boxes. I'm just amazed at how much water gets to the electrical parts after a simple wash. It seems as if future trouble is brewing. Also, ever notice how much water drips from between the inside door panels and the door skin? Another amazing revelation. Water dripping out the weep holes is normal, but in my case, water drips between the plastic/vinyl door panels and the metal door frame. Anyone else have these problems?

 

The fuse box under the hood is not a problem. It also gets damp on the outside when driving in the rain. All the electrical stuff under the hood is designed to operate in a damp environment (it must be, or it wouldn't work).

If I'm understanding you properly, you have water dripping into the interior of the car from the door. If so, that's not normal and you should complain to your dealer. Maybe the seal between the bottom of the window and the car door isn't working properly, or maybe the inner door liner is torn or missing.

 

No, I've never noticed this on mine.

 

Normal. as mentioned. The boxes are water resistant, the lids usually have a rubber gasket around the edge.



Someone careless may have been working inside the door(s) and now the vapor barrier has been compromised, or maybe there are gaps in the sealer for the vapor barrier.

 

Drew and ezone I understand the fuse boxes are water 'resistant', but so too was my watch and my phone, both of which succumbed to the perils of water. I'm not talking a few drops of water, I'm talking the covers are completely wet (puddles sitting on them) and water has dripped down onto the wires leading into them from beneath. Not a good scenario for the long term and one I've never experienced in my many decades of owning Honda and other brands. Honda could have done a better job of protecting these crucial components. And guys, I had the door handle recall done and thought maybe they didn't replace the barrier correctly. If I get a chance I'll pull the door apart and look or if I feel lazy, I'll visit the dealer and ask. Luckily, the dripping water drip down into the threshold and then outside rather then into the car.

 

By "resistant" I meant you can safely drench the entire engine compartment with a garden hose from above or below the car (and if one is careful, a pressure washer), and driving full speed through 6 inch deep standing water covering the road which could also drench just about everything in the engine compartment.
Your fear is unfounded IMO.

 

Take it back to the dealer that performed the handle recall and have them fix the door water shields on the affected doors.


About the fuse box: Put a plastic bag over your head and stand in the shower. Does your head get wet? Fuse box is the same way. As long as the lid is on it, the fuse box can survive anything other than direct submersion in water. So don't go submarine and it will be fine.

 

^On point, as usual.^
I laughed way too hard at this.

 

Ok, so I've been told no need to worry about the water. I won't, then again, I won't own the fit long enough for the problems to show up. You guys might and I'd laugh my a$$ off over it when the boards light up with all those electrical problems. Sorry guys, been owning cars for many decades and never have I ever seen a car, American or otherwise puddle water on or near electrical devices. It's just bad engineering and none of my Hondas ever had such an issue. And as for driving through puddles and standing water... seems my engine compartment is dry from an assault from underneath. It's top down that's an issue. Seals fail over time so what is so water resistant now may not be so in the not too distant future. Ezone, lend me your fit... I'll test it's water resistance for you free of charge. Seriously, most manufacturers seal electrical boxes as a secondary measure, not the first line of defense. Remember this discussion years from now if you still have your Fits...

 

Seems that, by your own observation, the lid is 100% effective at preventing rain water from entering the fuse box.

 

I will let you spray water at my car for as long as you want, you will just have to stop so I can drive it to work. You will have to supply your own water, I am on a well and don't want to discolor my car with funky water.

You can find fears anywhere in life that you choose to find them. This particular fear isn't justified. I once had a customer that said her steering wheel hissed at her, she actually believed a snake was inside the steering wheel of her 3 year old crv. That fear wasn't justified either.

I like the sentence about " Sorry guys, been owning cars for many decades and never have I ever seen a car, American or otherwise puddle water on or near electrical devices." I have an older "american" car that has NO water sealing on ANY of its electrical connections. The terminals are even made of an iron based metal. Guess what, they rust.

More than a decade as a honda dealer service tech and I can say 1 thing with absolute certainty, honda has many less electrical issues than most other car companies. (disclaimer-electrical issues not involving current infotainment systems)

 

It's an 07 with over 200,000 miles on it. No electrical issues.

 

FWIW, I have washed down the engine compartment, including the wiring, of every car I've owned, twice a year for as long as I can remember. I've never had an electrical problem with any of them.

Don't you think the engine gets wet when you drive in the rain?

 

mcnoople, you're the man we all seem to hate, the snippy service advisor. no wonder you seem to think the current design (different than your 07 ezone) is simply a design award winner. Service advisors rarely drive the cars they 'service' and dismiss customers who do drive them day in and out. Yes, the hissing steering wheel is odd, and so too are a lot of other customer complaints, but legit complaints usually get treated the same way. Anyway, to all those who think water continuously reaching electrical components with regularity is an acceptable condition, fine, you live with it. I simply find it to be another cost cutting design 'feature' for the lowest of Honda's lineup. I have an 08 Civic and that has a rubber gasket along the top fender where it meets the hood. Come to think of it, most of my other cars had the same. I just went to look at my 10 Camry.. same deal. I guess Honda and Toyota should have just left those off if it doesn't matter, right? I agree with all of you that moisture and some water isn't going to hurt a thing, but pooling water on 2 fuse boxes and other areas simply isn't right. Hell, my entire battery is drenched after driving in the rain. My Civic under hood is dry as a bone driven through rain or standing water, same with the Camry.

 

His post does not say he is a service advisor.

 

I stand corrected... he said he worked/works as a service tech for at least a decade... techs and advisors are of the same organization and share the same smugness to customer concerns. I'm in no way calling mcnoople smug. I'd have to meet him to tell. My initial post was to see if anyone on the board was sharing/experiencing the same issue. No one seemed to answer that, (sans Uncle Gary on the door/water issue) but I have a lot of 'don't worry about it, it's not an issue' answers. If I stand alone with this issue, I'd like to know, if everyone else has the same thing happen, then that's a nice to know too. I guess by virtue of the fact that no one else said it happens to them then it only happens to me or else it happens and they just don't care about it. Can't tell from the responses.

 

Yup, I be service grunt. I use hammer to hit parts into submission. Ug had rock, they took rock and gave hammer, now use hammer.

Someone screwed up your door water shields. That is a problem and could allow you to have a wet carpet. Nobody like a wet carpet. From where I am standing I can see a car with the carpet up and fans drying it out for just this reason. The cause- door water shields out of place and not sealed at the bottom.

By its very nature electrical wiring is sealed. The insulation is water tight and does not allow moisture in to contact the conductive metal inside. If the insulation is damaged it can potentially turn into a high resistance problem which is all kinds of fun to find and fix.

All modern cars use weather seals on the wire where the wire enters the back of an electrical connector. These seals have to meet a very specific standard in terms of amount of time and pressure that they have to resist before intrusion occurs. That standard can be found https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code. Do you think that Honda would ignore international standards and just shoot from the pants whilst designing?

Here is an example of an aftermarket fuse/relay panel. It is made by cooper bussman and its intended purpose is retrofit applications such as power panels for converted vehicles(ambulances, crane trucks, etc..)https://www.waytekwire.com/item/4634...i-Fuse-Panel-/ The only difference between its cover and honda is that some honda cars do not have a rubber gasket, instead their cover extends down around the side of the panel.

The way that this panel is sealed is almost identical to how honda does their weather sealing. Only difference is that they generally use a connector that plugs into the bottom of the fuse block instead of a direct wired in method. Toyota still does use wires directly into the bottom of the fuse panel for underhood locations.

These panels are designed to be splash proof. Pour a 5 gallon bucket of water onto it and nothing will happen. Drop the panel into a 5 gallon bucket and you will likely get into trouble. Dry it out before reapplying electrical current and it will likely be perfectly fine assuming it wasn't sea/salt water.

Here is an example of the style of seal used where the wire enters the connectorhttps://www.waytekwire.com/item/3900...s-Cable-Seal-/. These are not the ones that honda uses, but they are OEM GM seals exactly as used on their vehicles. The Sumitomo catalog is enough of a pain that I don't feel like looking up honda seals.

In cases where the believe they need more intrusion protection they will also used dielectric grease to further seal the terminals.

You can google image search under hood fuse boxes or go looking at dealership cars. Wiring is always exposed under the hood. Fuse boxes are always just sitting there waiting for splashes. My wife's car has the fuse box right behind the radiator in front of the engine. One of the relays even has a cracked/broken top on it. I noticed it in january 2010 and it has never had an issue with it. I don't even remember which relay it is, but I did look it up and it is a non-critical component. If it acts up the relay will get replaced. The reason it has never acted up is because the lid keeps water out of the box.

Why does a fit not have a seal on the front edge. I can assure you that seal is not there to keep out water. It is there for aerodynamic reasons. The sloped shape of the hood on the Fit makes such a seal pointless. That seal is only there to direct airflow through the radiator instead of going over the radiator support.

As far no one responding to your question. I responded to your door question in my first post. As far as being "the man we all seem to hate" that's fine. You can get mad at people and have as much hate as you wish.

If you truly believe the "lowest of honda's lineup" to be a bad car you should try some of the cheap offerings from the other brands. Fit rides and drives much better than the cheapest scion, which would be the closest competitor. How about the ford/GM/mopar cheapos that will be worth 6 grand in 4 years.

Of course I don't know everything. I do try to learn how these systems work due to some of my hobbies and have spent a lot of time researching some automotive designs and assembly processes. This has all been my opinion you can listen to it or ignore it that is entirely up to you. The only reason I logged on is I found a message in my email saying I had a PM about a thread of mine, so I logged on to reply.

 

i would say you stand alone. I wash my bay often and havent experienced anything like this. Currently driving a 2013 with 66k

 

yep i washed the GK's engine bay the other week too. as with cars i own dat do not have aftermarket cone intake filters, i dont cover anything when i wash. there's no need.

 

I am working in vehicle company. And we found the same fault when testing car with shower tester. We thought the fuse box may be the cause. But, after we cover
on its top with a plastic bag and tested again. I still happened. So, may be fuse box is not the cause. I am in charge of researching this defect and i am really confusing.
Sorry but i still cant answer your question even thought after 3 years.