Caught out with the top off

Buggaboo

New member
Well if anyone is curious, the fancy new JL electronics and interior seem pretty good at holding up to a heavy rainstorm. Went to an early evening movie for part of date night with my gal. It was bright and sunny outside with a low chance of rain around midnight. Movie ends and there’s a lul in the audio, and it kind of sounds like rain outside. Uh oh I think, head to the door and we’ll sh!*....

IMG_0954.jpg

IMG_0953.jpg

Got her home and dried out. So far all the blinky parts work, and the floor drains work great. Everything seems to be on the up and up, but I’ll update everyone’s in a few days when I’ve put it through its paces. And if you want to know, that’s 4” of water in the shop vac that I pulled out of the carpet.

IMG_0957.jpg

[IMG_0958.jpg


Cheers,
Buggaboo
 

Firejeep

Member
Don’t you just love the term “chance of rain”? This is a good test for the electronics, keep us posted. Good luck.
 

Buggaboo

New member
Alright gents, seems like all is good! All systems go, no blown fuses, or any other issues so far. Here’s what worked for me.

1: shopvac as much water as you can out (there will be more caught in the back seats for you JLU guys.

2: wipe down all surfaces

3: get some air movers in it and leave the top off overnight in the garage so it can breathe. Also go get a good sized dehumidifier and set it up nearby so your garage doesn’t turn into a swamp.

4: put the top back on and seal’er up with the fans and dehumidifier inside the Jeep. Let it run for 12 hours checking on it temporarily to dump water from the dehumidifier.

5: shut down the fans and dehumidifier and let it set with the windows open in the garage over night to air out.

6: if you have leather, retreat your seats. That dehumidifier pulls out a lot of moisture and the leather can use some love after the beating it just went through.

7: enjoy your freshly deep cleaned interior. Mine still has that new car smell surprisingly.

Thanks to everyone for the good ideas and feedback!


Cheers,
Buggaboo
 

Last edited:

Shots

New member
Wow, thanks for posting. I've always wondered if it's as durable as they claim, but wasn't going to intentionally test it. Guess your JL got to be the unwitting guinea pig.
So the leather survived (one of my bigger concerns), how about the seat warmers? I know that's not really a concern in TX, but one that I've worried about here in OH. Any chance you can turn them on a minute or two, to make sure those survived too?
 

Buggaboo

New member
Wow, thanks for posting. I've always wondered if it's as durable as they claim, but wasn't going to intentionally test it. Guess your JL got to be the unwitting guinea pig.
So the leather survived (one of my bigger concerns), how about the seat warmers? I know that's not really a concern in TX, but one that I've worried about here in OH. Any chance you can turn them on a minute or two, to make sure those survived too?

I actually didn’t include seat warmers in my build for the same reasons you mentioned. That being said, I could of feel the underside if the rear cushions and they were damp to the touch when I got started cleaning it up hat night. I believe a large portion of the residual moisture the dehumidifier was pulling out was coming from the seat cushions.


Cheers,
Buggaboo
 

Shots

New member
Bummer, I guess I'll have to keep wondering. Although it sounds like, if I get caught in the rain, I should definitely wait to turn them on just to be on the safe side.
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Bummer, I guess I'll have to keep wondering. Although it sounds like, if I get caught in the rain, I should definitely wait to turn them on just to be on the safe side.

There is no way they would install seat heaters that were sensitive to moisture. I mean, what would happen if I pee myself on a tight shelf road or an extreme off-camber situation.
 

Last edited:

Shots

New member
:cheesy:

Great point, I hadn't thought about that. I was thinking "it's electric, moisture will cause a short", but they almost have to be a sealed component knowing that the seat can get wet even if you don't get caught in rain. Heck, how many people have spilled drinks on them? Probably a lot. I guess I don't have to worry about getting caught in the rain.
 

Top