CIU - Why not relocate it?

It's not that it can't be done but your options are somewhat limited You also have to take into consideration the wire harness would have to be rerouted, shortened or lengthed depending on the new location, mounting points etc...

Adding silicone around the hvac air inlet, while not the prettiest solution, is pretty effective and cheap compared to the alternatives.

In the automotive world when you have to make changes to anything hardware related, it is extremely difficult. The process would have to change from the CAD drawing, to wiring, to testing, to production line... and many more details. Also, if you ever peel the skin of the Karma off, you will see that it is EXTREMELY packed. There is basically no other place to put the existing CIU.

The water issue is not the CIU location's fault. The CIU Location was supposed to be a dry spot but other parts and design issue caused the water to trickle onto the CIU.

If anyone wants to try to relocate the CIU themselves, it is definitely do-able. Just extend all the wires and make sure you bolt the CIU down horizontally as it is now. It has a accelerometer onboard that would estimate navigation positions in case the GPS satellite reception cuts out. That is currently calibrated to assume CIU is horizontally mounted.

8AVGMPG said:

It's not that it can't be done but your options are somewhat limited You also have to take into consideration the wire harness would have to be rerouted, shortened or lengthed depending on the new location, mounting points etc...

Adding silicone around the hvac air inlet, while not the prettiest solution, is pretty effective and cheap compared to the alternatives.

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Is there a diagram of where the hvac air inlet is?

SC Karma said:

Is there a diagram of where the hvac air inlet is?

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Pop the hood. Along the black plastic windshield cowl, along the passenger side, you'll find a small panel/door. The inlet is right behind that panel.

Lormax said:

Pop the hood. Along the black plastic windshield cowl, along the passenger side, you'll find a small panel/door. The inlet is right behind that panel.

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Thanks Lormax!

Lormax said:

Pop the hood. Along the black plastic windshield cowl, along the passenger side, you'll find a small panel/door. The inlet is right behind that panel.

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Is there any issue with sealing this inlet?

fiskerjim said:

Is there any issue with sealing this inlet?

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8AVGMPG said around the inlet, so I don't think he meant sealing the inlet. Anyway, it's good to clarify.

I wouldn't seal the whole inlet, it's how the air enters the cabin when the AC/Heater is turned on.

Around the inlet, and behind it, is what you'll want to seal. Getting behind it is very difficult though, so at Fisker OC we came up with what we called the 'Hoover Dam' of seals. The way we set it up it's practically impossible for water to get behind the inlet piece. If someone wants to tackle this soon just PM me and I'll walk you through it. I'll probably put together a PDF with some pictures and make it available for download through my site pretty soon.

Lormax said:

I wouldn't seal the whole inlet, it's how the air enters the cabin when the AC/Heater is turned on.

Around the inlet, and behind it, is what you'll want to seal. Getting behind it is very difficult though, so at Fisker OC we came up with what we called the 'Hoover Dam' of seals. The way we set it up it's practically impossible for water to get behind the inlet piece. If someone wants to tackle this soon just PM me and I'll walk you through it. I'll probably put together a PDF with some pictures and make it available for download through my site pretty soon.

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I'll be looking forward to seeing the pdf. I smeared RTV around anything that went through the firewall but I'd like to see how you would do it.

I would be interested in best idea for sealing. My car stays outside so during a very heavy rain last week the CIU stopped working. It must have dried out as a few days later it started working again. Something must have stayed powered on though as my battery went totally dead & now needs to be replaced. I was thinking of simply moving ithe CIU into the glove box to avoid issues altogether if that was possible.

I need a car to take the pictures with. Any cars in So Cal that haven't had this done yet? I need a volunteer

Bam bam said:

I would be interested in best idea for sealing. My car stays outside so during a very heavy rain last week the CIU stopped working. It must have dried out as a few days later it started working again. Something must have stayed powered on though as my battery went totally dead & now needs to be replaced. I was thinking of simply moving ithe CIU into the glove box to avoid issues altogether if that was possible.

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i had the same issue this week when it started purring rain here in norcal, went to the dealership and they sealed for a crazy amount of labor work..
anyway, everything has "healed" but the fact that now the CIU doesn't turn off when i turn the car off.
anyone know if there is a fix for that beside replacing the CIU module that got the water damage?

Lormax said:

I need a car to take the pictures with. Any cars in So Cal that haven't had this done yet? I need a volunteer

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Lormax, you can take pics of my car. Let me know when you want to do it.

I'll have a car this Saturday to take pictures of while I do the job, step by step, so I'm hoping to have that PDF done sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!

easy solution.. my fisker sits in the garage when it is raining... lormax rtv siliconed the **** out of mine with the hoover dam they developed while working on my car..

I still dont want to drive it in the rain.. we only have 15 days of rain per year here in california so its really not an inconvenience..

plus the rain increases the chance for an accident so I would much rather crash my cls63 than fisker.. not only is my mercedes safer in an accident its fairly easy to replace...

Lormax said:

I'll have a car this Saturday to take pictures of while I do the job, step by step, so I'm hoping to have that PDF done sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!

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Any luck with a PDF we can see?

Thanks,

Steve

Just saw this thread, is there any update on the instruction?

Instructions as far as a relocation of the CIU ?

Harleyguy said:

Instructions as far as a relocation of the CIU ?

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Looking for the "'Hoover Dam' of seals" instruction from lormax to seal the inlet to the CIU.