Cadillac Repair: Wet Trunk, spare tire cover, fuse switch

Question
When I pulled up the spare tire cover lid, the carpeted space that the spare sits down on is soaking wet and even has mold growing.  I discovered this while trying to see if my trunk pull down motor is bad.  The trunk will shut so far and lock in, but it is not descending on down.  So I have two major problems.  Where could this water be coming from.  There are no other wet carpeted areas in the trunk.  So I would not think it is the seal around the trunk lid.  Help?

Answer
Hi Cynthia,

        When I get a problem with a wet trunk or water accumulateing inside the trunk the first step is to remove everything and let it dry out. Since you have a mold problem it might be best to get the trunk cleaned professionally first and replace the items that can't be cleaned like carpet and trim pieces or insulation. Then you would need to inspect the areas where water is collecting and see if there are any obvious places that water is getting in. Rust spots on seams or holes or missing plugs would need to get fixed first. Then someone needs to get inside the trunk with the lid closed down and a flashlight. Then another person on the outside needs to spray water on the trunk and undernieth like if it were raining. If you blast the trunk weatherstrips you could get them to leak but they might not be leaking otherwise. Once you see where the water is getting in you can determine what needs to be done to stop it.

    As for the trunk pull down motor...if it latches but doesn't pull down it could be the fuse, switch on the pull down motor or the motor itself. Alot of times replaceing the switch is all that is necessary and it can be replaced by itself. It might be a dealer item or maybe parts stores are selling them I'm not sure.

     Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anymore assistance. Bill