Pontiac Repair: 1996 Pontiac Grand Am--wet floorboards and problems related to this, pontiac grand am, blower unit

Question
QUESTION: I own a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE (2 door) with a 4 cylinder engine. Both of my front floorboards and the passenger rear floorboard gets soaking wet after a heavy rain. The passenger side seems to puddle up more than the driver side. I have taken the car to a body shop and he has cleaned out the debris under the cowl (in front of the windshield) and he has sealed up areas around the blower unit, all to no avail. This excessive soaking has resulted in my air bag light staying on, the seat belt light staying on, and occasionally, the theft system light comes on. Also, the gauges "jump" erratically briefly and occasionally. My question is: where could this leak be located at if it is affecting my warning lights and dash board gauges? Also, will the air bag deploy if the fuse has been removed? (I have read too many horror stories related to similar problems with other Grand Ams and had the fuse removed to prevent the air bag from deploying unexpectedly due to corrosion from the drenched floors.) I appreciate any and all help! Thanks in advance.

ANSWER: Hi there:
well with out seeing it It's hard to say for sure what the issue is. BUT on those older "N" body cars the cowl was uaually the culprit but they would leak on both sides not just the passenger side. Maybe they just missed the spot where it is actually leaking. The air bag issue is a major issue I have seen numerious ones of these deploy the bags off just driving down the road. pull in the fuse is a good thing. Once the leak is repaired the wirning harness and the air bag module need to be repaired BEFORE the fuse in put back in!

Good luck :)


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So, do you believe that the leak is located near the wiring harness if it is affecting my warning lights and dashboard gauges? Would a leaky seam in the firewall behind the engine be a possibility for the floorboard flooding and resulting dashboard problems? (I am trying to find the most likely leak locations related to the problems I am experiencing in order to assist the man at the body shop because he is at a loss as well.) Thank you again for all of your help!

Answer
Yes WET air bag module = warning light on due to the module shorting out. I seen that way to many times. The airbag module wiring is tied into the network for all the onboard computers so if one goes down or shorts out it well effect the other ones in the network.
As for where the leak is your guess is as good as mine. It could be comming in from anywhere The cowl below the winshield, The fire wall to side panel of the car seam. The pass thru harness on the left side of the car for the main wire harness. The pass thru for the engine wire harness on the right side of the car. Being that this car is now 15 years old it could have rotted out in any one of those areas and allowing the water into the car.