car full of water and no start.....help please carrera 3.2
Discussion
Due to the fact that it has rained constantly for the last day or two and my car is parked outside, it now has the passenger footwell, front and rear full of water. i have bailed out most of it and removed the carpets and now the car wont start. Initially before i noticed the water i thought i had run out of petrol as i was very low on fuel so i managed to put a gallon or so into the tank and it eventually started up and got me home. Now the box under the passenger seat is making a high pitched buzzing noise (is this the dme processor or is there anything to do with the immobiliser under the passenger seat) as i think the immobiliser is playing up as well. When i go to start the car, i put the immobiliser fob into the "socket" and it doesnt beep to tell me that it is turned off like it normally does. the engine turns over though when i turn the key but just doesnt fire, could it be that the fuel pump is still immobilised or no power to fuel pump? i have replaced the dme relay with a spare so i know its not that. is it easy enough to bypass the immobiliser and dme as im sure the problem is something to do with whats lurking under the murky depths of water in my footwell..
next of all.....where is the most common places for water to get in on a 3.2 carrera. i wouldnt mind if it was a targa but its a coupe..i think its time to clear my garage out.
many thanks for any help..
next of all.....where is the most common places for water to get in on a 3.2 carrera. i wouldnt mind if it was a targa but its a coupe..i think its time to clear my garage out.
many thanks for any help..
Just about the whole of the electrics is in three places; By the fuseboard, in the passenger side of the engine bay, under the passenger seat.
If I were you, I'd stop trying to start it, and disconnect the battery. Then I'd take the passenger seat out, remove the electrics under the seat, and put them in the airing cupboard for a day or two.
In addition, if you take the floorboards out, you'll find some bolts underneath. Certainly on the driver side the ones that hold the throttle pedal to the floor go straight through the floor. It's somewhere to purge the water to. Also there are small plastic plugs insterted from the outside underneath through which you can drain the center tunnel.
If I were you, I'd stop trying to start it, and disconnect the battery. Then I'd take the passenger seat out, remove the electrics under the seat, and put them in the airing cupboard for a day or two.
In addition, if you take the floorboards out, you'll find some bolts underneath. Certainly on the driver side the ones that hold the throttle pedal to the floor go straight through the floor. It's somewhere to purge the water to. Also there are small plastic plugs insterted from the outside underneath through which you can drain the center tunnel.
Edited by dilbert on Friday 15th June 20:28
dilbert said:
Just about the whole of the electrics is in three places; By the fuseboard, in the passenger side of the engine bay, under the passenger seat.
If I were you, I'd stop trying to start it, and disconnect the battery. Then I'd take the passenger seat out, remove the electrics under the seat, and put them in the airing cupboard for a day or two.
I have disconnected the battery and just have to wait for it to stop raining. its still peeing it down but hopefully i wil get some time over the weekend to look at it. cheersIf I were you, I'd stop trying to start it, and disconnect the battery. Then I'd take the passenger seat out, remove the electrics under the seat, and put them in the airing cupboard for a day or two.
If any water gets in between the imobilliser 'key' and the mating 'socket' it won't work.
You need to dry it (hairdryer - or wait) until it bleeps on insertion.
My 3.2 got so wet the other night, water gushed out of the vents on accleration. Not ideal at all.
Take all carpets out - they won't dry otherwise and once it's all mopped out (you could use an aqua-vac)use a hair dryer on the motronic unit under the pass seat.
Check the drainage slot in the luggage compartment is clear and then get someone to put a hosepipe on it, while you're inside, to see where it comes in.
You need to dry it (hairdryer - or wait) until it bleeps on insertion.
My 3.2 got so wet the other night, water gushed out of the vents on accleration. Not ideal at all.
Take all carpets out - they won't dry otherwise and once it's all mopped out (you could use an aqua-vac)use a hair dryer on the motronic unit under the pass seat.
Check the drainage slot in the luggage compartment is clear and then get someone to put a hosepipe on it, while you're inside, to see where it comes in.
cheers guys, i have managed to dry out most of the car and have removed all the carpets which are now drying nicely in the garage. i am still unclear though as to where the high pitched buzz is coming from, its definately from something under the passenger seat, its not particularly loud and cant be heard from outside the car when the doors are closed. is it likely the noise is something to do with the immobiliser/alarm as it sounds like the beep you get when you disarm the immobiliser (only constant) or could the ECU be making this noise. am i right in thinking they are expensive to replace? any ideas or advice would be gratefully received..
Bad luck man - can you get a car cover as a temporary fix? One of those that covers the roof and windows might do it.
The "thing" squealing under the passenger seat is likely the DME unit ( engine ECU), with it's DME realy bolted to the floor next to it. Your car will never start unless this is fully working. The ECU takes signals from two sensors mounted near the flywheel, before enabling the fuel pump, then sparks for ignition.
Best to remove and dry this very carefully. You might even need to open it up to dry it out fully. There are two circuit boards folded over so water might be trapped.
If it was properly soaked then parts of it might be fried. Spares are availabe, try the usual breakers.
Let us know how you get on.
911 carrera starting troubleshooting
Detail of DME
The "thing" squealing under the passenger seat is likely the DME unit ( engine ECU), with it's DME realy bolted to the floor next to it. Your car will never start unless this is fully working. The ECU takes signals from two sensors mounted near the flywheel, before enabling the fuel pump, then sparks for ignition.
Best to remove and dry this very carefully. You might even need to open it up to dry it out fully. There are two circuit boards folded over so water might be trapped.
If it was properly soaked then parts of it might be fried. Spares are availabe, try the usual breakers.
Let us know how you get on.
911 carrera starting troubleshooting
Detail of DME
i just had another look at the car this afternoon to try and remove and dry out the dme control unit but i cant manage to get the seat off. does anyone know if i need to remove the seat rails (as i cant undo one of the fixings) or can the seat slide off the rails with the rails intact? anyone know..
also, does anyone have an opinion on whether i could successfully bump start the car or not, if i could get it started i could take it to my local indy to sort.
also, does anyone have an opinion on whether i could successfully bump start the car or not, if i could get it started i could take it to my local indy to sort.
There's six socket screws, three on each side that go into a plate under the mounting bracket on the chassis. You'll need to move the seat, in order to get them out. If you have electric seats, you'll have to have the battery connected to be able to move the seat.
IIRC the brackets in the floor pan are welded in, and stand about two inches proud of the floor. The runners in which the seat slides are bolted to the floorpan brackets. Those bolts are the three hexagon screws each side that you need to remove. The "nut plates" for those screws are loose, and you don't want to loose them into the tubular chassis brackets, because they'll be awkward, if not impossible to get back. I cant remember if the front of the seat has two screws out of the three on each side or the rear, but front or rear, the pair of screws share a "nut plate".
It could be the DME relay that's buzzing, although I believe that the factory immobiliser is also under there with the ECU. I think you can get the DME relay out without removing the seat if that helps, but there is a stud in the floor, and a nut that has to be undone.
If the car won't start on the key, and the engine is turning over, then it's not likely that it will bump start. Can you hear the fuel pump running? If not then you have a problem under that seat to a 95% degree of confidence. You'll have to sort it one way or another. If starting wasn't a problem before the wetness, then it'll be the wetness that caused it. If it the problem is the wetness, then there is every chance that thourough drying will solve the problem. Otherwise you have the DME problem as well as the wetness and a garage may be your best bet.
You could always get a garage to trailer it away?
Whatever happens the sooner you get those electronics dry the less chance there will be of permenant damage. Circuit boards and plastic chip packages are both quite porous. Circuit boards have a tendancy to delaminate, and chips will oxidise in their plastic packages. Damp connectors have a tendency to go green and manky.
IIRC the brackets in the floor pan are welded in, and stand about two inches proud of the floor. The runners in which the seat slides are bolted to the floorpan brackets. Those bolts are the three hexagon screws each side that you need to remove. The "nut plates" for those screws are loose, and you don't want to loose them into the tubular chassis brackets, because they'll be awkward, if not impossible to get back. I cant remember if the front of the seat has two screws out of the three on each side or the rear, but front or rear, the pair of screws share a "nut plate".
It could be the DME relay that's buzzing, although I believe that the factory immobiliser is also under there with the ECU. I think you can get the DME relay out without removing the seat if that helps, but there is a stud in the floor, and a nut that has to be undone.
If the car won't start on the key, and the engine is turning over, then it's not likely that it will bump start. Can you hear the fuel pump running? If not then you have a problem under that seat to a 95% degree of confidence. You'll have to sort it one way or another. If starting wasn't a problem before the wetness, then it'll be the wetness that caused it. If it the problem is the wetness, then there is every chance that thourough drying will solve the problem. Otherwise you have the DME problem as well as the wetness and a garage may be your best bet.
You could always get a garage to trailer it away?
Whatever happens the sooner you get those electronics dry the less chance there will be of permenant damage. Circuit boards and plastic chip packages are both quite porous. Circuit boards have a tendancy to delaminate, and chips will oxidise in their plastic packages. Damp connectors have a tendency to go green and manky.
Edited by dilbert on Sunday 17th June 01:34
Eventually managed to remove the passenger seat (why is it that its always the last allen bolt that refuses to undo and you end up shagging it) and had a good look at what goes on underneath the seat. isnt everything much easier when there isnt a PITA seat in the way. its definately the immobiliser box that is buzzing, when i unscrewed it from the floor and tipped it up, loads of water dripped out of it. The ECU doesnt look too bad, i only had it tested about 3 weeks ago and hopefully its still ok so ill get a local motor electrician i know to come and sort out a new immobiliser. cheers for the help guys, ill let you know how it goes.
Edited by mar1b0ro on Sunday 17th June 16:11
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