Central Locking Faulty and Battery Draining - ECU?

[richards986]

Hi,

My car's a 1996 2.5

Okay, firstly this is more than likely my fault for not getting my bulkhead drain grommets sorted out properly last autumn (they were blocked and causing water seepage into the cabin). When I was trying to clean it out I managed to push the old n/s grommet into never-never land. l bought a replacement and then did the same again! (To be fair it is a ba***rd to access as you'll know if you're familiar with this). I intend/ed to try and access the never-never land area by removing the inner wheelarch liner in the Spring - by the way, as a separate issue, does anybody know if that will allow me to access/ retrieve/ refit the damned grommet that way?

Anyway, onto the current issue.......the passenger carpet got wetter than I realised and although the ECU/ alarm unit seems positioned high enough away from the floor under the seat and is not covered with the carpet, I'm guessing that this has caused the problem that I have now. I.E. The central locking won't work now and only the drivers door can be locked with the key, plus the battery drains completely overnight.

I took out both the passenger seat and the carpet to have a look, but although there was some water (not that much as there is a small hole drilled in one corner acting as a drain!), the ECU/ alarm unit appeared to be dry.

Having tried to find a solution on various forums/ searches, I haven't seen this fault replcated or explained anywhere else, although my thinking is that it is actually the ECU which is the problem due to moisture ingress?

Anyone know if I'm right and if it is the ECU, what's the best solution please, repair (how?) or replace? I've read some stuff about a reprogramming issue with new units?

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers,

Tony

[Rockster]

richards986 said:

Hi,

My car's a 1996 2.5

Okay, firstly this is more than likely my fault for not getting my bulkhead drain grommets sorted out properly last autumn (they were blocked and causing water seepage into the cabin). When I was trying to clean it out I managed to push the old n/s grommet into never-never land. l bought a replacement and then did the same again! (To be fair it is a ba***rd to access as you'll know if you're familiar with this). I intend/ed to try and access the never-never land area by removing the inner wheelarch liner in the Spring - by the way, as a separate issue, does anybody know if that will allow me to access/ retrieve/ refit the damned grommet that way?

Anyway, onto the current issue.......the passenger carpet got wetter than I realised and although the ECU/ alarm unit seems positioned high enough away from the floor under the seat and is not covered with the carpet, I'm guessing that this has caused the problem that I have now. I.E. The central locking won't work now and only the drivers door can be locked with the key, plus the battery drains completely overnight.

I took out both the passenger seat and the carpet to have a look, but although there was some water (not that much as there is a small hole drilled in one corner acting as a drain!), the ECU/ alarm unit appeared to be dry.

Having tried to find a solution on various forums/ searches, I haven't seen this fault replcated or explained anywhere else, although my thinking is that it is actually the ECU which is the problem due to moisture ingress?

Anyone know if I'm right and if it is the ECU, what's the best solution please, repair (how?) or replace? I've read some stuff about a reprogramming issue with new units?

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers,

Tony

The ECU is located on the forward bulkhead of the rear trunk. Unlikely it got wet.

The security system controller is located on the floor of the cabin under one of the seats.

This is as you have learned the hard way the security system controller is very at risk of getting wet if any water gets in the cabin.

You have to dry this out throughly. There should be no wetness, moisture, dampness at all.

You have to be sure you find how the water is getting into the cabin and put a stop to it.

There can be water in the doors to which can cause all sorts of grief.

Shake the doors. If you hear sloshing....

Feel the carpet along the bottom of the door. If it is damp...

I was not aware there is a hole/drain anywhere in the cabin. Water is not supposed to get in the cabin at all thus there should be no provision for draining the water away. I wonder if a previous owner drilled a hole to deal with a leak and water getting into the cabin? BTW that hole if it was drilled and not a factory feature is probably a wonderful place for corrosion to get a start...

Anyhow, dry the interior of the car out. You might have to remove the seat, the carpet and clearly expose the security system controller box.

Give that security system controller plenty of time to dry completely.

If you are impatient but very careful you can speed up the process with the wife's blow drier. Just don't let her catch you using it for the car...

If drying out doesn't work you should consider taking the car to an OPC. There the tech can connect the diagnostic computer and query the security system controller for error codes and pinpoint the problem. While it might be the security system controller it could be water in the doors or one of the door switches is going bad, has gone bad.