[s-cars] Wet floor killed my ECU?

[Edward]

Thank you everyone who helped me out with this.

I went back out in the rain and managed to find the drain plug.  Sure enough
there was about 4" of water under the hood.  After draining I pulled back
the carpet and found the ECU, bottom half under water (there was a LOT of
standing water in my poor car).  Bailed it with a sauce pan and then a
mighty vac.  Pulled ECU and took it inside.

After much fiddling I figured out how to open the box up.  Inside looked
like green mud-- there was that much corrosion.  But it all looked soft and
fresh.  Hair dried it and let it sit overnight.

This morning cleaned it all off with a toothbrush and reassembled.  Plugged
it into the car and, well, nothing.  Checked the 4 fuses near where the ECU
plugs in and sure enough the rightmost one (15 amps) was blown.  Replaced it
and she started!!!  Thank you guys sooo much.

Now to figure out how to get the rug dry.  I guess an hour or two with the
hair drier ought to do it...

This list is awsome!

Ed

On 10/16/06, Steve Eiche <seiche at shadetreesoftware.com> wrote:
>
> Ed,
> In order to take care of this problem and avoid long term damage, you
> need to dry it out ASAP.  Like now.  First off, disconnect the battery.
> Yes, you can blow the ECU, but it is usually repairable if you get it
> dried out quickly.  This means removing the scuff panels and pulling
> back the carpet, wet vac'ing up everything you can, removing and opening
> the ECU and blowing out the ECU and ALL electrical connections down
> there with compressed air.   Then leave it all open to allow anything
> that you missed to dry out.  Do not reconnect the battery until it is
> all dry.  While it is drying, you can clean out the drains under the
> windshield that are likely plugged and caused all this mess.
>
> If you just leave it sit, especially with the battery connected, you
> WILL have an even bigger nightmare on your hands.  I am trying to help
> another lister work through just such an issue...
>
> --
>
> Steve Eiche
> Shade Tree Software, LLC
> http://www.shadetreesoftware.com http://www.prodiag-hd.com
> seiche at shadetreesoftware.com
> 800.419.6896 ext. 902
>
> Ed wrote:
> Hello,
> Last night I parked my car outside overnight and it rained. Got in to
> discover there was enough water in the passenger foot compartment that I
> could *hear* it sloshing. Without thinking about the implications I
> started
> up and drove ~2 blocks. Sure enough, car stalled and won't start again.
> Did I mention I live on a steep hill ;)
>
> I did read a bit in the archives, but I was hoping for a bit of advice:
> 1) Where exactly are the plugged drains that are likely causing this? I've
> read of a drain in the AC box and the sunroof drains, but never actually
> been able to find them (and never needed to before). What's the one that's
> most likely to put this amount of water on the floor from a 12 hours of
> light rain? (and yes, it's just water, not a busted coolent line).
>
> 2) Did I really just fry my ECU? I imagine it *is* suspended fully in
> water
> given that the floor rug is literally a balloon. Is there something else I
> should check first? A way to tell if that was it? A way to fix it?
>
> I really appreciate any advice.
>
> BTW, I couldn't get it up my driveway so as we speak she's still sitting
> in
> the rain collecting more water... guess I should go out witha head lamp
> and
> see what I can find further...
>
> Ah yes, patient is 95 s6, engine-wise stock except for a chip.
>
> Ed
>
>