[s-cars] Wet floor killed my ECU?

[Ian Duff]

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Some thoughts on drying the rug: wet-or-dry shop vac as much water  
out of the pile of the rug as you can, then run a dehumidifyer in the  
car. Another farfetched idea is kitty litter on the rug, then vacuum  
it up. HTH.

- -Ian Duff.

On  16 Oct 2006, at 2:29:22PM, Edward wrote:

> 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
>>
>>
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