Possible water issues

[olliewarwick]

Hi Everyone,

After all the rain we've had I think my ECU had enough of remaining dry and went for a little swim.

So I pulled it out, rodded the drain at the bottom and opened up the ECU to dry it out and in all probability send it off to marinabrian. However, although there was evidence of water in the bottom of the plenum chamber, I don't think it made it into the ecu, the marks on the pollen filter don't appear to go high enough and when I opened the ecu there is no evidence of water at all.

All that said, I'm getting some very strange issues.

1) indicators work ok the outside, but not on the dash
2) climate control show ER on both sides
3) boot won't open (ztt with electric boot release)
4) sometimes headlights come on when ignition turned on
5) other day it didn't start, just turn over, but not start
6) sometimes won't lock, but does click to unlock

So, I'm pretty sure I've water issues somewhere, but some assistance in diagnosing would be great please?

All of the above are intermittent and usual resolve themselves after the battery has been disconnected for a while. But then come back.

As I said, I think I had water in the plenum, so maybe the wiring under the ECU?
I've checked the drivers footwell and that's completely dry (I've had the sunroof drain issue which I solved a couple of years back).

There is a little bit of water in the boot so i'll have to look into where that is coming from but it doesn't appear to be on anything electrical.

I'm really annoyed with myself, I usually rod the plenum every month or so, guess I'll be doing it every week now, and I'm ashamed to say that this is a replacement ECU from only two years ago.

Thanks all.

Ollie

[olliewarwick]

Hi All,

After pulling out the ECU and letting it dry out, checking the drain and ensuring it was clear it appears to have dried out and everything is working again.

I will check the wiring more closely as it can't of done it any good having damp in it.

Anyway, case closed and valuable lesson learned again.

Everyone, keep checking your plenums.

Ollie

[frankson]

Good advice Ollie:bowdown: I had been noticing a fair bit of condensation on the inside of the windows in my 75 2.5 in the last few days. Checked the plenum this morning and 5-6 inches of water. All rodded now and hopefully an end to the moisture problem.:D

[olliewarwick]

Hi All,

Sadly, this has happened again.

The car does start and run fine however, points 1,2,3 and 6 from my original post continue to happen.

Also, it appears that when I open a door, it doesn't register it to be shut again.

When I use the buttons to lock or unlock the indicators don't flash and lock doesn't work, unlock thankfully does.

I've checked the plenum and this appears to be dry, so I'm not so sure this was the original issue. It reoccurred after rain, so I think it might be related to water.

If I remove the battery and leave it off for a little while, the problems appear to clear for about a minute and then come back.

I cannot find any water in the car on the carpets, but the driver and passenger foot wells so I'm at a bit of a loss.

All of the above problems seem to all be interior comfort items, is there a specific loom for the interior bits?

Any troubleshooting help would be very much appreciated. I did think about removing fuses just in case one of the circuits is compromised, but I'd rather get some views on here first.

Thank you.
Ollie

[Arctic]

Hi Ollie.
Do you have an FBH on your car as sometimes these can also play tricks with the car if they are faulty, if so try unplugging it, but it sounds like that even though you think the water had not risen high enough in the plenum it could have been sloshing around and splashing up to it when driving around.

Personally even with Jules leaf guard inserted or any other form of leaf protector i still check and rod plenums through the spy hole mod on a weekly basis.

I do this when i do my weekly weekend checks on tyres pressures, and all fluid levels, light checks etc it only takes about an 30minutes or an hour out of your Sunday morning ;)

[stevestrat]

The ECU in the diesels isn't was well sealed as the one in petrol models and is more susceptible to water ingress and subsequent damage.

[olliewarwick]

Thanks Both,

It doesn't have the FBH yet (in the garage waiting to be fitted) but I'll check the plugs when I get home just to be sure.

I do rod the plenum frequently, but assumed I'd missed it, but I'm not so sure that is the case.

I'm wondering if I remove the fuses methodically this could indicate where the problem lies, but does anyone know if this could cause other issues?

Do anyone of the ECM gurus think this could be a damaged ECM??

It is not the same as last time when the car wouldn't start. I don't remember any of these issues.

Thanks,
Ollie

[markypicks]

do you just rod the plenum near the ecu?because there is one were the brake servo is but can only be accessed underneath just check mate i had the same problem rgds mark

[cbr1100xx]

Hi ollie

I had some similar problems with my zt a while ago , no indicators showing on dash and central locking problems and a few others.

After some help early on a Sunday morning with some cracking advice from 2 members on here it was traced to the reversing sensor ECU, up behind the panel in the boot ,

Lots of condensation in there due to a small boot leak , dried it out and no more problems.

Only takes a few minutes to sort

Stan

[Swordjo]

Hi ollie

I had some similar problems with my zt a while ago , no indicators showing on dash and central locking problems and a few others.

After some help early on a Sunday morning with some cracking advice from 2 members on here it was traced to the reversing sensor ECU, up behind the panel in the boot ,

Lots of condensation in there due to a small boot leak , dried it out and no more problems.

Only takes a few minutes to sort

Stan

I'm having some issue too, deffo going to check this tomorrow when fitting new light seals!