OH NO, DME all wet, car wont start
05-23-2003, 08:00 PM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
OH NO, DME all wet, car wont start
I parked my car outside for the first time overnight, and of course it rained. When I tried to start it this morning, it cranked but never fired up. I looked under the passenger floormat because I figured one of my Guru MAP kit wires had come undone, but I found everything to be soaking wet. When I switch the ignition into the position right before "start", the DME makes one pretty loud click that I dont remember hearing before. Also, the Guru fuel controller screen turns on for a fraction of a second when I try to start, but then the lights go out. Since the fuel controller gets power from the DME, I am assuming that the power is being cut off from this as well. Does this mean I need a new DME relay or is it more serious? I am drying everything out right now, so hopefully this will fix the problem. Thanks for any help!
05-23-2003, 08:20 PM
#2
Water is not a great conductor (it depends on the minerals in the water, water is an insulator in pure form) so it may have been pulling down (shorting) the 12 VDC power connection to the DME. Don't just dry the area around the leak, make sure you get all the water out of the DME and KLR case. Do you feel lucky?
05-23-2003, 08:40 PM
#3
Burning Brakes
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by beab951:
<strong>Water is not a great conductor (it depends on the minerals in the water, water is an insulator in pure form)</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">what are the chances of 'pure' H2O in this situation?
for all intents and purposes this water will be an excellent conductor
anytime something with 'electronics' gets wet (cell phone in the swimming pool, whatever)... disconnect battery/power source immediately...let it dry out completely...it may take days
got a hair dryer?
<strong>Water is not a great conductor (it depends on the minerals in the water, water is an insulator in pure form)</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">what are the chances of 'pure' H2O in this situation?
for all intents and purposes this water will be an excellent conductor
anytime something with 'electronics' gets wet (cell phone in the swimming pool, whatever)... disconnect battery/power source immediately...let it dry out completely...it may take days
got a hair dryer?
05-23-2003, 11:52 PM
#4
for all intents and purposes this water will be an excellent conductor
Drinking water is around 50uS/cm. Resistance = 1/conductivity so drinking water average is 20,000 ohms/cm. A 1mm copper wire has 0.00022 ohms/cm. Just for reference, Sea water is around 50,000 uS/cm.
Drinking water = 20,000 ohms/cm
Sea water = 20 ohm/cm
Copper = 0.00022 ohms/cm
Conductivity( µS/cm)
<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/conduct-table2.gif" alt=" - " />
Drinking water is around 50uS/cm. Resistance = 1/conductivity so drinking water average is 20,000 ohms/cm. A 1mm copper wire has 0.00022 ohms/cm. Just for reference, Sea water is around 50,000 uS/cm.
Drinking water = 20,000 ohms/cm
Sea water = 20 ohm/cm
Copper = 0.00022 ohms/cm
Conductivity( µS/cm)
<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/conduct-table2.gif" alt=" - " />
05-24-2003, 12:47 AM
#6
Three Wheelin'
We need a graemlin for thread going off the rails. <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" /> Enough about water already.
Mark, water and electronics don't mix well. Disconnect the battery, open everything up and let it dry out. Then clean what you can with spray contact cleaner. Hopefully all will be well after it dries out.
In the mean time, solve the problem of how the water got in. Since your battery is now disconnected (isn't it?), pull the battery out and check for corrosion around the base of the battery tray. This is a common cause of water getting into the passenger footwell/DME. If you find corrosion, do a search on the subject for some good ideas on how to repair the corrosion and reseal the tray. Otherwise you will have to look further for the source of water.
Good luck. <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />
Mark, water and electronics don't mix well. Disconnect the battery, open everything up and let it dry out. Then clean what you can with spray contact cleaner. Hopefully all will be well after it dries out.
In the mean time, solve the problem of how the water got in. Since your battery is now disconnected (isn't it?), pull the battery out and check for corrosion around the base of the battery tray. This is a common cause of water getting into the passenger footwell/DME. If you find corrosion, do a search on the subject for some good ideas on how to repair the corrosion and reseal the tray. Otherwise you will have to look further for the source of water.
Good luck. <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />
Trending Topics
05-24-2003, 04:08 AM
#9
Race Director
Hmmm, you might want to open up the computer boxes to see exactly how much water got into them.
My bet is on the alarm box which supplies power to the DME-relay. I've seen quite a few of those get wet and disable the car.
My bet is on the alarm box which supplies power to the DME-relay. I've seen quite a few of those get wet and disable the car.
05-24-2003, 06:59 PM
#10
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Yes, Danno the alarm box was soaked, but the DME and KLR were just damp when I opened them. I will be out there with a hair drier tomorrow morning, hopefully it will dry everything. Also, the water was coming from a hole in the battery tray that I have been meaning to fix... Thanks for the suggestions everybody!
05-26-2003, 12:14 PM
#11
Instructor
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: NJ
Posts: 105
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have the same problem. What do you intend to do with the hole in your batter tray? Also, is there a permenent fix to draining the water away from the computer (DME & KLR) units?
