Diablo360

Hey all, I left my car outside this weekend and it looks like the heavy Florida rain came down so hard that it caused water to get into the battery compartment. Not knowing the battery was wet I tried to start the car; it didn't start obviously...... I now have the battery removed but am wondering if the water might have done any damage to the car, such as fry the ecu, damage ignition components, etc? Are there any precautions I should take or is there anything to look out for?

Thanks

Sue Esponte

Just curious, is it a coupe or a cabrio?

How much water was in the battery compartment? Its not air tight to begin with but was it sitting in 6+ inches of water? Was there noticeable water accumulation anywhere else in the frunk?

-Eric

dotframe

doesn't water naturally flow into that compartment anyway? Not sure why that would be a problem.

Cornbread

Did the car turn over or was the battery completely dead?

DBJoe996

Maintenance 101! Clear your drains under the front cowl covers and that will never happen. Sounds like you should get everything dry and retry. No reason a battery should go bad even with that much water backed up in there....the posts are on top. You need to pull your carpet and look at the ECU, could be water or corrosion there..simple check to see if the carpets are wet under the seats. Check your ground connector at the battery. Reconnect the battery after checking to see if it has 12+Volts, then check the jumper post in the engine compartment to see if it has 12+V. If it doesn't crank, then replace with a good battery (or try a jump), check and try again. Could be an ignition switch problem that just cropped up at an unfortunate time...but if it cranks and does not start, then replace your CPS..most common problem for not firing if all else is good.

C4CRNA

It flows in ,but if drains(4) are blocked it will fill up fast.Brake Booster and other elctrical connections and batty could get damaged.

C4CRNA

Did it turn over at all? People have reported hydro-lock in the engine from severe rain that overwhelmed the air box and filled the pennulum with water.

Diablo360

It wasn't that much water. Not enough to call it a real accumulation of water......It was more like everything (battery, terminals, contacts) had a healthy coating of moisture, and there was mayber 1-2mm of water at the bottom of the battery tray. No other water in the frunk area, it only seemed to have seeped in right under the middle of the hood.


The car turned over the first time I tried to start it last night; but it died as soon as I engaged the clutch and put my foot on the gas. This morning when I went to start it again it wouldn't turn over this time....... Although the volt meter did show that there was no juice..... What is the pendulum? Perhaps I should check this..... I have the EVOMs airbox so perhaps water dripped into the filter area. Gonna check that right now.

mglobe

Maybe you just need a new battery?

Diablo360

I'm guessing you are right. I forgot to mention that my car is set up as a track car and it has an Odyssey PC680, which is about the size of a large sandwich lol. I'm always careful to make sure I never leave doors open and lights on (because this battery drains FAST), but perhaps the water damaged it?

mglobe

I use a PC680 in my Spec996. It doesn't take much to discharge those things. Really the only way I've found to make the battery hold a charge is to pull the kill switch when the car isn't in use (as in overnight). There is just too much parasitic drain in the car.

Diablo360

Thanks for the reality check, you are 100% correct. I've been avoiding installing a kill switch for a loooooooong time, for no good reason other than laziness, and the only thing I've gotten in return is multiple dead batteries and lots of headache. I ordered a new battery but have the current one hooked up to a charger. Hopefully it fires up in the morning..... I will post an update.