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Car Forum / Porsche / Porsche Cars / July 2004911 flooded
I did something stupid the other day by driving my '89 911 through a flooded roadway. The car stalled as I came out of the water and I coasted to the side of the road on the other side. The car cranked and all electricals were fine but it never started, even after waiting over an hour. I noticed the front mats were sopping wet with about an inch of water in the front footwells. I gave up and had the car towed home, where it now sits in the garage with the top down and the mats out, drying. I have two questions, and any help is appreciated: 1) what probably went wrong (besides my own judgment) and what needs to be fixed? From what I have read online, the water probably affected the dme relay or the computer box under the drivers seat. How can I test if these work? I know the computer is much more expensive than the relay so I hope it's the relay gone bad, but I want to be sure I know what needs to be replaced before I replace it. 2) how did the water get in the car? The water wasn't that deep -- I didn't think it even came to the bottom of the doors, but I don't know how it got in the car. Either hole in the floor somewhere (the car has no rust) or I guess in the door seals. Has this happened to anyone else? If you are brave enough to admit it, I'd like to hear about what happened and how you fixed it. Thanks a lot. Patrick '89 911 Cab In the words of Tom Cruise's mechanic in Risky Business, "who's the U boat commander" Good luck Chris > I did something stupid the other day by driving my '89 911 through a > flooded roadway. The car stalled as I came out of the water and I coasted [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > it now sits in the garage with the top down and the mats out, drying. I > have two questions, and any help is appreciated: How deep was the water you went through? Sounds like a river! I don't have a 911 but maybe I can come up with a few suggestions. > 1) what probably went wrong (besides my own judgment) and what needs to be > fixed? From what I have read online, the water probably affected the dme > relay or the computer box under the drivers seat. How can I test if these > work? I know the computer is much more expensive than the relay so I hope > it's the relay gone bad, but I want to be sure I know what needs to be > replaced before I replace it. My first concern would be to make sure that you dry everything - *everything* - out completely. Water has a habit of sticking around in odd places here and there where you can't see it, messing things up. I've known water to get down spark plug sockets and even into distributors, rendering a car completely immobile - all it needs is for the water to be cleared away and everything's fine. If the water got under the driver's seat and onto the ECU under there, then I would suggest that you see if you can get to it and check the contacts and general condition of the box. If it's filled with water, dry it all out and pray it still works. Remarkably, these sort of electronic components often survive a liberal dousing - although they cease functioning until they have been properly dried. Not to get into any specifics, generally, I'd check to see if you're getting a spark on the spark plugs and that the fuel pump is running OK. They're your first basic checks. Further diagnosis depends on what does and doesn't work at this stage. If you have a spark and the fuel is pumping, then you'll want to check your injectors to make sure they're spraying fuel. I'm not sure of the complexity of your engine management system - you could try disconnecting the battery for a while or performing some sort of 'master reset'. > 2) how did the water get in the car? The water wasn't that deep -- I > didn't think it even came to the bottom of the doors, but I don't know how > it got in the car. Either hole in the floor somewhere (the car has no > rust) or I guess in the door seals. Did you see the water coming in at all? How fast did you drive through it? Was water spraying all over the place? There are plenty of holes here and there where water can come in - it can get it through the smallest gap. If a lot ran down the windscreen, it's possible it may have made it's way in along cables and wiring - or even in through the fresh air vent! I'd put it at being the bottoms of the doors as a likely cause though. > Has this happened to anyone else? If you are brave enough to admit it, I'd > like to hear about what happened and how you fixed it. Thanks a lot. I've seen cars refuse to start or run badly after a vigorous drive through large puddles and flooded roads. Some cars have their air intakes low to the ground (often behind the bumper) and the engine will stall if it starts sucking up water. You could get a rather nasty hydraulic lock this way. Other cars simply get wet electrics and run fine after drying out. Good luck! Chris. >> I did something stupid the other day by driving my '89 911 through a >> flooded roadway. The car stalled as I came out of the water and I [quoted text clipped - 66 lines] > > Chris. The water was not that deep -- it certainly didn't come up past the center of the wheels. I think any regular sedan could have made it through without problem, and that's where I went wrong -- because I've done it in my Volvo without any problems, but Porsches are different. Some water spraying in from the wheel wells, did not notice any water coming in at the time. It was a short stretch of road, 100 ft at the most, and I was probably going between 15-25 mph. First of all "shame on you!" It was stupid, but you're not alone, a neighbor did the same thing picking his kids up from school. You're getting good advice. The most probable cause is water in the DME brain under your driver's seat. Get the seat out and get down to the computer. Don't even think of turning the key back on until you've removed the computer, opened it and made absolutely sure it's dry. Using a fan or hair dryer on low is a good way to get all the dampness out. Double check the multi-pin connector...spray some tuner/switch cleaner in the contacts to avoid corrosion and insure good contact. Then...and only then reinstall and then try and see if it starts. If not, then you're getting good advice to check the DME relay, etc. Water probably got in under the doors. These babies don't float like old VW beetles. Also, make sure that you pull all the carpet and sound insulation and get it dry. There's also some stuff to keep the odor out of the backing...but I cannot remember what it is right now. Good luck! > I did something stupid the other day by driving my '89 911 through a > flooded roadway. The car stalled as I came out of the water and I coasted [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Patrick > '89 911 Cab > First of all "shame on you!" It was stupid, but you're not alone, a > neighbor did the same thing picking his kids up from school. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] >> Patrick >> '89 911 Cab Luckily I didn't have to follow any of your advice; the car started on the first try tonight, after sitting since the "accident" Saturday night. The floorboards have dried, but the carpets are still quite damp, and starting to mildew. Any suggestions on drying carpets? (not the mats, I mean the carpet on the sills and the transmission hump) My friend has a steam cleaner and I thought I might try that. Thanks Patrick >Any suggestions on drying carpets? (not the mats, I >mean the carpet on the sills and the transmission hump) My friend has a >steam cleaner and I thought I might try that. Thanks >Patrick Steam cleaner sounds wrong to me - that's just more water. I would use a hair drier, or just put a fan heater in the car for a bit with the windows open.  SignatureP >>Any suggestions on drying carpets? (not the mats, I >>mean the carpet on the sills and the transmission hump) My friend has a >>steam cleaner and I thought I might try that. Thanks >>Patrick I think you have to take them our of the car. If you leave them in, you'll have mildew & rust problems. I'd assume that their is a pad under the carpet that is soaked. I've had cars that have had wet carpets from snowy/slushy winters. I've always pulled the seats & carpets & dried them out while they are out of the car. Otherwise I've had mildew problems. > Steam cleaner sounds wrong to me - that's just more water. I would use > a hair drier, or just put a fan heater in the car for a bit with the > windows open. I decent steam cleaner (plus a gentle home one rather than an industrial one) will kill off the mildew/mould spores, as well as lift them to be soaked up by a cloth. If he is quick, then he won't soak the carpet too much,a nd the heater should be able to dry it before the mould/mildew returns. Decent steam cleaners are actually "dry" compared to a damp cloth/sponge when it comes to cleaning. SignatureThe poster formerly known as Skodapilot. http://www.bouncing-czechs.com |
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