Car might be done forever.

RafaCalde

New member
Well guys, today the rain was so hard for so long here in boston, the backyard at my parent's house flooded. The backyard happens to be where my car has been parked for almost two years. Well the lever rose to just above the seat cushions. Which means my ECU was submerged underwater for I god knows how long. I wasn't home all day and was told about the flooding by my stepdad. So needless to say, my car may never start or run again while in my possesion. Thank You mother nature and fuck you very very much.
 

UtahSleeper

Active member
Has there been a charged battery in it the whole time? If there has been no power to it, then dry the ecu out and all should be good. Plus I think those cases are sealed pretty well.
 

underscore

Well-known member
Yeah if the battery was disconnected it should be fine. Either way, pull the ECU and open it up, if any water got in it rinse it would really well with rubbing alcohol or deionized water and let it air dry.
 

anothergt4

New member
None the less with the battery connected the fuse may have blown before anything got ruined, just get a can of electical parts/contact cleaner and spray the shit out if it, this should also displace any water, and it dries really fast. Then just let it air dry for a good day to be sure.
 

underscore

Well-known member
anothergt4":202j00y5 said:
None the less with the battery connected the fuse may have blown before anything got ruined, just get a can of electical parts/contact cleaner and spray the shit out if it, this should also displace any water, and it dries really fast. Then just let it air dry for a good day to be sure.

If it's already dried out but looks like water got into it, get it wet with isopropal (sp?) alcohol and wipe it out with q tips or tissue, then let it air dry. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think most of the ECU is unpowered until the ignition is switched on anyways.
 

UtahSleeper

Active member
I was also thinking, 2 years of sitting......battery vary well could have been dead anyway if you haven't been touching it.
 

RafaCalde

New member
The battery is brand new. I've been cranking on the car for three weeks trying to figure the running issue. I opened up the ECU and it's pretty clean now. I did notice one of the capacitors looks weird. I plugged it in and turn the key but didn't try to start it. All the relays clicked. I need to get two copper washers for the fuel rail before i can try to crank her over. We'll see what happens in the next few days.
 

jaydog82

New member
I have heard if people submerging their cell phones that are water damaged in a bucket of rice to suck all the moisture out.
 

underscore

Well-known member
^ if you have any way to open it, you never want to do that. You wouldn't believe the mess it makes inside.
 

RafaCalde

New member
So I borrowed another ECU and it's throwing Code 21. Oxygen Sensor. Changed it out, found a few vac leaks and plugged them up. Now it cranks and briefly turns over then dies. Anyone else have similar problems? All the pins to the ECU are fine, and the I believe the ground is fine(bolted to the back of the Intake). Please any ideas.
 

alltracman78

Active member
Sounds like a bad AFM [runs at start then dies immediately]. If so a regular AFM will work fine with the RC ECU. You just don't want to race with it.

If not:

You only need 3 things to start the engine.
Compression
Spark
Fuel

Unless your timing belt jumped you should have enough compression for the engine to start [assuming it was running before getting wet]. You can check timing marks or just do a compression test. Don't worry about it being cold, the results will be fairly close to what it is when it's warm.

Pull off intake at TB, open TB and generously spray starting fluid inside. Close back up and try to start. If it starts up and then dies you have a fuel supply problem. If it doesn't do anything you have a spark problem [possibly fuel problem too, but deal with one thing at a time].

If it's spark, check for spark at the coil. If you have none, make sure you have 12v at the coil and post back up. If you have spark at the coil check the wires/cap/rotor and plugs.

If it's fuel try jumping B+ and FP in the DIAG box. With key on this should run your fuel pump. Try to start again. If engine starts your pump isn't getting the signal to run. Check fuel pump relay, COR, wiring, ect.
If the pump still isn't working with those 2 jumped you probably have a bad fuel pump. Make sure you're getting 12V at pump and have a good ground.



There are other possibilities, but start with the simple stuff I mentioned and post DETAILED results.
 

RafaCalde

New member
Well I don't know what happened, but it runs. Even with the code on. I have to coax it to start(pulsing the throttle a little) but it starts and runs. Drove it around for half an hour with no issues, and pulls like i remember.
 

GMan

New member
RafaCalde":3u5yvurq said:
Well I don't know what happened, but it runs.
Drove it around for half an hour with no issues, and pulls like i remember.
Glad it Runs ! Excllent.

More vacuum leaks ?
When you get it sorted out, it should run even better with the G-Forced ECU 8)

Pleasant Regards;
 

sMARTINside

New member
A friend of mine had the same experience with a 4E-FTE swapped Tercel (water up to the dash) and it started running again, right after getting gallons of water out of the exhaust system. Glad to see that it works for you!
 
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