HELP! PLEASE! Water damage to electrical system

[stevetwors]

I am so upset and sad right now. i just want to cry or throw up or punch someone.

I replaced my spark plugs and didn't put on the plastic coil covers because i planned on swapping some coils around after a test drive. i forgot about the covers this morning when i woke up late this morning and didnt have time to put them on and had to get to work on time.

i noticed it started raining so i ran out to put a towel over the rear bank of coils but the rain came down so fast and sudden i didnt have time. when i put the towel in it was already pretty wet back there.

when i go to leave work today, i removed the towel and tried to start the car. it had power for a short moment and then cut out. now it has no electrical power at all. i put my fingers back there and i can feel water all around the coil packs.

i checked all the fuses in the fuse box in the front and the one in the back but none of them look blown. if there is a fuse blown which one would it be?

i am worried this might have zapped the ecu. i hope to god i didnt fry my ecu!?!

 

[bonds]

Clean out as much of the water as you can, use compressed air, use a flash light and check all fuses, I would doubt that your ECU is fried. The fuses are in place so the fuse blows before it can damage or harm any vehicle components. Good luck.

 

[stevetwors]

Clean out as much of the water as you can, use compressed air, use a flash light and check all fuses, I would doubt that your ECU is fried. The fuses are in place so the fuse blows before it can damage or harm any vehicle components. Good luck.

thats what i was thinking but i cant find a blown fuse anywhere. theres the major fuses that are bolted in and the little ones. if they blow they are supposed to break at the top. which fuses would cut power completely to the whole car?

can i buy compressed air in a can?

i am so pissed at the poor design in this area.

 

[bonds]

I feel your pain, if the big fuse is blown it is blown in the middle, you have to do whatever you can to get the water out and get the whole area are dry as you can. Also check the battery cables make sure they are tight, if they are loose at all it can cause no power. I use a small LED pencil light to check fuses, I shine the light behind each fuse and look for a split, I still have a feeling it is a blown fuse.:redface:

Feel free to call me anytime if you need some help, my number is on my sig.

 

[Zishan]

Does anyone know if WD40 would help? Seriously, a long long time ago, I washed my Mustangs engine and some water got into the distributor cap. Someone said dry it out and spray WD40 on it. I did and it cranked right up. Never had an issue after that.

 

[StmpoRaceProducts]

I probably wouldnt use WD40 on anything that is going to be exposed to dirt. Its oil based so it will collect dust/dirt like a mother...

You can buy the air in a can stuff at OfficeMax or who ever carries computer board cleaner...it should work just fine.

Like Brandon said, just blow eveything off and be possitive your fuses are good.

good luck.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Do you have an owners manual or a service manual showing you the locations of all the fuses and relays that you want to check?

 

[Jin1976]

Check your coil pack resistance. If they are within spec you should be fine. Check everything is dry. Put everything back. If the rubber gasket is old, replace with a new one.

 

[Briank]

Wet coil packs can not kill all power, start by checking your battery terminals.

 

[stevetwors]

thanks for the attention to the matter. i dont have a service manual so i checked the fuses in the fuse box in the engine bay, and the fuses in the fuse box that is in the front by the spare tire.

i blew out all the water, let the coil packs dry in the sun, put it back together. but no power, no clock no radio. the next thing i was going to try was a new battery, maybe it got zapped somehow - i needed a new one anyway, but at that point i was hot, frustrated, tired so i gave up and had it towed to the acura dealership. i will let everyone know what they find.

 

[stevetwors]

Car has been fixed at the dealer. It was the battery. The battery got an internal short, most likely a result of all that water on the ignition coils. They pulled the codes and the codes say bad ignition coil. They checked the resistance of the coils and found 2 of them are bad. One of them is a used coil I bought from SOS, so i ended up replacing a bad coil with a not as bad coil, because when i put in the used coil the car noticeably improved, but not top shape it was when i first got it. I wanted to do a resistance test of the coils but my multimeter broke recently.

ARGG!! So I was exactly right all along! It WAS the battery. All I had to do was not give up and go buy a new battery and it would've started up, i would have drove it home and ordered the coil packs and install them myself, and would have saved myself a lot of money. DAMN!

 

[Briank]

Car has been fixed at the dealer. It was the battery. The battery got an internal short, most likely a result of all that water on the ignition coils.

Water in the coils has nothing to do with the battery failing.