Real time question - in over my head (1 Viewer)

[City Cruzer]

well actually, just over the hood a bit.

I was at the local OHV area today doing the practice course. I was doing fine and following a few atvs. I guess i was too focussed on crossing the rocks because I took my eyes off of them. When I saw them again, they were on the other side of a water pit. Me thinking that they went through, proceeded to go through. The short of it - didn't make it. got stuck in the middle and quit (without a fuss just kind of shut down), and water (lots of it began to enter the cabin. It got pretty high before the Rangers came and assisted by pulling me out.

So that's what happened. Tried to start the Cruiser afterwards and even though every electrical thing seems to be functioning, all i hear is a tick tick, like a failed starter. I waited about 45 minutes in the rear (was 45 degrees) until a tow unit came. I was not in a position to be loaded so he asked me to try to start it which I did. Amazingly it started. i shut it off immediately to inspect under the hood. After about an 1.5 hour tow home, it's back to just the tick tick sound with the starter not engaging.

My question to the group is, have any of you had this experience after a water crossing (failed water crossing). And, if so, what should I look for or do to get me going again. i wasn't prepared for this, very embarrased, and have 3 children that are relying on me to get to school. Any help or ideas is much appreciated...

 

[2000UZJ]

check airbox? Water in it?
I would not try to start it until you know for sure you did not suck any water up. I'm not a expert on this topic but I remember someone saying to pull the spark plugs and see if you can see water or anything down there. I'm sure someone will chime in with a little more knowledge. I just drive the hell out of my LC and that's all I'm good for.

Hope everything works out for you, sorry to hear about your failed water crossing. I have been there (with no bathtub inside of course)


(change diff fluids as well, they are not water tight)

 

[TheFuzz]

Is it a repetitive ticktickticktick noise that repeats as long as you hold the key forward, or more of a single more pronounced clunk noise that just occurs once every time you try to turn it over? If it's a repetitive ticking noise, that sounds more like a battery issue to me.

Do the usual stuff. Check the air box/intake track, and if there are any signs of water there pull the spark plugs and blow the cylinders out with compressed air.

How high was the water level? If it started and ran ok, it's unlikely that any water was ingested by the engine. If there isnt any water in the airbox, disconnect the battery, clean the terminals and let things dry out for a bit. Store it in the garage overnight with the hood up, ideally with some air circulating so it dries out faster (since you have stuff to take care of). Check it in the morning.

 

[City Cruzer]

thanks 2000. Yes, I did check the airbox and yes there was water in it. However, I really think it shut down before sucking up the water because the top of the filter was pretty dry and the air passage was completely dry.

Fuzz - the ticking sound is just like the sound that a weak battery makes. When it started before I shut it off, it seemed to be running fine, just a little rough like the ignition was wet (like after steam clean). i disconnected the air passage from the airbox before starting to be sure it didnt suck up air. Thanks for the advice. the tow dropped it on the street so putting it in the garage is not an option. However, this information is encouraging. I will disconnect the battery and clean! thx

 

[TheFuzz]

Well, water in the airbox isn't ideal, and running rough is a little worrisome. Was the water level above the coil packs? Sounds like a coil pack is wet, or there is a small amount of water in the engine. I'd pull the spark plugs and blow the cylinders out at this point. It's a lot of work, but better to do it and find nothing than risk damage to your motor.

 

[City Cruzer]

not sure if it was over the coil packs. It wasn't over the hood. Yeah, i think i will get up and walk the kids and get a rental. Pull the plugs tomorrow afternoon. Better to be safe than sorry. Thanks for the advice. I actually didn't know that you good get water out by blowing air in the plug holes. Good idea!

 

[TheFuzz]

The effectiveness of the compressed air will depend on how much water, if any, is actually in there...the plug holes are pretty deep. At the very least, opening up the cylinders by removing the plugs will facilitate some evaporation. Check the coil packs too since youre going to have them out anyway, make sure they are throroughly dried out. Whatever the compressed air doesn't get out will hopefully dry up if you leave the plugs out for a while. You really should try to lug that thing into the garage if at all possible so you're out of the elements. Easier said than done, but if you can call a few buddies to help push it would be worth it.

 

[e9999]

how high was the water inside?
Lots of electronics down there that should be thorougly dried if wet...
not to mention all the carpets should be removed, drivetrain fluids drained, etc. Read up a bit on all this here on MUD. Important.

I would not crank anything up anymore if there was water in the air box, until that water is removed and the cylinders have been cleared (plugs out etc).

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Yeah, there's a hole pile of electronics by the driver kick panel, start checking fuses. Can you pinpoint where the tick is coming from?

 

[City Cruzer]

e9999, the water came up initially to just over the side pockets on the doors. They were flooded. However when they yanked me out backwards out of the pit, all of the water in the cabin rushed forward and wet up to the shifter. i did remover the hose that connects the airbox to the engine before cranking it yesterday when it started. i shut it down inless than 5 seconds. i intended to remove the plugs, clean the airbox, etc before starting again.

Update - went out this morning and turned the key on, the battery was noticibly drained and I noticed that the rear accessory plug was on (indicated buy a charging light for that was on for my portable jumper/compressor. The battery appears to be shorting so I unplugged it. Ha! now I know what the finger shaking is for on your Avatar! LOL

 

[City Cruzer]

Yeah, there's a hole pile of electronics by the driver kick panel, start checking fuses. Can you pinpoint where the tick is coming from?

Trunk - yes the ticking is coming the starter relay inside the engine bay. Will do on checking the fuses/fusebox. thanks!

 

[City Cruzer]

Btw, I should say that I did not attempt to cross with this Parada's. I have my 285/70/16? i believe Yokohama Geolanders A/T on and my torsion bars are turned up about 1.5 inches. I'm not THAT stupid

 

[cmfhsu]

Is it constantly ticking, or only when you try to turn it over?

 

[City Cruzer]

Is it constantly ticking, or only when you try to turn it over?

only when I try to turn it over. Also, when I entered the car this morning, the door chime was very weak and faint. I hooked up my battery charger and after a few minutes, the car alarm went off if that's any clue. THat was odd because when I left it last night, I had not even locked the doors or armed it??

 

[TheFuzz]

You've got systems shorting out. Any oddities displayed by the car shouldn't surprise you much, it's going to be making wierd noises and acting strange until it's all been very throroughly dried out and any faulty fuses/relays isolated and replaced. I'd start the process of removing the seats and carpet at this point if I were you...or else you'll probably have mold on top of messed up electronics.

 

[jgray]

Drain and refill your tranny as well as diff fluids... If you sucked water in the transmission you will kill it... How muddy is everything? Is the alternator full of mud? The starter is hard to get to but if you sucked water into the top part of the motor / intake you could have starter issues as well...

 

[City Cruzer]

You've got systems shorting out. Any oddities displayed by the car shouldn't surprise you much, it's going to be making wierd noises and acting strange until it's all been very throroughly dried out and any faulty fuses/relays isolated and replaced. I'd start the process of removing the seats and carpet at this point if I were you...or else you'll probably have mold on top of messed up electronics.

Yes, I will do that. I'm going to have to search here on how to remove seats and carpeting. Hopefully, not too complex. I've had the rear 2nd rows out, that's simple.

 

[City Cruzer]

Drain and refill your tranny as well as diff fluids... If you sucked water in the transmission you will kill it... How muddy is everything? Is the alternator full of mud? The starter is hard to get to but if you sucked water into the top part of the motor / intake you could have starter issues as well...

No it's pretty clean in the engine compartment. There's water spray but oddly enough it doesn't appear to ,have been submersed past the radiator. it loks like the radiator fan sprayed dirty water on the front top of the engine but the other areas of the bay are clean. Think i will be ok drivinge it 5 miles to the shop before draining and replacing the tranny, and diff fluids? of course only after all the water is out of the trouble spots.. To give you an idea of the depth, as I sat in the water the top of the hood was not covered.

 

[e9999]

don't wait on the electronics and upholstery. The former will corrode and give you endless trouble later on (horror stories here on Mud) and the latter will mold and give you funky smells that are very hard to get rid of...

I'd go at the electronics with a heat gun, taking apart as much as I can, using water displacers (WD40 etc) and maybe putting in dielectric grease afterwards.

You might also consider running a dehumidifier in there for a while.

and all lubes etc to be checked too, you don't want to have corroded bearings etc inside your drivetrain... remember there are vents on the axles etc that will suck water in.

this is not a trivial incident, if that wasn't made clear enough yet....

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

You might need new spark plug wires. If there were any cracks in them, the water will have shorted them out.

A lot of people (non LC drivers) have this problem after it rains.

For the wetness: stick a dehumidifier in there over night. Once you get it running, you could run the AC on recirculate mode to achieve the same effect (As long as your evaporator isn't plugged up.)