Freelander 1 Loss of Power When Wet

Hi All

My '05 Sport TDi is losing power after it's had a soaking, typically soon after splashing through standing water. The engine management light comes on and it goes into a sort of limp-home mode - power is down and the revs appear to be limited to approx 2500.

It clears once it's dried out so I suspect water is getting somewhere that water isn't wanted. My guess is it's something to do with whatever controls the turbo boost, but I could be wrong.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions on where I should start looking.

It might be worth checking your turbo boost solenoid filter which hangs down the back of the engine to see if it's sucked a drop of water in

Also make sure that the indicator inspection plate is fitted in the offside wheel arch. If this is missing, the engine can draw in water, wetting the air filter.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll check those items.
I guess the next question will be, if it is the turbo boost solenoid filter, how do I prevent this happening again ?

BeerHunter said:

Thanks for the help guys, I'll check those items.
I guess the next question will be, if it is the turbo boost solenoid filter, how do I prevent this happening again ?

Click to expand...

Clip the filter up out of harms way

Make sure it's up near the top of the engine...It just hangs on a tube

Yep, found it. It's definitely wet. But it looks like it's a sealed unit so no way of drying it out without cutting it open. I might give that a try and then tape it up until I can get an new one.

I've just run the car round the block with the filter removed. The engine light stayed off but there is still a bit of a howl and hesitation when the revs get beyond 3000 or so, so I guess the turbo solenoid still isn't working correctly. It's far better than it was though.

Is there anything else I should do that's fairly quick and simple ?

If it was wet then it was probably restricting the air flow so it might be better running it without it than with it wet until you can get a new one, they're only about £2 you can get them at most auto shops