Oops - took my v8 RRC swimming !!!

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bigwilly

New Member
Im sure there are piccies to follow but ive been to Mouldsworth Hill+Ditch Pay + Play site today and made a mistake.

Basically I found my self stuck between a rock and wet place. I waited for a defender to go through before me and looked a little deep so i hugged the "coast line" presuming it would be shallower but it wasnt. Engine stalled and we sank down in to cold dark water so that the bonnet was only just showing :(.

After wat seemed like hours - Some of the lads there helped me recover it and eventually we got her started again :D let her idle for prob 40mins and she seemed fine.

So i set of home, got about 20miles down the road and it went dead and now wont start at all - Any ideas ? Ive got all the HT leads - Dizzie etc at home in warmth drying and the battery on charge with a fan heater on the parcel shelf blowing warm air in to help begin drying :(.

PS car is a 1995 Classic with a 3.9l v8 efi.
 
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New air filter almost certainly. Then id drop the oil just incase that got wet too. Then leave a fan heater and dehumidifier running inside fo the next week or so. Failing that pull the sound deadening out. That'll take a life time to dry.
 
Yep, I know exactly where you got stuck...that side of the pond is the deepest! lol..

Yep, defo the ECU under the drivers seat & other things.
Remove access panel near where ya left heal are in the driving position....then remove the plastic panel/shround surrounding the bottom of the seat. You'll need to unscrew the driverdoor aperture/ carpet edge strip first, as the shroud is tucked under the edge of this.
Once you see the EFi ECU box, you'll also see several relays and fuses relating to fuel injection system. These will also need cleaning of the sand/grit left by hill n ditch water....best thing to do is CAREFULLY ease the lot out and clean. Remount up in the dash if you plan on repeating any mild water driving. Replacement 3.9 Efi ECU's are plentiful on the s/h market and not expensive if it doesn't work properly once dried out.
You'll have to physically remove the EFi ECU from the car to check for water in it (there will be)....The profile of some of the ECU cases means water lays in the base of the ECU casing on idle, then sloshes around over the circuit board once you start driving...hence why you stalled on the way home and couldnt restart.

Have you got leccy memory seats??.. (I hope for your sake you haven't!!)
If so, you'll have to lift the driver seat and remove the seat ECU mounted on the base of the seat.....then pray to god it works once it's dried out (replacements are rare as dog eggs, and expensive...and you'll need it working if you ever want another MOT)

Best advise...Don't go wading in an unmodified '95 classic. Too much electrics in vunerable places in the later models....There was enough in my '90, and I wouldnt even attempt in my '93
 
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Hmmm no sign of this ecu lol ! Nothing under drivers seat. It's LPG tho so does that ecu override the original

The main question is will it be ok? Obvs interior need a valet and a few, ok a lot, of electrical gremlins to wrestle with but will my polar bear live ?

Sat here with my brother listening to yellow submarine and bridge over troubled water - isn't he funny ???
 
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LPG only? or dual fuel?

If dual fuel, EFi ECU will be mounted to the floor, below the driver seat.
If leccy memory seats, ECU for that will be mounted to seat, so above the EFi ECU
 
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like the 300tdi discos?...
That'll be a soft dash....
No not under the seat...it'll be behind the driverside kickpanel!.....sorry wrongly assumed hard dash layout ;)
 
it's a black box with a large parallel plug. indeed, the later Classics have the ECU behind the plastic panel that is next to your right foot. It pops some snappers.
 
14cux.jpg
 
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