Sorting a 3.9EFi for wading - suggestions?

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joe1972

joe1972

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Manchester
After my frustrations today (intermittant stalling and crap running for the rest of the day, after wading not long after arriving) at Tong /Parkwood it's obvious there's things to sort out with my RRC.

Would appreciate some suggestions/ areas I should be looking at


So far I've;

Put a silicone cover kit on the coil and dizzy top (connections under remained dry under these all day)
Applied plenty of grease to battery terminals and where ever I could see wiring n plugs! on top of engine
Replaced leaking/torn air hose between airbox-MAF and MAF-intake/plenum
Checked hose from airbox to snorkel (tho yet need to check connection with bottom of metal snorkel)
Had engine running and sprayed above hoses/connections with WD40 to see if it changes idle etc when running...it didn't.

What I need to do;
Move ECU and relays from under drivers seat!:doh:
and ??????


The main query I have is that when the engine cut out today whilst wading in water to about midway up the front grill the cockpit was initially dry...so i don't think it was the ECU getting wet that caused the initial cutout.
Question is, what? Might it be the dizzy electronic module plug....or, am I missing something under the engine. Are there any hidden sensors I've neglected?...a Vectra I had had a problematic crank sensor...I'm guessing these engines have them?????:confused::confused:


I guess the easy solution is to avoid water...but thats no fun is it!:D:D

So, Any answers/ suggestions where next to look next.:confused:


P.S...The missus took one look at me when I got back today, and went on ebay and bought me some fishermans waders for next month!! ...:eek::eek::eek:...
 
hi joe

yep, i have chest waders in at all times, just in case!

however, there are ways to wade a v8.

i'm afraid if you dont put the work in it'll do lots of cutting out.

i have tried EVERY option to get mine to wade, and trust me it took many wet interiors and underwater recoveries before i figured it out!

i started off by removing the fan and fitting leccys, and fitting silicone caps over dizzy and coil.

i couldnt understand why it still cut out.

my current setup is a fully sealed dizzy with vented cap, quality leads with good boots, cable tied around the plugs, dizzy towers and coil tower, coil top greased and ht leads properly spaced.

as for the dizzy, it has to be removed, as there are drain holes in the bottom of it. i removed mine, stripped it down fully, then put it back together but sealed everything in with silicone sealant - and i also sealed up those drain holes.

i drilled the dizzy cap with two 12mm holes in between the ht contacts, and fitted some 1/4 bsp 6mm pushfit fittings, and connected the 6mm hose to the rest of the breather system. the breathers stop the cap sweating up from condensation coming up from the crankcase.

as such, it now wades very well. made a very deep corwen car wash there and back 2 weeks ago without a splutter, which was nice.

although tbh i avoid deep dirty water now cos it seems to break everything (lights/starter/alternator)

anyway, sort that dizzy proper style and it should wade pretty well. interestingly i never had any coil or ignition amplifier issues, its only the ht connections that have issues, and the dizzy is the worst affected cos the spark has to jump in there, everything else is a direct connection.

cheers.
 
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There is no crank sensor so no need to worry there!

The dizzy is one of the worst problems, make sure that the cap and leads are spotless clean, seal the caps onto the plugs and cap with silicone grease.

Although you have used one of those rubber gloves over the dizzy cap they can cause a problem by any water that gets in is then trapped and can't dry out.

The dizzy is unfortunately right behind the fan, the problem is that as soon as it hits the water it just sprays water all over the engine and ignition, one way to get around this is to throw the viscous coupled fan and use electric fans, this way you can switch them off just before you enter the water.
Make sure that after you have been in the water and it splutters check inside the cap as well I find duckoil is far better than wd40 spray in and out of the cap and all the leads.

If you really want to make it good you need to go for megasquirt ecu to control the ignition without the dizzy ...... but then that is another thing altogether!!!!

Hope that helps!

Steve
 
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Looks like we both agree on the dizzy being the big problem then!!

Oh and yes I forgot to say vent the cap as well to stop the condensation after you have sealed every hole!! Just like MR Noisy said! Obviously quicker typing than me :) :) :)

Steve
 
i started off by removing the fan and fitting leccys
Click to expand...
Hi Sam, Glad you mentioned this. Had thought this would be the ultimate problem fix.
Thanks for mentioning the dizzy weaknesses. I have another dizzy tho havent had a proper look at it, but certainly worth me moding it so see how it gets on then.(plus it doesn't involve spending lots of money as I got the bits already)
Yeah, simply the worst place to have the dizzy. TBH, I think the HT leads at **** Britpart ones, so I'll invest in some better ones, or rob the nice ones off the green RR!.

I think I'd benefit from a look in your engine bay Sam!!:)

Yeah Steve, I had a megsquirt system in an old Biturbo I once had (tho for different reasons). Involves spending a fair bit of money tho!


stick a 300 tdi in there?
Click to expand...
I was waiting for someone smart to suggest that! LOL
But I'm not going that route cos I'm not in the army or a farmer!:fighting:

Tho maybe I think Nick has a Tdi who was rescueing me all day:eek:
 
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Just got a chance to have a look at the spare dizzy I got. First time out of the box....BLIMEY!!! no wonder it was stalling (assumming its identical to the one in the engine bay), that breather hole on the side almost under the body is about 10mm in diameter, if not larger!!
Thanks for those pointers Sam. When I get chance I'll wack this dizzy on the check it works ok, then take it back off again and mod it. I'll have to get some pictures of the one on the car now...no doubt it's full of mud even if the water has all drained out!

I already plan to be at next Cowm pay n play, I think 30th of this month, but will check again to make sure.

cheers, Joe
 
ah ha, yeah that hole is supposed to have a grommet in it.

i had one in mine, but one day it came out and i uber stalled in a pond- couldnt work it out til i got it home!

the dizzy also has teeny holes on the underside that need sealing up.

but yeah i took another grommet that fitted nicely and thenh sealed it in with silicone.

a modded dizzy is the main thing - it'll be a huge improvement after that (or at least it should be)

remember to fit breather to the dizzy though ortherwise it sweats up inside.

look forward to pics :D

cheers
 
yeah, spotted those tiny holes too...

curiosity got the better of me...just been out to have a quick look with torch n mirror.......yep, there's no grommet on the one in the car too!!! and it's COVERED in gloopy mud:doh:

whooooops!:eek:
 
i admit that i avoid deep water, not just cos it could cut the engine out, but also cos it knackers the starter, the alternator, makes a mess inside, blah blah blah

BUT its something you have to do occasionally, and it's nice to know it's possible :)
 
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