hars

Hello forum.
I have a 2008 RDX that flooded with fresh water up to the cd player/shifter level. The car runs like it never happened. Every mechanical part of the car functions just fine after serial oil changes and flushing the transmission fluid.
Now to the problem(s)...

Blank info screen (water never reached this level)

Air Conditioner won't kick on. I can change the vent settings and fan speeds just fine.(the switches obviously work since i can manipulate the settings)

Radio/speakers won't turn on. CD player won't eject.


I noticed some corrosion in the interior fuse box and swapped it out with another one that i pulled from a junkyard. However, when i plugged in the new one, the car would crank but not start. The new fuse box didn't fix any of the issues mentioned above. The key light flashed and I thought maybe the fuse box was coded with security. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Maybe I didn't properly plug in all the harnesses. I plugged the old one back in and everything was back to the way it currently is.

My question to the forum members is what parts can anyone recommend I swap out to get any of the electronics or a/c working? I stripped the entire dashboard and I am considering new factory amp. Theres also a bluetooth module that sits in front of the center storage but i'm less concerned about seeing if that works just yet.

I'll take pics of my project and hopefully it will help others in the future.

dcmodels

There is a module that is located approximately below the radio on the floor, just behind the front of the dash. It is difficult to determine the exact location from looking at the '09 FSM (factory service manual). I think the name is BODY CONTROL MODULE, but since I am not looking at the FSM, I may be confusing the name from my Chevy, which has the same module, located basically in the same place.

Anyway, this module controls most of the electronics in the dash: HVAC (heating, vacuum, and AC) system, radio, etc.

If you pulled the dash out, you should have seen this module. It should be behind the dash, but in front of the HVAC box. Perhaps looking at the dealer's part diagram of the dash area would help you.

hars

Hi,
Thanks for your suggestion. I wasn't able to find the module you were referring to. I did find a air conditioner control module that may be the reason why the AC won't turn on. I've found a replacement part that I have linked below.

http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/oe.../79610-stk-a41

will update when i get a chance to put it in. Any other suggestions from anyone would be appreciated.

Thanks!

dcmodels

I would suggest using the following link for parts diagrams. I note that the link above you have given is to a 2010 model. The link below will also allow you to enter your VIN, which will give you the best diagrams. Different years of the same models sometimes have different parts, and part locations.
http://www.AcuraOEMparts.com/

Now, forget my previous comment regarding my Chevy - I was confused. The part to which I was referring is the SRS (supplemental restraint system) control module, i.e., the air-bag controller. If that got wet, and based on your description it did, then it really needs to be replaced.

So, just under and in front of the gear shift handle, is the SRS module, the NAV unit (if applicable), and the Stero Amplifier (with ELS audio system).

In particular, I think the location of the SRS unit is completely idiotic, because a leak in the heater core will get it wet. Unfortunately, there is a history of other model Acura/ Hondas with this problem.
============================

Also, yes, you are correct, there is also an HVAC control unit bolted to the right (passenger) side of the HVAC box. I did not mention it because I was hoping, for your sake, that it was high enough that it did not get wet.
============================

Now, back to the SRS unit. There are some links online that will sell a reconditioned unit. Whether or not you would trust such a unit is up to you.

But the reason for this is because on most vehicle, and I do not know for certain about the RDX, the SRS unit will no longer function once it has deployed an air bag. Internal programming will 'lock' the unit, and it must be reset before it will function again - hence that is what I mean by a 'reconditioned' unit.

As for water damage, I have no idea what happens. And I do not know how you would determine if the SRS unit is still operational after it has gotten wet.

Possibly a DTC would report a faulty SRS unit ---eof

dcmodels

So, assuming that the entire interior of your car got wet, and just how did that happen anyway (curious), you may find the following helpful:

INFORMATION
Bulletin No.: 00-00-89-027E
Date: September 29, 2008
Subject: Eliminating Unwanted Odors in Vehicles

Models:
2009 and Prior GM Passenger Cars and Trucks (including Saturn)
2009 and Prior HUMMER H2, H3 Vehicles
2009 and Prior Saab 9-7X

Supersede:
This bulletin is being revised to add model years and refine the instructions.
Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 00-00-89-027D (Section 00 - General Information).

Vehicle Odor Elimination
General Motors offers a product that may control or eliminate odors in the interior and luggage compartment areas of GM vehicles. GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator is a non-toxic, biodegradable odor remover. This odorless product has been shown to greatly reduce or remove objectionable smells of mold and mildew resulting from vehicle water leaks (as well as customer created odors, i.e. smoke). You may use GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator on fabrics, vinyl, leather, carpet and sound deadening materials. It may also be induced into HVAC modules and instrument panel ducts (for the control of non-bacterial related odors).

Important: This product leaves no residual scent and should not be sold as or considered an air freshener. Product action may result in the permanent elimination of an odor and may be preferable to customers with allergies who are sensitive to perfumes.

How to Use This Product
GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator may be sprayed on in a ready-to-use formula or used in steam cleaners as an additive with carpet shampoo. This water-based, odorless product is safe for all vehicle interiors. Do not wet or soak any interior surface that plain water would cause to deteriorate, as this product will have the same effect. Also avoid letting this product come into contact with vinegar or any acidic substance. Acid-based products will hamper the effectiveness of, or render GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator inert.

Note: Complete eight page treatment sheets are enclosed within each case of GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator. These treatment instructions range from simple vehicle odor elimination to full step by step procedures for odor removal from water leaks. If lost, contact 800-977-4145 to get a replacement set faxed or e-mailed to your dealership.
Instructions and cautions are printed on the bottle, but additional help is available. If you encounter a difficult to eliminate or reoccurring odor, you may call 1-800-955-8591 (in Canada, 1-800-977-4145) to obtain additional information and usage suggestions.

Important: This product may effectively remove odors when directly contacting the odor source. It should be used in conjunction with diagnostic procedures (in cases such as a water leak) to first eliminate the root cause of the odor, and then the residual odor to permanently correct the vehicle condition.

STEP ONE:
Vehicle Water Leak Odor Elimination:Confirm that all water leaks have been repaired. Determine what areas of the vehicle were water soaked or wet. Components with visible mold/mildew staining should be replaced. Isolate the odor source inside the vehicle. Often an odor can be isolated to an area or component of the vehicle interior by careful evaluation. Odor evaluation may need to be performed by multiple persons. Another method of isolating an odor source is to remove and segregate interior trim and components.

Plastic sheeting or drop cloths can be used to confine seats, headliners, etc. to assist in evaluation and diagnoses. If appropriate the vehicle and interior trim should be evaluated separately to determine if the odor stays with the vehicle or the interior components. Odors that stay with the vehicle may be isolated to insulating and sound deadening materials (i.e. water leak at the windshield or standing water in the front foot well area caused mold/mildew to form on the bulkhead or kick panel sound deadening pads).

If the interior is removed the floor pan and primed/painted surfaces should be treated with bleach/soap solution, rinsed with clean water and dried. Interior surfaces should then be treated with GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator product before reinstalling carpet or reassembling.

The GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator product is an effective odor elimination product when used properly. It must come into direct contact with the odor source. It should be used in conjunction with diagnostic procedures to first eliminate the root cause of the odor. Some procedures for use after odor root cause correction are:

STEP TWO:
^ Use the trigger spray head.
^ Put a drop of dish soap the size of a quarter in the bottom of a bottle.
^ Add 8 oz. of GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator (1 cup) to the dish soap and top off the bottle with tap water.
^ This formula should be used on hard surfaces (dash, interior plastic molding, and floor pan)

STEP THREE:
The third step to neutralizing the vehicle is a light to medium treatment of all carpeting and upholstered seats with the GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator formula and a wide fan spray setting (at full strength) (i.e.: carpeting on the driver's side requires 4-5 triggers pulls for coverage). The headliner and trunk should be sprayed next. Lightly brushing the formula into the carpeting and upholstery is a recommended step for deep odor problems. The dash and all hard surfaces should be sprayed with dish soap/water mixture. Let stand for 1-2 minutes then wipe off the surface.

STEP FOUR: (vehicle ventilation system treatment)
The ventilation system is generally the last step in the treatment of the vehicle.
a) Spray the GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator formula into all dash vents. (1-2 trigger pulls per vent).
b) Start the vehicle and turn the vehicle fan on high cool (not A/C setting).
c) Spray the formula (10 trigger pulls) into the outside fresh air intake vent (cowl at base of windshield)
d) Enter the vehicle after 1 minute and wipe off the excess formula spurting out of the dash vents.
e) Smell the air coming from the dash vents. If odors are still present, spray another 5 triggers into the cowl, wait another minute and smell the results. Once you have obtained a fresh, clean smell coming from the vents, turn the system to the A/C re-circulation setting. Roll up the windows, spray 3-5 pumps into the right lower IP area and let the vehicle run with the fan set on high for 5-7 minutes.

Please follow this diagnosis process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed. If these steps do not resolve the condition, please contact GM TAC for further diagnostic assistance.

Additional Suggestions to Increase Customer Satisfaction
Here are some additional ideas to benefit your dealership and to generate greater customer enthusiasm for this product.

^ Keep this product on-hand for both the Service Department and the Used Car lot. Add value to your used car trades; treat loaner and demo cars during service and at final sale to eliminate smoke, pet, and other common odors offensive to customers. Make deodorizing a vehicle part of your normal vehicle detailing service.

^ Consider including GM Vehicle Care Odor Eliminator as a give-away item with new vehicle purchases. Many dealers give away as "gifts" various cleaning supplies at time of delivery. GM Odor Eliminator is one of a few products GM offers that has as many uses in the home as in the vehicle. Customers may find this product can be used for a host of recreational activities associated with their new vehicle, such as deodorizing a boat they tow, or a camper.

^ GM Odor Eliminator and many of the GM Vehicle Care products offer you the chance to increase dealership traffic as these superior quality products cannot be purchased in stores. Many Dealerships have product displays at the parts counter. Consider additional displays in the Customer Service Lounge, the Showroom and at the Service Desk or Cashier Window. Many customers who purchase vehicles and receive regular maintenance at your dealership may never visit the parts counter, and subsequently are not exposed to the variety and value that these products offer.

Parts Information
GM p/n 1237 8554 - pump spray bottle, should retail for less than $15 at any GM dealer, although it may need to be ordered.
---eof

dcmodels

CAUTION FOR VENT CLEANING: my previous post suggests how to clean the vents, by spraying a liquid into the vents. Since you have already suffered water damage, you do not want any repeat.

Noting the presence of many electronic modules behind and below the dash area, I would not be inclined to be spraying any liquid into the RDX dash vents.

The TSB I posted above, is for GM vehicles, which have a different vent system, and at least GM was not idiotic enough to place the SRS unit under the dash, but between the seats (when there is a center console). I have no idea where GM places the SRS unit when there is a bench seat - are there any such cars?
---eof

Mr Marco

Why are you posting a TSB for a GM vehicle in the first place?

hars

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestion. The cars interior was stripped down to the metal and thoroughly cleaned for several weeks. Luckily, there is no odor and you wouldn't know there was any water damage if you were sitting in the car or driving it. As for the how...I drove the car through about a foot of water which i didn't see from a blind corner at 4 in the morning. The car stalled in the spot and the water surged to about 3 feet in the matter of minutes. Is there a way to upload images on this forum or do i have to host it on another site and provide a link?

hars

there is no indication that the airbag module was damaged in the water. there are no airbag fault indicators going off and i checked the terminals of the SRS control module and everything looks fine. As I mentioned, the car displays no alerts when turned on and runs very normally except for the fact that the ac, radio and info screen aren't working.

dcmodels

Hosting on another site and providing a link will allow both members and non-members to see your photos.

Attaching a photo directly (by uploading during posting), will allow only members, after they signon, to see the pics. This is an option called MANAGE ATTACHMENTS (button), which is displayed both during an original post, and when adding a REPLY.

However, on some sites adding attachments is only allowed after a new member has been a member for some amount of time, or after making a certain number of posts. I really do not know what the rules are for this site.

Sorry about the 'flooding' of your car, but perhaps you are lucky that the vehicle itself did not get completely swept away, which has happened more than once, leading to loss of life (from drowning).

dcmodels

OK, I will not mention this subject again ... but ... because of the consequences if the air-bag system fails ... I assume that you have verified that when the ignition is first turned to ON, before actually starting the engine, that the AIR-BAG light is displayed, so that you know any error *can* be reported.

If the SRS unit is completely fried (dead), it is possible that you would not see any indication of a problem. I suppose that if you were very careful to dry out everything, including the SRS unit, before powering on the vehicle after flooding, the SRS module was not damaged - but it just seems unlikely.

I would suggest that you consider having someone, such as an Acura dealer, to check for any DTCs. As far as I am aware, all vehicles with OBD-II systems, like the RDX, require access to each sub-set of the 'reporting' system, to access all of the DTCs that can be accessed. The DTC readers at a typical auto parts store, have only limited capabilities.

You may wish to wait until you have resolved as many of the existing problems as possible, before a dealer visit, to limit any costs.

hars

hello again,

I had an outside mechanic make sure everything was working to the best that it could (car spent 2 months at the garage) before i got the car retitled and through inspection. Now it seems like annoying electrical problems that won't get the luxury of a/c radio and cd player to start. I toyed with the idea of taking it to the dealer now and I may have ran into a bit of luck today. I met a sales rep for Honda that said one of the mechanics at the dealership runs his own outside garage and he would be willing to take a look at the car and recommend what can be done. I'll see what happens and keep the forum posted. In the meantime, any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hmax

Any Update?

Mr Marco

Mexico

hars

hi folks, i had the car plugged in at a honda dealer. several codes were cleared with the computer but one that kept popping up was an air mix control motor fault. I'm going to have that changed out but that is sort of obviously not the end problem of the a/c not working at all. From what i learned, there are several of these air mix control motors in the car and each controls individual vent settings. I'm going to take it to the Acura dealer soon since i'm at a loss of things to do. I may change out 79610-STK-A41 (cpu for ac located behind the glovebox). Will keep everyone posted...

dcmodels

The driver-side air-mix motor is pretty easy to replace, and not too expensive. This link will give you an idea of what is involved if you want to try it yourself. Lubricating the mix-door linkage, which is the purpose of the process described, also requires removal of the driver side air mix motor itself (in order to lubricate its linkage).
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=862172

The passenger side mix motors have less access, and I have not done anything with them, and do not know of any DIY procedures for them.