Water in ECU, help!
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 4
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Water in ECU, help!
2005 Acura TL 6sp manual
So I was on my way back from vacation (300+ miles to destination, drove lots while there, and drove back. A/C was on the whole time due to the 90+ temps and high 90s for humidity). I was about 15min from home and I took a curve and felt water hit my right foot. Very shortly thereafter I could feel the engine hesitate and subsequently the CEL began flashing. The car had definitely lost power. As I was getting ready to pull over the light shut off and everything appeared to be functioning for the next 5min before the CEL started flashing again, this time with a much more noticeable misfire. As I came to a stop and attempted to start the car stalled out, with the battery and oil light lit as well as the CEL. I had it towed to a family members house where it currently sits. We threw a scan tool on it which showed multiple misfire codes as well as numerous failure to communicate codes.
I removed the ECU this afternoon, which had water in it. Took the cover off and other than it being wet, it appeared fine (no busted capacitors or anything obvious). Put a fan on it for a few hours and checked the drain tube plug for obstruction. Didn't find any obstructions(appears to be leaking above that, on line with the nav screen. After the ECU was dry I plugged it back in and ran a diagnostic test on it with the scan tool. No misfire codes. I attempted to start the car. It turned over but just never started. I checked the first two coils and plugs(cylinders 4 and 5, I think). Plugs could be changed eventually but look fine. They smelled of fresh gas, so it's getting fuel. Thinking about sending the ECU out for repair. Of anyone has any recommendations on where to send the ECU that would be great.
Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
So I was on my way back from vacation (300+ miles to destination, drove lots while there, and drove back. A/C was on the whole time due to the 90+ temps and high 90s for humidity). I was about 15min from home and I took a curve and felt water hit my right foot. Very shortly thereafter I could feel the engine hesitate and subsequently the CEL began flashing. The car had definitely lost power. As I was getting ready to pull over the light shut off and everything appeared to be functioning for the next 5min before the CEL started flashing again, this time with a much more noticeable misfire. As I came to a stop and attempted to start the car stalled out, with the battery and oil light lit as well as the CEL. I had it towed to a family members house where it currently sits. We threw a scan tool on it which showed multiple misfire codes as well as numerous failure to communicate codes.
I removed the ECU this afternoon, which had water in it. Took the cover off and other than it being wet, it appeared fine (no busted capacitors or anything obvious). Put a fan on it for a few hours and checked the drain tube plug for obstruction. Didn't find any obstructions(appears to be leaking above that, on line with the nav screen. After the ECU was dry I plugged it back in and ran a diagnostic test on it with the scan tool. No misfire codes. I attempted to start the car. It turned over but just never started. I checked the first two coils and plugs(cylinders 4 and 5, I think). Plugs could be changed eventually but look fine. They smelled of fresh gas, so it's getting fuel. Thinking about sending the ECU out for repair. Of anyone has any recommendations on where to send the ECU that would be great.
Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Likes: 2,185
From: Space Coast, FL
water prob came from the A/C drain backing up on the ECU while driving or it got a ton of condensation on it, don't try to mess with the car too much because coil packs have been known to melt into the heads when the ECU gets wet. Buy a replacement ECU and you'll need to have it programmed to your car's immobilizer system. There's a place in South Florida that does ECU repairs on euro cars, not sure if they can do it for a TL.
Removing the navi and radio isnt' that difficult, track down the water source before you put a new ECM in.
Removing the navi and radio isnt' that difficult, track down the water source before you put a new ECM in.
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
water prob came from the A/C drain backing up on the ECU while driving or it got a ton of condensation on it, don't try to mess with the car too much because coil packs have been known to melt into the heads when the ECU gets wet. Buy a replacement ECU and you'll need to have it programmed to your car's immobilizer system. There's a place in South Florida that does ECU repairs on euro cars, not sure if they can do it for a TL.
Removing the navi and radio isnt' that difficult, track down the water source before you put a new ECM in.
Removing the navi and radio isnt' that difficult, track down the water source before you put a new ECM in.
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
water prob came from the A/C drain backing up on the ECU while driving or it got a ton of condensation on it, don't try to mess with the car too much because coil packs have been known to melt into the heads when the ECU gets wet. Buy a replacement ECU and you'll need to have it programmed to your car's immobilizer system. There's a place in South Florida that does ECU repairs on euro cars, not sure if they can do it for a TL.
Removing the navi and radio isnt' that difficult, track down the water source before you put a new ECM in.
Removing the navi and radio isnt' that difficult, track down the water source before you put a new ECM in.
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