Kyle Talley

Car sat in our driveway underwater during Harvey and water got into the car. During the storm the alarm went off and the car was rapidly flashing its lights, guessing that killed the battery. The next morning I Checked the obvious spots in the engine for water damage and vacuumed the water off the floor. The battery was dead and decided to jump it, car started but when i turned it off the lights started flashing and there was a clicking noise. Could this be alternator or just bad ground? im going out to check it out again in the morning

Midnight Mystery

How much water got in the car?

How wet is the carpet? You may need to do more than just vacuum it to be safe.... Shoot... Your electrical system is likely damage form water causing shortage....

If there's enough damage, you may want to contact insurance...

A flooded car usually isn't just assumed to be ok...

Kyle Talley

liability only, dont have much to lose. The water didn't sit any higher than from whats in the picture. car started with a jump and started on its own after. The outside lights will just start flickering rapidly when its off, have the battery off in the meantime.

icu2tsx

Soak the car in rice....it will absorb all the water and moisture lol

I don't think it was smart to be cranking the car on when clearly some electronics got soaked with water. Obviously still some water damage if it's flickering when it's off.

since you don't have much to loose, you should be fine.

RTM

Your wiring harnesses typically run under the floor level front to back, you probably have water in many connectors.

Water dispersing spray can only do so much. By now if things are drying out, they are starting to corrode as well.

Bummer

ceb

Although it is too late to do anything about this now, it is generally accepted that when water reaches a level that the electronics go nuts (flashing lights, alarm system going off etc) means that the electrical system is toast.

Jumping the car only made things worse and any proper repair at this point will far exceed the value of the car.

Comprehensive insurance is cheap and most people should keep it until the value of the drops below the cost of a couple years of comprehensive premiums.

For those readers in Florida - call your insurance today and add it if you don't have it.

MC MiYoung3269

Pretty much what Ceb said. Mine flooded during memorial week in 2015, first thing I did was tear down the interior, let it set for a bit to make sure everything was dry before starting and it's been running strong with no issues ever since Water level looks similar to yours. If you really want to try and save it, I would tear it down and let it sit for a couple days to fully dry and then start it to see if any issues come up.

thoiboi

Water and electricity don't mix