Author Topic: All manner of warning lights & power steering not working (water damage?)  (Read 3523 times)

Offline NotMyName

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Some of you may be aware of the floods in Lancashire early December.
Basically as the rain was coming down hard & the road conditions were starting to get worse my brother decided not to get stuck 20 mile from home & he ploughed through some water.

How deep this actually was i don't know - i wasn't there. It obviously wasn't up over the bonnet but i think it's safe to say it was worse than your average puddle.

Since that he's had all manner of warning lights flashing up on his dash. His car is knackered. The power steering packed in only to return again some days later.


Oh sorry, the car is a 2006 (06) plated R32.

So right now he has £8k of car sat there as he drives around in a little rot box instead.

What damage may this have done?

He's not really wanting to get it to a back street garage who knows SFA & just plugs their fault code reader in at £100 & then starts changing stuff just hoping they get lucky.

He's also unsure about taking it to Volkswagen on 2 counts .....
1) Obviously - their price
2) He's heard they wont touch modified cars? While his car isn't heavily modified, it has had some changes that i know of. Different exhaust & HIDs have been fitted (unless they come with HIDs as standard?).





EDIT: Also, what bit is needed to remove the battery cover on these? He was using a torx bit (not sure which one) which removed all bar 1 screw.
« Last Edit: 05 January 2016, 23:22 by NotMyName »

Offline barrym381

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has the car dried out yet  :smiley: vw will still look at it even with it being modified

Offline NotMyName

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Last i heard it's got water running down the windscreen which (as per thread i just created today) he's wondering if it's linked to the lack of an aerial & is maybe getting in to the electrics.

I'd personally doubt that if it all just happened after he drove through a lake (ok, not quite a lake, but you get me).

He had a dehumidifier in there yesterday so i'd say nope it hasn't yet dried out.

Offline AntGTD

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The sound deadening under the carpet can absorb a hell of a lot of water. Personally i would remove the front seats and with the carpet removed try and tax the hell out of the carpet.

If the car hasn't run since pull the plugs and check of water in the cylinders. Also check the airbox and filter for water.

It might be a case of pulling off ALL connectors and drying with a hair dryer.
« Last Edit: 23 January 2016, 11:03 by AntGTD »
2016 Mk7 Golf GTD 180(ish) Reflex Silver with loads of stuff

Offline MikeM

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NotMyName,

if the ecu's been waterlogged it'll have caused all sorts of shorting problems.

The best thing you can do is, using something like Loctites electrical contact cleaner, clean all plugs and connectors that are likely to have been drenched to ensure there is no water in anything. The slightest bit of water will play havoc causing shorts across system plugs.

Like AntGTD says, the soundproofing will hold twice its weight in water and a dehumidifier just wont manage.

Strip the interior if you can, remove as much excess water as you can and then shut it in a garage or somewhere similar with the dehumidifier and empty it often.

Check your intake system to make sure there's no water in it.