2000 Jag S-type

About 2 years ago, during a HORRIBLE rain storm, my car went into engine failsafe mode and wouldn't come out. Restarting it didn't help. I took it to the shop. According to the invoice, the shop "found left A-Pillar water drain clogged causing water to enter into TCM module electrical connector. Clean drain and clean TCM connector and pins, Retest, Ok"

Car hadn't had the problem since. But, about 3-4 weeks ago, during a rain storm, my car again went into engine failsafe mode. I turned it off, restarted it, and it worked fine. About a week later, the same thing happened again during a rainstorm. Again, I turned it off, restarted it, and it worked fine. No problems when it wasn't raining.

Its now been raining for about 24 hours. When i drove home from work last night in the rain, the car went into engine failsafe mode 3-4 times. Each time i was able to restart it and drive for a while before it happened again.

The car was parked outside overnight in the rain. Now, this morning its in engine failsafe mode and restarting it doesn't help. When I restart the car, it starts in engine failsafe mode and it won't come out of it.

I'm thinking its the same/related problem that happened a couple of years ago. Last time it cost me $450 to fix. I'm kind of strapped for cash right now and would like to not have to pay that again. It would seem that if its just unclogging a drain and letting some connector pins dry, I should be able to do that myself. I have a little experience working on cars, but not much. I am generally pretty handy and work on computers, though. Can someone point me in the right direction on how to do this project? Where are the drains, where is the TCM connector, and how do I get to them? Or, if there is another possible cause, I'd appreciate the insight.

Thanks!

 

The usual suspect for this problem is water seeping underneath the windshield cowl, into the engine bay, and into the throttle body connections. A number of us S-Type owners have had to deal with this issue. Many owners remove the windshield wipers, remove the cowl, clean the cowl and the area where it contacts the windshield very thoroughly, then use an RTV-type silicone caulk to seal up the gaps that had formed between the cowl and the windshield over the years. Some owners also ensure that the hoses and connections to the throttle body are disassembled, cleaned, and sealed as well. Most folks who follow this path usually report back that their car no longer goes into limp mode during rainstorms....

We know from experience that if even the slightest amount of moisture wicks its way into the throttle body, limp mode always strikes. Sometimes the engine can be immediately restarted, but sometimes it cannot....

Use the search feature with your key phrase being something like "limp mode throttle body moisture repairs". You'll uncover a treasure trove of threads that will lead you through the diagnosis and repair process....

 

If you plan on doing this yourself. Get the factory shop manual which is called the JTIS. This is free to download on this site.

Much good information and if you want even better exploded diagrams get the JEPC which is the parts catalog and it's also free on this site.

Then you will have pretty much everything the dealer guys have except experience and that's where this list comes in!!
.
.
.

 

Er... 2000 does NOT even have a TCM.

So... maybe TACM (check JTIS to see if your has one).

TB is a suspect but yes water getting past the cowl is likely the cause wherever it's then going.

Grab any OBD codes in case it's something else gone faulty and coincidence makes it seem like it's water.

(See my sig.)

 

The A-Pillar drain is for the Moon roof. If it's plugged you should have a wet A-pillar and most likely the map pocket in that front door will be full of water too.

This is very common on the Lincoln LS but for some reason is not reported very often on the S Type.

Did you have any water on the inside of the car? Maybe wet carpets?
.
.
.