Ugh, just returned to a car parked slightly under water in the rear half, about to the top of exhaust pipes (was dry a few hours ago when I parked), car won't start, the reverse Lights are on & lit up even without the keys in the car, the dash says electrical fault. All interior Lights work fine and are bright, just no ignition spark at all (silent).

What should I do/check? The car was pushed to another parking spot that is dry but it is still raining out and I could not get the reverse bulbs in the taillights to turn off

 

Oh yeah, remote doorlocks & trunk button don't work either by, had to use the key for both.

 

Disconnect the battery and let it dry out.

 

I left the vehicle with the battery still connected, if it needs to be jump-started that is a minor issue - once it dries, should everything work alright?

Anyone experience this before?

 

Ouch!

It sounds like the water level might have got up as far as one of the main ground connections.

First step has to be battery off and recharged whilst the vehicle dries out.

I'd be checking exactly where the water had got to before trying another start. Lights on by themselves indicates something is shorted out.

Graham

 

If the bottom of the car was under water, to the top of the exhaust it's a big chance that the trunk fuse panel and all the relays to have water in it. There are important relays and fuses there, including fuel pumps relay and security module fuses,controlling many things including reverse lights. Not an easy job, you must disconnect the battery on a flooded car and dry/change everything before trying to start it again.

 

Sorry 'bout that but try to dry everything out before driving off . . . even if it will start . . . even if that means towing it somewhere. An air blower to begin with and then a heat gun to dry everything. You are addressing thousands of dollars of electronics here. Don't burn it, just dry it!

Here is a cheap head start: Heat Gun - Dual Temperature Heat Gun, 1500W, $8 with the on-line sale coupon.

 

Thanks all, we had a sunny morning here so that helped a lot - the starter wouldn't cycle at all, even with the battery jumped to another car with a big battery (Lincoln Town Car) so I tried doing a hard reset (battery disconnect, short the cables a few minutes) and the car started just fine - albeit initially water shot about 5-feet out the back of the exaust pipe, lol