Problem - Car caught in a Floodand won't start.
-
I needed a new battery and am a bit limited to suppliers near where I live (In the sticks). They wanted £70 & another one wanted £90 for an MX3 battery. In the end I charged my old one off other car and worked just fine. Im sure you could use another battery off different car rather than pay £70 for one. Both mine are different and Im guesing only one is genuine. You need one off a 1.8 or 2L car for example and make sure its a similar size (So you can clamp it down good and proper). Would not want a battery tipping over in the engine bay when you turn a corner. Finally make sure your terminals are the right way round on the battery. Some cars have + & - at different sides. Your clamps won't fit the other way round. I wouldn't pay more than £50
I only just read your post but this is exactly what happened to me when my battery died. Same clicking sound. In the end I got a good charger that tells if the battery is faulty and sure enough it was.
It might not have been the water that wrecked your battery. It was probably on its way out and the water in the starter etc used all remaining life from your battery. Make sure the terminal clamps are nice and tight. A loose negative was at fault with mine. I had loads of green round it and a screw jammed in to hold it in. I got new terminals for £3 each just for good measure. I cut old ones off as close as I could to allow me enough cable and they screwed onto cable in 2 places for easy n tight fit. Work great and look the biz.
Would be worth trying to obtain a battery off another car to see if this works before buying a new one. See if the car will go off jump leads but make sure they are quite thick leads. My cheapo leads fried when I kept jumping mine.
Finally have you got an alarm and imobiliser. A flat battery can make them act up funny. Also the led can drain a battery over time. If you ever store your car for period of time its always worth disconnecting the battery negative.
-
@c81f06a94a:
Also the led can drain a battery over time
An LED takes so little power that you can run one for 9 years off a 9V duracell battery so that wont matter.
-
Hmmm 9 years. Hey blackmoth r you sure you didn't go to columbia for longer than you 1st thought lol.
-
hahah, well I wasn't counting the days…and what with cocaine at $2 a gram time just flew by!! :lol:
Seriously though, the battery ran down from me trying to start the car after the flood, then AA charged it for ages, then it ran down again and I have charged it about 5 times since, so I think its probably fucked!
What would be the chances of being able to return a battery to halfords - I was thinking of buying one, seeing if I can get the car started and if it won't start take the battery back, otherwise keep it...
-
You could just ask them straight up. Halfords near me are usually dead on with something like that, as long as I keep it 'as new', so it can be thrown back on the shelf. But certain items people are weird about. Can you not borrow a battery elsewhere?
-
I was thinking about taking the battery out of my mums Golf temporarily, would there be enough power in it?
-
I would have thought so… 12 volt car isnt it? I've jumpstarted off a volvo 940 and a 323f ba 1.5l nps.
-
I would have thought a golf 1.6 or above would be ok. Some terminals have posts and some have a screw fix. The main thing is to get the poles the right way round and a secure fixing. Don't get blaming us when your moms car wont start if you flatten hers.
I would try jump leads first save all the swapping over lark. If you don't have any then a neighbour is sure to. Bonus here is you can leave the other car running and give it some revs so the battery shouldn't drain. I think halfords would be a bit iffy with the returns policy on a battery. They guarentee them now for 3 years and if you fook it up then they will be giving away 2.
Being electric fuel pump it shouldn't take too much to get yours to fire but take into consideration its been standing for a while (9 years by all accounts) it is gonna take a bit of battery juice.
-
Hi guys, I got fed up yesterday and bought a brand new battery, fitted it thismorning and tried starting her for about a minute, but nothing…. I know its not the sparks cos the AA tried that and I am really starting to think I was right originally - that the ECU or electronics somewhere have been damaged by the water...
Is there anything else I can try before giving up?
-
if you can get it to dorchester i can get her running agen
-
I wish I could, but I'm in wales…long way away! :(
-
OK, was just trying to start it again and I put it in first with the clutch in for no reason, but basically it tried to jump forward, as if the clutch wasnt in! I then put it in reverse and tried the same thing, and it jumped a little bit, even though I had my foot down hard on the clutch. Does this mean the clutch is gone too??
I cant get it out of reverse now, its stuck there…things are getting worse everyday, i should have given up :(
-
hmmm..all this time with water from a flood and shite.
friction plate on the clutch will probely be contaminated dude, cant see how tho :S…ohhh just got and buy a klze and gear.
-
the clutch plate is stuck, don't worry about that for the time being.
do what i said a few pages ago about connecting the fuel pump directly to the live, lift up the back seats, and im pretty sure its a thick red/balck wire, connect that directly to the battery, you should hear it whine, then try starting it, if it works you'll have to look into the wiring, i just connected mine to an ignition live.
as for the clutch, when you actually get the car started you'll have to start the car in gear and drive along with the clutch pedal down till it frees up
-
Thanks Unicorn, but the problem is it's stuck in reverse and theres a wall right behind it…my garage wall! I need to try and get it back into neutral or get the clutch in before trying to start it again.
-
Not sure this'll moth but i found this, maybe a few things you might wanna check out before you rip out your tranny!
Sometimes the problem is not with slipping, but with sticking. If your clutch won't release properly, it will continue to turn the input shaft. This can cause grinding, or completely prevent your car from going into gear. Some common reasons a clutch may stick are:
- Broken or stretched clutch cable - The cable needs the right amount of tension to push and pull effectively.
- Leaky or defective slave and/or master clutch cylinders - Leaks keep the cylinders from building the necessary amount of pressure.
- Air in the hydraulic line - Air affects the hydraulics by taking up space the fluid needs to build pressure.
- Misadjusted linkage - When your foot hits the pedal, the linkage transmits the wrong amount of force.
- Mismatched clutch components - Not all aftermarket parts work with your clutch.
Maybe something?
-
its stuck in reverse? it should come out with the engine not running, maybe rocking the car either forwards or backwards should put less tension on the box making it easier to take out off gear
-
get some one to push and pull the car keep it rocking as you pull it out of gear works with metros as they often stick in gear if there left in gear on a hill and move slightlyhad to help my mate with that manny times
-
lol just reminded me that a friend had one of those.
when he turned right the engine would stop!!!
he filled the engine to the top of the filler cap with oil and when he started it big puffs of smoke billowed out. oh it was orange too.
-
Hi people
Whats happening with this continuing saga of the drowned mx3?
I have been following this saga since the beginning of theblackmoths
problems.
I have worked on many flood damaged cars while working as an auto electrician.
The slightest bit of water/moisture in an ECU or relay that does not have a waterproof seal renders it usless as corrosion takes place very quickly.
You told us that the water came up to the gear stick gater, this means that the ABS unit under passanger seat got damp, as well as any behind the center consol…
Looking at what this water did to the aluminum of the gearbox- causing it to corrode, means that there was salt contamination in the flood water.
The salt eats through electrical circuits and rots copper wiring..
You may need to change alot more things than just the starter motor.
Best of luck
