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        General >> Problems >> water behind dashboard
        
(Message started by: Jonny_boy on Sep 14^th, 2006, 2:39pm)

Title: water behind dashboard
Post by Jonny_boy on Sep 14^th, 2006, 2:39pm

Hi guys, a few of you may remember a couple of days ago I had a problem with no spark and the pats were dead on my 2.9 v6 12v, well I may have a bigger problem than first thought, I came accross a pats module for a couple of quid at my local scrappy and thought I might aswell get it, but when I put my hand around the back of the old module to locate the fixings in my scorp I came accross quite a bit of water and its probably fried a couple of things, any ideas where it might be coming from and any advice on how to strip the dashboard, I've been trying all day, thanks.

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Highlander on Sep 14^th, 2006, 3:26pm

You need to remove the walnut trim, heater controls, radio etc first

Prise the long plastic vent strip that sits below the windscreen (the pats light is in this) upwards
There are torx screws under here that retain the top of the dash.

remove the trim round the gearstick to uncover another couple.

remove the trim at either side below the dash (coin box) to get at the remaining screws

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Jonny_boy on Sep 14^th, 2006, 3:58pm

Thanks Highlander, I'll do that now, cheers.

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Snoopy on Sep 14^th, 2006, 5:21pm

The full data on how to is on HERE (http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/inttrimmanual.htm) if it helps

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Jonny_boy on Sep 14^th, 2006, 6:36pm

Thanks guys, dashboard is finally out, will have a look to see where waters coming from tomorrow and then I've just got to work out how to put the dashboard back in, will keep you informed on progress, cheers.

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by mr._floppy on Sep 15^th, 2006, 1:02am

While my car is generally watertight, there are occasions, when driving through torrential downpours that water must get into the bulkhead /dash area ( I'm guessing through that plastic wiper grille ) and for a few days the PATS red light is dimly on all the time when driving (as you know, it should go out 5 secs after engine start up ) apart from that the water ingress causes no other electrical problems.

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Spannerdemon on Sep 15^th, 2006, 8:58am

I had a problem with water getting into the car earlier this year following 24 hours of torrential and constant rain. Giveaway was that the passenger side floorwell was soaking. May be well worth your while checking out the following.

I should add that this problem happened even though the battery cover was firmly in place.

Water had got into the loom behind the battery, even though the cover was in place. The rain was horrendous. It had obviously seeped through the grommet, down the loom and into the ECU pin connectors. The ECU is in a cradle under the glove box. When I removed it (10mm socket needed), the pins on the ECU were corroded and quite a lot of water ran out. As the ECU controls a lot of engine management functions, it would certainly be worth a look.

It's only a ten minute job to drop the ECU and check it out.

The car was running........but only just, and kept misfiring, stopping, etc etc. Thought I'd broken the car!! :o

In the "Front footwells wet" section of Fault Finder, this problem isn't listed, but might be a good idea if it was.

I've had the battery out since, and thoroughly sealed and waterproofed the whole battery compartment area with underseal, including the grommet.

ECU was replaced. Thanks to Jonnycab for the diagnosis, and Ady for the part. No further problems. ;)

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by kev2scorps on Sep 15^th, 2006, 10:26am

3 years ago I bought a 93 Granada hatchback for very little to work on as a project in my garage. The owner had told me that the sunroof was leaking and that the passenger footwell was always getting wet. I removed carpets, seats etc, and dried out the car. Sealed the sunroof, but the wet footwell still happened after rain. Turned out that the large rubber grommet through the bulkhead below the battery was letting water through. I sealed this with mastic, and the footwell has remained dry since.
Its, worth trying anyway.
Kev.

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Jonny_boy on Sep 15^th, 2006, 2:38pm

Hi guys, it looks like the water is coming in through the rubber grommet, it seems to be rather loose, and it looks like its got to the ecu and the pats module as both cradles are slightly rusty and have evidence of water being in contact with them, thanks for all your help.

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Eric_R on Sep 15^th, 2006, 11:31pm

Jonny,
As well as the battery cover, it is wise to check the holes through the bulkhead that allows the plenum area beside the battery to drain, see http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/drainholes.htm
There is actually a warning for this on the centre of the Home page. Even if the battery cover is in place, if the drain holes are blocked then water collects inside the shelf and causes problems on both sides - through the auxillary fusebox wiring grommet and also the main fuse box.
Another cause of water entry into the interior (but which doesn't normally cause electrical problems) is if the Air Conditioning or Climate Control plenum drain plugs are blocked - these should be cleared every year as well: see http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/acdrain.htm - BTW, some early Scorpios only have one drain plug, on the nearside. ;)

Title: Re: water behind dashboard
Post by Jonny_boy on Sep 16^th, 2006, 7:48pm

Hi guys, looks like things could be on the up, it looks like water was coming in through a couple of grommets and a small gap at the bottom of the windscreen which I have sealed up, the pats module was full of water so I have now replaced a few of the main components behind the dashboard and have started putting it back together, fingers crossed it starts, thanks for all your help.