Saved the vette but killed the minivan!! Need help!
Hey guys. Lots of heavy rain here in New Orleans today, 6 inches in some parts so far. Left the 72 at home and took the wifes minivan(96 Chrystler Town and Country) so I wouldn't get stuck. Roads were flooded pretty bad on my way home and plenty of cars plowing ahead of me. I hit a deep part and everything shut down. Well I was able to get it running again for about two seconds before it died again. Now there's zero power. No guages, nothing. I got a tow to the house. I check the battery and it's fine. I hear a buzzing sound coming from the dash on the drivers side whenever I open the door. No lights come on but the buzzing starts and when I shut the door it clicks off after about two seconds. The water wasn't real deep, well deep enough to shut me down and two others just while I was there. It was about up to the bottom of the car. As trucks and what not were going by I could feel the water slpash up against the underside of my van. So I'm thinking it's not likely that it got sucked up in the intake. It wasn't coming up over the hood or anything. When I got it home I tried the key and it at least gave me the dinging sound and I got a readout on the dash, but when I tried to turn it over everything went dead again.So anyone have any ideas? I like to try and fix things myself but I'm thinking I might have to just get it towed to a shop and let them have at it. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
-CR
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1972 Coupe
4spd
383 stroker
Water and modern electronics dont mix well You have to be very careful when going through standing water. I would get it in the garage and open the hood, put a fan blowing across it to dry everthing out, hopefully it will be ok but I wouldnt bet on it.
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2002 Electron Blue Z06 Mods: LG Longtubes, Donaldson Blackwing, Speed Inc. Dyno Tuning, 19" CCW 505A Wheels Best ET (Drag radial) 11.661@118.86 1.70 60' Best ET (stock tires): 11.79@117.9 1.81 60' (best trap MPH: 118.82)
Best stock ET: 12.07@114.1 1.80 60' (best trap MPH 116.28)
SOLD 1996 Grandsport Coupe #775:
12.27@115.68(Motor)....10.995@127.44MPH (Nitrous)
I have a '98 caravan with a 3.0. This happened to me also. See if the water threw off the serpantene belt. When this happens the alernator and power steering will not work, and the battery willl go dead very quickly.
After having the belt replaced several times, my mechanic said there was a new kit available, that had a belt that was grooved on both sides, and tensioners were groved also. This solved my problem.
Take it as a sign. God doesn't want Corvette owners to drive minivans.
I would disconnect the battery and let the car sit, preferably in the sun for awhile. You probably got water in some place it shouldnt be, like the starter. Let it dry out. I've spilled liquids on comp parts all the time, as long as it dries out it works again.
There's a lot of parts that easily get wet and manufacturers assume that water comes in the form of rain therefore comes from the top down not the other way around. Water doesn't cause any damage to these components, but have them powered when wet does. I'd let it all dry out really well and give it a good look. Sounds like you got water in your starter and maybe in your fuse block under the hood.
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Saved the vette but killed the minivan!! Need help!
You have to be very careful when going through standing water. I would get it in the garage and open the hood, put a fan blowing across it to dry everthing out, hopefully it will be ok but I wouldnt bet on it.
There's a lot of parts that easily get wet and manufacturers assume that water comes in the form of rain therefore comes from the top down not the other way around. Water doesn't cause any damage to these components, but have them powered when wet does. I'd let it all dry out really well and give it a good look. Sounds like you got water in your starter and maybe in your fuse block under the hood.
