Plenum drain blocked and flat battery

[pargyle]

Hi everyone,


I had my 75 Tourer battery go flat, unexpectedly, this week. The battery is a 4 year old 3 year warranty Lion one so I suspected that this was a dead battery and in the circumstances I was in I simply bought a new one. The new one got me home and I thought all was well.


Following morning - new battery flat as a pancake - to the point where even the clock had stopped ! Being of an age where it is usually my fault I charged it up and checked round all the usual culprits (Interior lights, parking lights, GPS, Fan etc.) being left running or on. No sign of anything.


Checked the forum posts - lots of stuff about dead alternators, aftermarket additions, new faulty batteries etc. and one post I found that said 'The first signs I had of the plenum drain being blocked was a flat battery'. - I can't even find that post now but whoever it was THANKYOU.


Anyway, I checked the plenum drain and sure enough with all the recent heavy rain and winter debris it was blocked and there was a good 2" of water sloshing about in the bottom. I rod the drain regularly so I was a bit surprised but ... it happens. I don't have the keyhole mod so I could see all the debris in the bottom as it all had to come out.



I cleared the drain and put an electric fan heater over the top of the pollen filter and ECU for a couple of hours to dry it all out and all now seems to be OK. I've ordered the additional plenum drain covers from Jules to stop the debris getting in (I didn't even know these existed - Brilliant idea !)



The battery is now holding its charge and the only worry I have is if there is any likelihood of permanent damage to the ECU as a result of the water in the plenum ? What should I be looking for if the ECU has been water damaged ?


And perhaps to broadcast a more obvious warning on the forum ... battery discharging problem - check the plenum drain !!!

[COLVERT]

Your last sentence, that's the key. --

Luckily you've got away with it. If you had damaged the ECU your car would not be running.

The charge you put in your battery needs to have been 24 hours or more to fully charge it or you might end up with more problems down the line.--

[markypicks]

the ecu could deteriorate over time but fortunately we have people on here that can supply you with an ecu and ews , big russ up west yorkshire for one, they do a plug n play and a postal service,there used to be brian up north east but hes no longer doing the forums... mine went the same and russ was my closest option,did a re map as well make sure you clean all 4 plenums if you have them and the one under the brake servo which can only be accessed from underneath ..the jules guard is excellent i fitted one on mine, also go under neath the car and cut the ends off the drain pipes to make them wider at the bottom rgds mark

[pargyle]

Originally Posted by COLVERT

Your last sentence, that's the key. --

Luckily you've got away with it. If you had damaged the ECU your car would not be running.

The charge you put in your battery needs to have been 24 hours or more to fully charge it or you might end up with more problems down the line.--

Been out and about with it all day today and all seems fine .. took it for a longish run after I put the new battery on and then left it on a trickle charge overnight - same again after I had drained the plenum.


I wouldn't mind but I clear all the plenum drains on a regular basis so it really caught me out this time. I will cut the bottom off the hose next time I get it up on the ramps .. although with Jules bits I'm hopeful it will keep the worst of the crud out. I now have a fully charged spare battery as there wasn't a lot wrong with the old one ... Hi Ho ... always useful to have a spare one hanging around.