C-Class (W202) 1995-2000: C 200 CDI, C 220 CDI, C 270 CDI, C 180, C 200 K,C 230 K, C 220, C230, C 280

Battery drain

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Old Jan 1, 2010 | 05:37 PM
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Question Battery drain

2000 C230K. Wiper motor quit, and it took a couple of days to get a replacement, durning this time I left the car out with the hood closed but fusebox open. Weather forecast was dry, but they lied. When I installed the new wiper motor the battery was completely dead. There was some water in the fusebox, which I dried thoroughly.
After swapping a good battery the car now runs just fine, but after shutting it down various devices will switch themselves on. In addition to the cooling fans, there are noises from the airbox and the throttle body. The last two continue to run after I pull every fuse and relay from the box under the hood.
Anyone got helpful suggestions as to what might be the problem, and the remedy?
Thanks, and a happy New Year to all.
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Old Jan 1, 2010 | 08:39 PM
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From: Franklin Mass
1999 C280 Sport
Put the car inside in a warm place for a few days and let it dry. Sounds like you have had a moisture gremlin in the fuse area
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Old Jan 1, 2010 | 11:54 PM
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I am wondering if water got into one of the relays. Did you open up the fuse box to look at the lower level where the relays are located?
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Old Jan 2, 2010 | 10:03 AM
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I think things might be a little better today. After driving, it sat quietly for almost an hour before things started turning on. As before, the culprits are the radiator fans, air box (flap motor?). and throttle body (throttle actuator?). I'm hoping that someone familiar with the C230K electrics will recognize a relay or ground point which might be common to these.

I removed all the fuses and relays and set them out to dry. I did open up the fuse box, but there don't appear to be any relays underneath. I have only found the five relays on the top of the fuse box; am I missing some?
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Old Jan 2, 2010 | 10:41 AM
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If you removed the cover of the fuse box, those were the relays to which I was referring.
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Old Jan 2, 2010 | 12:14 PM
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Problem identified

Well, I went a bit further and removed the rear part of the fuse box from the car. A few drops of water came out, so I split the box open to reveal the connectors within. There were several wet spots and some globs of blue corrosion here and there. Most likely these globs were conducting current where it shouldn't be going. I'm currently working on cleaning and drying everything properly, which I reckon should fix the problem.
Thanks for your help, especially directing me to look under the fusebox.
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