Angela Tripp

Hello I have a 2011 GL 450 and I just went out to crank it and all the lights lights are on and something is beeping inside the car and nothing happens when I try to turn the key. The dash lights are the only thing that is working.

chassis

Welcome! Please post a photo of the GL. When was the last time the battery was changed? Weak batteries can cause strange behaviors with these vehicles. Your vehicle has a second battery referred to as an auxiliary battery, Mercedes calls it an "additional" battery, which also needs to be changed periodically.

MJ50

moved to X164 forum...

Angela Tripp

Hi I have been trying to add a picture and when I click the upload button the pictures disappear. But I want to thank you for your advice. My family came in really late from a out of state trip. And as soon as we went to check the battery the floor was soaked. It has been raining so bad here in FL and the the window was just barely cracked, but it has been terrible weather and rain. So I am kicking myself right now. I can’t believe I let it rain in my car. And the areas under the passenger seat all got wet. But I had just replaced both batteries. So I knew they should of been good. But yea I think something has short circuited. I’m absolutely sick to my stomach right now 😞😞

Angela Tripp

This is Sasha!! I love her inside and out 🤩

DennisG01

Oh, man, I feel really bad for you. I can understand your sick to the stomach feeling. Sorry to hear that.

Now, you should probably be sitting down for this. "Sometimes", cars get totalled by insurance companies for this - it's basically a flood car. Besides the battery, there are other electronic things under the floor boards - this is true of many German and European cars. The water will collect under there and can cause lot's of electrical damage/gremlins. I'm not saying that is what is going to happen in your case, but you do need to be aware of it being a possibility and how serious this could be. HOPEFULLY you can dry things out and be OK. Get the car into a garage, then remove the negative battery cables. Then remove the seats and floor trim so you can pull up the carpet. Then assess the situation from there. It may just be something small that the water played havoc with - maybe even everything will be alright once it dries out - but there's really no way to know unitl you get in there.

This is may be something that would be easier if you just get your insurance involved and let a shop work on it. You'll want to find a shop that has dealt with this before. Search around for places that bring flood cars back to life. The interior/seat removal can be done by just about any 'ol shop - that's straight forward enough. But once you get to the electronics, that's where you'll want someone with expertise.

lkchris

Yes, there is an electronic component called a SAM ... for signal acquisition module ... under the passenger seat. It basically must never get wet and if it does all heck breaks loose. Replacement by dealer or Mercedes specialist is required.

Angela Tripp

Oh my Gosh!!! It’s official after today I can check the yes box at the doctor when they ask me do you drink!! My husband is gonna lose it
I am gonna be downgraded to a Kia after this 😩 welp I guess I better go break the bad news/ or possible bad news. Wish me luck y’all. Thanks everyone

BlownV8

Happened to me. Was a very costly repair. Don't wait because it will start to mold and stink badly. Hope it didn't soak your seats. My seat padding had to be replaced along with a new SAM. The one and only time I forgot to roll up the window we had a monsoon type rain.

chassis

Nice looking GL.

Good luck with the cleaning up from the water ingress and seeing what remains to be done. Post your progress and we will help.

Angela Tripp

@ Chassis thank you! I couldn’t find a shop open yesterday so I found two fans and ran them all day and night and jumped her off with my husbands truck and she’s running like a nothing ever happened! I really dodged a bullet this time. But I’m still gonna drop it off because I want to make sure it’s good later on down the road.

BlownV8

There are deep wells under the floor boards. Running fans will do nothing to get the water out of those compartments.

DennisG01

That's good news, but you're not out of the woods. In fact, continuing to drive with (possible) gallons of water under the floor could cause things to get worse. This is not something where "if you don't see it, it's OK". The thing you "don't see" (hidden water) can turn around and bite you - and won't necessarily happen right away - it could be down the road, and then it could end up costing you much more money to fix at that point.

You may very well be OK - but don't assume. Get the seats out and pull the carpet up - check for water underneath in the wells, and then put the fans back in there to dry up what's under the carpet - there's a lot that you don't see - just because the top layer of carpet is dry, absolutely doesn't mean what's underneath is.

Max Blast

Sorry to hear this happened to you. Because most of the important electronics are under the floorboards in the GL, it is important to dry these out before permanent damage can occur. Now - are you sure it was the window being open that was the culprit?

the two other trouble spots are in the cabin air filter inlet on the passenger side of the hood - if this is clogged up with leaves/needles it will often fill with water and then leak onto the passenger foot well floor (over the battery and bus bars).

the other spot is the rearmost pillar where either thru the sunroof or the railings lights, water gets in and drops onto the electronics behind the rear passenger side trunk panel. You can open this and check there as well - I hope this is dry.

in either case I would contact your insurer and see it this will trigger your comprehensive policy.
a water damaged GL will be a nightmare to deal with down the road - random electrical glitches such as blackouts and stalls. Not fun.

but also don稚 accept the Kia downgrade. When these cars are dry and well kept, nothing comes close.

eric_in_sd

This is one reason I own a dehumidifier - nothing comes close for emergency water removal.

Angela you can get one delivered, but you should hurry up.

The alternative is to leave the thing running with the AC on and the windows closed. Go out every ten minutes or so and press the recirc button. Possibly if you put it on Max AC it will hold the recirculation on. You should see water dripping out from under the car. Try also running it with the heat on - and AC. You can leave it idling forever without harm.

BlownV8

A dehumidifier will not pull the water out from underneath the floorboards. You will need to remove the floorboards and vacuum out with a wet/dry vac.

eric_in_sd

Weren't you the guy that ran a dehumidifier in your GL after you left it sitting out in the rain with the windows open?

BlownV8

Yes, and that only worked for the surface moisture but did not pull from underneath the floorboards. Once your pull the floorboards, run the dehumidifier again while they are out.