JaBlonde

Hi guys,

After a huge downpour of rain I found the drivers footwell 50mm deep in water and the battery was flat. I jumped the car and the back windows went down on their own. Low range and diff locks won’t work at all (no light on button) and when parked the car continually raises the suspension then lowers causing the battery to go flat by the next day.

Bit random. Any help would be much appreciated.

Miguk_Saram

Check for water intrusion in the spare tire area, and inspect the rear SAM module.

There are a few threads on this forum regarding the gremlins that pop up when the rear SAM gets wet. A quick google/youtube search is sure to turn up a few good videos to aid you in isolating the source of the water intrusion.

JaBlonde

Thanks for replying so quick. I have pulled the carpet up and had a good look in the rear right side and it is all bone dry and factory clean. Under the sub woofer is all dry as well (I can't see the unit under the sub properly - is that the rear SAM module?)

I spent 5-6 hours over the last few days googling and watching videos, but other than checking/ swapping out the SAM modules, people have had different electrical issues to the ones I am experiencing.

Max Blast

Under both front seats are wells housing batteries and sensitive electronics.

first: remove as much of the floor paneling as you can and get some driers/dehumidifiers in there after you have wetvac’ed up all the water. time is money here.

If the problem is isolated to the front the first thing you need to check is the cabin air filter box drain on the passenger side firewall.

Then check the sunroof drains and blow them out with compressed air as needed.

JaBlonde

Thanks for your help Max. Do you know what ECU's or control units are in the battery bay, the chamber under the drivers seat on a GL450 UK? I can't find any diagrams or other information online.

Max Blast

we’ve had this discussion on the board before and not nailed down whether or not the US/UK version are mirror images of one another. But if your battery is under the drivers seat it would seem they are not.

in that bay lives your battery bus, the main and aux batteries, and off the top of my head a few relays.
Water here will short out the power path and leave everything else downstream malfunctioning.

BlownV8

If he is in the UK and the battery is under the drivers seat, they would be the same as the US version.

sabrine17

Hi,

I have the same symptoms with my GL 2008, after some water damages, the rear windows went down by themselves and some other items started to behave strangely like the horn, the wipers, ....
My car cranks up but even though the screan shows D (drive) position, the gears do not shift and the car does not move when giving gases.
I dont't know if you solved your issue in the meantime but it would be nice to share what were the issues.

Thanks in advance.

JaBlonde

After spending £1,500 for a mechanic to investigate the issues with no improvement to the situation, I passed the problem to my insurers and they wrote off the vehicle in the end. You can take out the ECU's and have someone repair them but ultimately you don't know what further damage the wiring shorts have done to everything else in the car. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Max Blast

Water intrusion and electrical malfunctions in a 15 year old GL equals insurance write off.

This isnt isolated to GL platform, following the kid on YouTube right now who bought a 2011 S class that had been totaled as a flood vehicle because the insurance company wrote it off after the cabin air filter drain had clogged and doused one ECU with water…

DLB_Adelaide

I wonder how the body is different to the w164?!

I noticed some moulds on the seatbelts (same side, both row) and wondering how it got there. I opened the floor panel and the pillar. Washed my w164 with a garden hose. Did not notice any wet or damp spots. The sunroof was leaking though. But the sunroof has a drain towards somewhere. Still can't find a satisfactory reason how the mould was there.

On another note, the w164 has a water drain somewhere close to the driveshaft. This might be the drain for the battery compartment. I might take a picture when I have a chance. There is a plug beside the water drain and touched the insulation inside for moisture. Was dry and clean (no moulds). Still wondering how water was present in that drain. If it was droplets then i can understand. But it was dripping at a faster rate and created a puddle.

eric_in_sd

Yeah I'm binge watching Just Rolled In vidyas, and water penetration fries the electronics in lots of cars.

"Insurance write offs" is probably why my comprehensive insurance got so absurdly expensive. A bird poops on it, insurance company pays out several years worth of premiums.

Max Blast

Hook your peepers onto Waldo’s world YouTube channel - guy got a “flooded” S (w221?? I don’t know my Sses) for a song, only to find that the airmatic module was the only thing damaged by a plugged cabin air filter drain.

however; it required a parts car to get running economically again, which is not everyone’s ability.

that’s why my Gl will become a parts car for a future x164 550. Or the other way around, since I’m liking that 550 build thread so much.