Subie guys..please help...cels after water got in my car

[WRXD]

So it flooded here in the lovely state of pennsylvania. I had a river flowing by my car that came up to the lugnuts.

When all is said and done, I check the damage and I have 3 inches of water sitting in the floor of my car. The car seems to start and run fine.

I disconnect my battery and begin the drying process---

a day later the car is fine, I hook the battery back up, start the car and I throw a cell. Pull out the AP and its

P0031 Front 02 sensor heater control low

and

P01560 Back-Up Voltage Circuit Malfunction

I am running catless with an AP stage 2...

I have no idea what these codes mean or how to fix them..please help...

[GottalovetheWagon]

p0031 you have to replace the front o2 sensor (just did one today at work), and the second code i havent ran into yet so i dont know the fix for it, when im in work i'll ask and see if any of the guys have had this code

[wgknestrick]

Stop driving it and

A) change the oil & tranny fluid.

Then either take it to a dealer to get fixed, or try to locate the manuals (they are around online, but are illegal to post to).

Water getting into the car/engine is going to have problems that aren't solved by just replacing random sensors. You need to know exactly what to replace as sensors are super expensive and you don't want to just replace things randomly.

I've worked on Subarus a ton with about every CEL you can imagine. Sometimes they aren't easy to fix at all. Circuits and logic are much more complex these days.

I'm also not sure at what point a car has to have a flood damage title on it.

[GottalovetheWagon]

i agree but to add that im not suggesting replacing a random sensor i work as a tech at john kennedy subaru

[ej20wrx123]

I would call your insurance co. I bet you see more electrical problems popping up in the near future.

[the mike]

I do believe the water barely came up over the skirts on the car, just enough to get some standing water in the cabin. Fortunatley the ECU that sits ON THE FLOOR wasn't damaged :).
For code P1560:
Start by checking fuse SBF-5.
After that Check for at least 10V between ECU connector B84-no. 10 and chassis ground. If you don't have at least 10V repair the poor contact in ECM connector.
If you DO have 10+V measure the resistance between B84, no. 10 and chassis ground. It should be less than 10 ohms. If it's more than 10 ohms, you need to repair the ground circuit between ECM connector and battery terminal.
Looking at the wiring diagram though, it appears that it's tied into the 02 sensor circuit via battery voltage through that SBF-5 fuse.
I have to find my wiring manual, it seems to be awol right this second, and I'll tell you where all the connectors and pins are.

[WRXD]

ok heres what happened---

had a fellow suby owner and toyota tech friend come over. We pulled the ecu and found water dripping out of one of the connectors.

we pulled the whole ecu apart and notice the tiniest spot of corrosion on one of the pin connectors. We cleaned it as well as we could, popped it all back together, turned the car on and the cel was gone. For how long who knows.

anyone know what a new ECU costs?? what are my options..?

[Buster]

while im laughing at irony of my answer to that... screw the new ecu and buy a hydra! seriously no pun intended.

[JoeScooby]

You can buy a new one over at Gruppe-S for I think 700 or so. Spray some electron spray on the plug and give it a good cleaning out. That stuff works like magic for us aircraft electricians.

[subwrxkid]

Yeah, I am sure there is some damage to the ecu. Like The Mike said, it does sit on the passenger floor so I would imagine it's ruined.

[WRXD]

Whats a hydra?

I pulled all the carpet out last night and the bare floor is currently drying. Im gonna try and steam clean the carpet and padding underneith.

I hope the ECU is gonna be ok...there was just the tiniest bit of oxidation on one of the pins and we cleaned it off. If the ECU was really f-ed, I dont think the car would be running.

otherwise, anyone know what a stock ECU would run at like a junkyard? I might buy one as a backup just in case.

[subwrxkid]

Hydra EMS is a standalone, Phil from Element tuning's program

[the mike]

I don't think there is any permanant damage. Like you said, if it was fried there would be a ton more CEL's and a lot more problems. You SHOULD be ok.:wink:

[WRXD]

knowing my luck, it will explode tomorrow.


my life sucks ass


anyone knows anyone the has or is willing to sell some 04 wrx compatible carpet, lemme know

[subwrxkid]

I am not sure if I know anyone, but check nasioc. I know they are $300 new from the dealer.

[TehWagon]

i would just like to point out that just from the title of the thread, having read none of the responses, i had it diagnosed as the ecu. this makes me happy. not for you, aaron- i'm sorry about your luck.

you should be able to pick up a used ecu from a wreck without too much trouble, if it comes to that. PLEASE don't buy a new one for that much- go standalone if that's the case!

[WRXD]

i would just like to point out that just from the title of the thread, having read none of the responses, i had it diagnosed as the ecu. this makes me happy. not for you, aaron- i'm sorry about your luck.

you should be able to pick up a used ecu from a wreck without too much trouble, if it comes to that. PLEASE don't buy a new one for that much- go standalone if that's the case!


I think he meant that the carpet was new from the dealer for $300---I wish a new ECU would be $300--- I heard more like 2k from the dealer new.

[TehWagon]

yea screw that. in that case, standalone all the way!