Car coming alive!

L

Lici

Guest
Hi All, im really hoping someone has knowledge of this issue and that it is not a stand alone problem (meaning my car has had it!). I have a 1998 Rav 4 Cruiser that occasionally turns into 'Herbie' when subject to torrential rainpour for a few hours. Somehow, when water gets intot he car somewhere the car engine, lights and radio will come on. Very bizarre when there is no key in the ignition. Over time, the battery of course drains and I will need to jump start my car. Very embarrassing and frustrating. I also have aleak on the drives side windscreen that i can only assume is the seal.....can anyone help? I have no knowledge of this area and woul dlike some feedback before i take it to a mechanic and he associates female with unneccesary dollar signs/work. :)
 
Lici said:
I have a 1998 Rav 4 Cruiser that occasionally turns into 'Herbie' when subject to torrential rainpour for a few hours. Somehow, when water gets intot he car somewhere the car engine, lights and radio will come on. Very bizarre when there is no key in the ignition.
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Sorry to tell you your car is not Herbie but subject to a simple law of electricity. The water getting in is obviously short circuiting some connections and it is only be checking the status of seals and the electrics that you can source the problem. It is not uncommon for older cars to have seals fail and theoretically it should not be a big deal but like all things it may be how difficult they are to replace that may be the decider of the cost. A typical source of problems is water seepage through windshield wiper circuitry or maybe even the windshield itself allowing seepage behind the dash board. Electrics can be difficult to trace sometime and time means money, the parts are not likely to be expensive.
 
PetrolHead said:
Sounds like a liberal dose of Water Displacement Formula #40 is in order....
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Sure good suggestion reliable old WD40 :cool: could drive out the moisture if you know where it is located but I guess won't solve the source of the problem.:(
 
If your windscreen is leaking it will find it's way to the floor, lift the carpet and see if the underfelt is wet. My last car had this and the windscreen had to be replaced.
On modern cars, a lot of the switching a data is sent by a common communications cable, any water in the connections will give false information and cause odd things to happen
 
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