Engine died after driving through deep puddle
 

Quick trip to the local big box store in the '87 911 (just any excuse to drive), the heavens opened up and flooded the parking lot. Waited 20 minutes for the deluge to wash out, ran for the car, hoped in started up & hit maybe 3-4" of water, targa sputtered briefly, headed 3 miles home in light rain -got to my street car sputtered -engine died - had enough momentum to roll 1/2 mile home. Car dried out and ran fine next day (in sunny Florida)

Questions - What electrical connections are most subject to cause shorts? I don't no where to begin, and don't want to take car on any trips until figured out.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1276631705.jpg

i would start with your distributor cap. Check for cracks etc. If its ok. Just make sure its dry, and maybe add a little dielectric grease.
Other's with more knowledge and isight i am sure will chime in.

there's something about carrera distributors that allows condensation to form inside the cap after a rainstorm or other water event. other 911s don't seem to have this issue, as much. silicone around the base of the cap helps. there are a couple of holes in the bottom of housing that could be blocked off.

I have been having similar issues with my 964. Always rain related but have not been able to solve it as yet. Happened again last weekend where it shut off after driving through a puddle but then re-started immediately without any further issues. At some point, I'm going to take mine into a shop and see if they can find my short. Looking forward to read the suggestions posted my members to assist you. :confused:

Good Posts-

New Bosch distributor cap with a fresh tune up when it happened, I'll check to see if there's any openings on cap. Would any of the sensors near the bottom of the engine cause it to stop?

At night, or at least in a dark garage, start the engine with decklid open.

Get a water mister bottle, not direct spray.

Spray mist on the motor, on distributor cap, on plug and coil wires.

Any blue sparks? Replace.

Of course if it's bad you won't need the mister... :)

That's a start.

BTW, you didn't have any water inside on the floor did you? Check under the passenger seat at the computer.

Darn it - I'm going to have to clean out the garage to do that (did my wife put you up to it?)

Had the targa top reworked, resealed & religiously use car covers. Dry under the seats and rear floor boards.

Related side note:
Had completely random hesitation in performance, my mechanic suggested checking the motronics unit due to age related stresses and the probability of being flooded at some point in its life, he found a slight hiccup when handling the unsecured motronics unit, went & had it re-soldered, cured that issue.

Mechanic retired - great guy. Any good air cooled 911 mechanic's in Jacksonville FL?

Sounds like a cracked cap or coil, or upon replacing the cap, a tear occurred on the boot of the wire that goes to the coil. The juice would find it's way along the water path to ground. IMHO check out those easy things first......BTW how fast were you going to "coast" a half a mile? LOL

Remember, the "Brain" is underneath your seat. I had the same thing happen on my 84 Targa, and I knew immediately that water had flooded my interior. The solution? Let it dry out. That was about six years ago, and the car still runs fine. My tech at the time said it is 50-50 with regards to permanent damage being done.

Looks like you and I got lucky. My buddy...not so lucky. He had to replace.

Thank you - Will check for any degraded plastics rubber ect. Rebuilding pedal cluster this weekend.

When engine croaked -was heading down a long gentle decline about 3o miles/hour (in a ridiculous 15mph zone) with enough momentum to go up my drive way.

Nope, just do it at night then.

So you keep your p-car outdoors??????

I had the exact problem with a pickup truck and it was a spark plug wire. Misting water is the test. You shouldn't be getting that much water from underneath though. New parts can be bad so check under the cap for moisture. WD40 or compressed air will fix that. Next thought is check under your driver's seat for water around the ECU (after all, it is a Targa).

There is a rubber gasket that seals the heat tube to the engine tin. If it gets twisted it lets water shoot directly onto the bottom of the distributor cap. Happened to my 1 hour after I bought my car.