Heavy Rain = Bogging, Help Needed

[Duck22]

Well I'm new to the site so Hi! But down to business...

I was driving home today, which took me about an hour, and it started to down pour like monsoon status. Well I hit a puddle and the check engine light, vsa light, and ! with the triangle turned on and the car started to bog . I was able to drive it home cause at that point I was about a minute away. I got it into the garage turned it off then turned it back on and the only light that was on was the check engine and I immediately turned it back off. Now the car does have a CAI on it and I'm thinking it may have sucked in water but I don't think the car is hydrolocked cause I was able to drive it back and it did turn over in the garage.

Any ideas what the issue is and what actions I should take?

And I'm not turning the car back on until I get a handle on this cause I don't want to do anymore damage to it.

Btw, it's a 2008 Civic Si coupe.

Thanks in advance!

[OHmySi]

I have a 08 Si Sedan and have a cai also and had the same thing happen to me after hitting a huge puddle. To get the check engine light off disconnect the battery for a min and it will go away. Nothing was wrong with mine after.

[Duck22]

Originally Posted by OHmySi

I have a 08 Si Sedan and have a cai also and had the same thing happen to me after hitting a huge puddle. To get the check engine light off disconnect the battery for a min and it will go away. Nothing was wrong with mine after.

Did it continue to bog though? Or did it just dry out and everything was ok?

Also if the engine did suck in water should I change the oil and oil filter?

[chino]

I had the similar problem b4 and I think just letting everything to dry then reset will fix it .but since I didn't know that back then what I did was take it to the dealer and they say the ecu had water inside (I didn't have the fender liner so I believed the water got in trough there) so they dried it for like 2 hrs and everything is fine



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[Trance4mr]

When you turned the car back on, did it exhibit any abnormal issues beside the CEL? Rough idle for example? The fact that you drove home and was able to start the car leads me to believe that you didn't hydro lock the engine. When enough water has entered the combustion chamber through the intake, it will "lock" or damage internal engine components because water is not a compressible liquid and something else has to give. If the car starts and seems to drive fine, take the car to an auto parts store and have them scan the CEL, tell you the code and description, and erase it. It will probably come up with a multiple misfire code (p0300 for example). Now is that CAI really worth it?

[killin]

you probably got your O2 sensor/ filter wet. and thats whats causing the boging and you probably experince that you couldnt shift past 3k. if you have flashpro go to Online>OBDII diagnostics

[Duck22]

Originally Posted by killin

you probably got your O2 sensor/ filter wet. and thats whats causing the boging and you probably experince that you couldnt shift past 3k. if you have flashpro go to Online>OBDII diagnostics

If the O2 sensor is wet does that mean it's usually shot?

[Duck22]

Originally Posted by Trance4mr

When you turned the car back on, did it exhibit any abnormal issues beside the CEL? Rough idle for example? The fact that you drove home and was able to start the car leads me to believe that you didn't hydro lock the engine. When enough water has entered the combustion chamber through the intake, it will "lock" or damage internal engine components because water is not a compressible liquid and something else has to give. If the car starts and seems to drive fine, take the car to an auto parts store and have them scan the CEL, tell you the code and description, and erase it. It will probably come up with a multiple misfire code (p0300 for example). Now is that CAI really worth it?

Seemed to idle fine, nothing crazy, I revved it a bit and nothing bad.

[Trance4mr]

That's good for you, I doubt there is any permanent damage. You can disconnect the battery to erase the CEL, but I'd do it the proper way, by having it scanned and erase at Autozone or Advanced Auto, O'Reilly's etc. for free. That way you won't have to re enter radio codes, have the computer relearn and so on. Plus, you'll know what actually happened with the engine when it bogged. Post back what the engine light code was.

[killin]

Originally Posted by Duck22

If the O2 sensor is wet does that mean it's usually shot?

yes, because the 02 sensor needs to heat up to have a accurate reading. it happened to me before.

[ItsOnlyASingleCam]

I'm leaning more towards maybe the MAF sensor got wet. After driving that far the exhaust would be hot enough to vaporize the water and turn it into steam that would be blown out by the exhaust gasses. The only time i have ever saw a wet O2 sensor is from a hell of an oil leak on 3 cylinders due to almost nearly demolished rings. I could be wrong but i probably aint. lol

[Road_Clam]

Originally Posted by Duck22

Well I'm new to the site so Hi! But down to business...

I was driving home today, which took me about an hour, and it started to down pour like monsoon status. Well I hit a puddle and the check engine light, vsa light, and ! with the triangle turned on and the car started to bog . I was able to drive it home cause at that point I was about a minute away. I got it into the garage turned it off then turned it back on and the only light that was on was the check engine and I immediately turned it back off. Now the car does have a CAI on it and I'm thinking it may have sucked in water but I don't think the car is hydrolocked cause I was able to drive it back and it did turn over in the garage.

Any ideas what the issue is and what actions I should take?

And I'm not turning the car back on until I get a handle on this cause I don't want to do anymore damage to it.

Btw, it's a 2008 Civic Si coupe.

Thanks in advance!

Sometimes in severe rains moisture around your ignition components can cause spark to jump and ground. I'll bet this is happening to you. The CEL is probably a "misfire" code causing the bad running. If you scan the CEL, it might even tell you what cyl(s) were misfiring. What you can do is yank all the sparkplug wires dry them real good with a hair dryer, and remove your distributor cap and do the same. Back in the day 4 wheeling off road, I always kept a spray can of WD40 in my truck, when it would rain or I would drown my truck in deeper water holes i would have misfire problems WD40 is an awesome "water dispersant" hence the name "WD"

[Nyzromeo]

So this happened to me also coming home from shopping it rained really bad my intake sucked in water and it stalled out oil light and battery lights on. I had it towed to my house. 3 days later I turned it on and it started. The only problem I have now is the rough idle and it stalls out when it rains. Same problems here. BTW have you fixed your car yet?

Originally Posted by Duck22

Well I'm new to the site so Hi! But down to business...

I was driving home today, which took me about an hour, and it started to down pour like monsoon status. Well I hit a puddle and the check engine light, vsa light, and ! with the triangle turned on and the car started to bog . I was able to drive it home cause at that point I was about a minute away. I got it into the garage turned it off then turned it back on and the only light that was on was the check engine and I immediately turned it back off. Now the car does have a CAI on it and I'm thinking it may have sucked in water but I don't think the car is hydrolocked cause I was able to drive it back and it did turn over in the garage.

Any ideas what the issue is and what actions I should take?

And I'm not turning the car back on until I get a handle on this cause I don't want to do anymore damage to it.

Btw, it's a 2008 Civic Si coupe.

Thanks in advance!

[ryanrasor]

Has anyone figured this out? I had a similar incident as OP tonight.

[ryanrasor]

After re-start the car was fine with the exception of the CEL. I disconnected the battery and now the CEL is off and the car appears to be okay. I am just scared this will be a reoccurring problem......I may put on my SRI during the winter months.

[Russell764]

Holy cow guys uninstall your cai's please!


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[dem2757]

Originally Posted by Russell764

Holy cow guys uninstall your cai's please!


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if you got a CAI for the sound and not the performance (lol) just mod the stock air resonator chamber. its much safer and makes the same sound

[jonofmac]

Wow. Don't install a SRI, they just suck hot air in. Might as well just install your stock box

There are things you should do for a CAI.
1)DO NOT REMOVE YOUR FENDER LINER. this is first and foremost as it provides the most protection. I mean come on??? It's obviously a shield for the motor and other components.

2) buy a hydro shield. It's just a mesh cover that goes over the filter and helps keep water out. If you properly install a cai, you won't have any rain problems unless you drive through puddles with water levels as high as your filter (which again, COME ON!!!)

[volvo9]

/\ Yeah, No inner fender / fender liner is asking for trouble, even without an intake it's not a good idea... lets dirt and water spray everywhere and get all over the engine and electrical connectors, it really accelerates wear from the elements.

For refrence... if anyones check engine light is blinking, it's an active misfire condition.

I'm also pretty sure that most of the people who have no problems after their car sits for a while and dries out, got water in the air flow meter. Still not ideal since those are expensive and delicate, but a better warning than engine failure, and still proves water is being sucked up.

I had a friend who installed an intake on a Tacoma... the kit put the filter right out in the open behind the front grille... guess who got a wet AFM on the first rainy drive...

[misturNICE]

happened to me the other day in my lancer GTS w/ a CAI, just got on break for christmas, figured i'd just ride through the rain/day and just get home before night, (400 miles away just a fyi) LOL, down pour literally... like usual driving 90+ mph... 20 minutes in, car throws a check engine light, then it says slow down... i was like sucha sweet car, telling me to slow down.... LOL, then it started bogging and decelerating on me to protect itself... drove back to original destination. didn't have my OBD2 or anything on me, cause I was driving home at the time.

all in all, i went to a mechanic, diagnosed the problem that the MAF was clogged with water, I figured it was that, but the manual said if a "Slow down" sign is popped, it means the CVT Fluid was overheating, so i went to a mechanic.

All in all, the CAI filter was soaked, the MAF was clogged with water. Dried it up, crashed for a night, and drove back next morning 90+ LOL hope it helped. Totaly forgot that CAI couldn't handle downpour didn't think it would suck rain that easy. Puddles yes, but rain... beats me. Hope this helps!