Hello Fellow Barth Folks:

A few weeks ago, we had severe and torrential rains in So. CA. of all places. Unbeknownst to me, the bay which houses all the fuses and electrical stuff filled up with about 3 inches of water, which I bailed by hand. (I have since duct-taped the entire bay door area until we get back to our normal arid state around here).

Again, I was not aware of this water problem until later. I got in and she started right up and I took her out for a drive that day. The signals were were working, but as I travelled the water must have sloshed up and around in the bay and shorted the turn signals out. FORTUNATELY, there were NO other failures. Lights, brake lights, cruise control, radio, TVs, etc. etc. all work just fine. I shortened my trip and took her back to base camp, which is when I opened the electrical bay to find the ~3 inches of water.

Would anybody here have an opinion on where I would start to isolate this problem and correct it? Could it be something as simple as a fuse, for example? Or?

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

John Jacobson

When you say "shorted out" do you mean that the turn signals are on all the time or don't work at all? Probably is the turn signal flasher, It should be identified on the drawing on the door if that wasn't ruined by the water. Most relay are not sealed and if filled with water will corrode and fail quickly.

My suggestion - Dry everything thoroughly, perhaps using a hair dryer. Be sure everything is bone dry, then try your turn signals. If they still don't work, then start checking for blown breakers, fuses, etc.

More than once I've had circuits & equipment get soaked, & have it come back to life when all the moisture was gone. Even works on my wife's hearing aids (almost as expensive as a Barth) when she forgets to remove them in the shower.

quote:

Originally posted by John Jacobson:

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

I, like MWrench, am of the opinion that your flasher is burnt/shorted out.

Seeing that you did not post a photo and Ed answered your question I didn't respond to this post. We now have a photo of an electrical panel for you to look at.

Go to the post titled: Dim Dash Lights and let us know if you have additional questions.

This should be pretty close to yours to get you into trouble.

I live on Vancouver Island where we occasionally have a little rain..I have had the same problem with water puddling in the electrical compartment...added extra weatherstripping but couldn't solve the water entry..I made it easier to get rid of the water by drilling a 3/4" hole in the bottom of the cabinet with a removable plug..check after every good rainstorm.

I also have experianced the pooling of water in the electrical compartment and found a big leak above the driver's side window. The window frame had separated from the sheet metal about 1/4 inch on the top side and some good silicone fixed most of the problem. It also accounted for carpet wetness under the sofa.

However, I must admit that I recently found the compartment wet again. The search coninues -----. At least the fix lasted about 2 yrs.