Does my car have gremlins?

I’m at a loss to explain recent events so I thought I’d try this place.

The radio in my car stopped working, it appeared there was no power to it at all. Then after a week it suddenly starts working again.

The car (52 plate Mondeo Estate TDCi) got a cleanout last weekend as some water had appeared in the rear footwell, I assume this was a spill from taking stuff to the dump. after that when I started it the trip computer reset – dials all to max, units default to Fahrenheit etc. I’ve no idea why. Then I noticed the radio was dead,(pioneer aftermarket head unit if that makes a difference). I checked the connectors and all seamed good there. Then this weekend it did a longer trip on Saturday then on Sunday the radio had power.

So, what’s going on? What would explain this? Is something else going to fail? Is my car haunted?

It’s bugging me that I can’t explain this.

Check the scuttle tray under the bonnet, specifically the drain holes into inner wings as water can accumulate due to leaves/moss etc and this can lead to water ingress into the bulkhead where wires/ecu can be affected. And check all the earths in the engine bay are secure and not corroded.

Or it could be cat-aids

Are there any electrical modules under the seat where the leak was? Sounds like a controller has got water in it.
They may well be under the carpet

Does my car have gremlins?

Did you put fuel in it after midnight?

some water had appeared in the rear footwell, I assume this was a spill from taking stuff to the dump.

carpets and sound insulation can soak up a lot of water before an water ingress becomes apparent – maybe lift and have a look underneath – you might have had water coming in for longer than you realise

The only electrics under the seat are for the electric seat adjust, as far as I can tell. The wiring from the radio goes into the rest of the loom and back to the fusebox behind the glovebox.

I’ll Check the scuttle tray.

I can’t help thinking the computer reset and the radio are related and it worries me slightly that there may be something larger going on.

Or cat-aids.

Did you put fuel in it after midnight?

And do the problems only manifest themselves when it’s raining?

Our Focus did similar things just before the alternator went dead short

are any other Gizmo’s not working or is it just the radio?

How old is the battery? It’s been quite cold this week and if it were near it’s end, the things your describing are common signs of a dying battery.

When my alternator went it would either produce a voltage spike, or short out entirely at random, the engine still ran but the speedo would reed zero until you turned the ignition off and on again). They might not all fail the same but I think you’d notice more weirdness if it was doing anything other than failing to charge.

The other two points water commonly get’s into Fords is the AC condenser drain gets blocked causing it to trickle in through the front foot wells.

Or the air outlets in the back become detached, allowing water flowing down between the panels to get in (and then run down the inside of the boot to the footwells).

It can be a PITA to trace as by the time its deep enough for the carpet to feel wet you could have bucketfuls of water under it. Which will evaporate/condense or move by capillary action until the whole interior is soaking wet.

Condensation/moisture sensor in the Head unit? Pioneer seem like the sort of folk that might fit something like that?

The steering wheel controls in mine for the radio lose functionality or recover if I accidentally stall it.

Hmmm, Foo’ed on Rainy Days…

This was the fuse box in my mates Audi Allroad, located under the above mentioned scuttle. Relay bases were completely corroded. Car was a 10 plate and mint in all other respects. New car followed shortly after!

It doesn’t look anything like this, does it?

It doesn’t look anything like this, does it?

I wish….

Thanks for all the suggestions, The battery/alternator is a good shout it sort of fits with it working again after a long run. It did weird stuff after being cleaned on a dry day so perhaps the rain/water thing is a red herring? I’ll be checking all the drain holes I can find anyway though.

It did weird stuff after being cleaned on a dry day so perhaps the rain/water thing is a red herring?

Cleaned = hoovered or cleaned = water?

I had a breakdown years ago in a mk2 golf, it turned out the ignition module/associated wiring was getting flooded due to leaves blocking drain holes. There was a fair bit of corrosion on one of the drain holes too, I’m always pretty anal about removing leaves about these areas these days.

I would be checking earthing etc. too, and looking at the alternator more than I@d look at the battery (if it’s starting OK, the alternator will keep the voltage OK when you’re driving unless something is amiss – I did once have an alternator make everything go crazy on me, all the dials up to full, lights brighter and all warning lights on! Dipping the clutch and going to idle sorted it but it wasn’t great fun)