Rain = Errors Galore!

[TheAspieDad]

Fired up the '09 D5 this morning - the first time it's met rain in my ownership.

After only a few minutes driving through the heavy rain, it spat out an anti-skid temporarily off message, BLIS service required, and something else I forgot, again brake system related.

The rain could be a red herring, but driving home this afternoon in the dry, all faults disappeared.

Any clues as to what could have triggered it?

[AidXC90]

Originally Posted by TheAspieDad

Fired up the '09 D5 this morning - the first time it's met rain in my ownership.

After only a few minutes driving through the heavy rain, it spat out an anti-skid temporarily off message, BLIS service required, and something else I forgot, again brake system related.

The rain could be a red herring, but driving home this afternoon in the dry, all faults disappeared.

Any clues as to what could have triggered it?

Hi TheAspieDad,

XC90s leak... a lot.

1) It's possible that you have a leak from the scuttle area in front of the windscreen or in the valley between the suspension turret and the right hand side of the engine bay - lots of posts on here about leaking XC90s from me and others. Username Binty discovered the source of one particularly stubborn leak - the one between the suspension turret and engine bay side - so search for posts with his name if you need to.

2) If your leak is from high up, such as the scuttle panel under the wiper mechanism, it could be caused by blocked scuttle drain tubes allowing water to back up and get in under the plastic cover that protects the main wiring loom as it passes from the engine bay into the CEM (one of the main on-board computers). This kind of leak also applies to the passenger side of the car and water can back up from a blocked drain on that side and get into the blower motor - like mine did. If water runs down the loom wires in front of the driver, it could get into the CEM which is positioned high up under the dashboard to the right of the steering column.
Water could also run down from here under the carpet and get into the anti-yaw sensor located under the driver's seat and amplifier. That could cause the anti-skid messge. My anti-yaw sensor was corroded beyond belief and I had about a centimeter of water sloshing around under the carpets after a long-standing bulkhead leak, although my leak was from near where the steering column passes through the bulkhead. The source of that leak was, I think, the one identified by Binty although I have yet to check it out myself on my car.

3)If your car has a sunroof - luckily mine doesn't - you may also find it's drain tubes are blocked which can also cause water to flood under the carpets, affecting the anti-yaw sensor and perhaps generating other messages? I don't know about the other messages you're getting but I presume a leak from higher up - say from the scuttle - could cause these messages from within the CEM.

If your leak has only just started you may be in luck and the anti-yaw sensor may not have corroded beyond help. You will have to remove the front carpet to check and dry this area thoroughly, for which you need to unbolt the front seat (4 bolts hidden under plastic clip-on covers), tip it backwards to release the carpet and remove the carpet by pulling it from under the various plastic trim pieces. The carpet is bonded to about 10cm of solid polystyrene insulation so the carpet will almost never show dampness from below as it floats on top of the water. I only discovered that I had a leak by stopping suddenly and hearing to the sound of rushing water as the water flowed from rear footwells to front whenever I braked. I thought I was going mad at first because I had dry carpets, until I removed them...

Sorry for the length of this reply but it's been my nasty experience recently that first generation XC90s leak worse than old Discoverys, and the location of their computers and various electrical gizmos means you may be in for a nasty surprise if you don't nip this in the bud asap.

I hope your leaks - if you have any - aren't so serious and that you can solve them easily, unlike me.

Regards,

Aidan Collingwood

[harveys]

Also could just be a battery fault .

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by harveys

Also could just be a battery fault .

Copy that - if the system voltage drops for whatever reason (alternator problem, battery etc.) DSTC/Anti skid messages are invariably the first warning signs.

[binty]

Hi The Aspie Dad,

Easy way to check the front footwell is to pull off the carpet trim on the side of the centre console. (it just pulls off on spring clips, fully remove it).

You can then pull the carpet away a little from the centre and wiggle your hand down the side near the parking brake pedal. When you get to the floor you can feel the bottom of the foam, if its wet it can hold litres of water like a huge sponge, you should be able to feel it.
This is the quickest and easiest method.

The other alternative is to slide the drivers seat back. and up, remove the three 10mm screws on the amplifier, lift it out and get in to the back of the front carpet that way. You may have to remove the power plug from the amp it can be a short wire, the others are long enough to lift it out. Don't kink them, the orange pair are optical feeds. Disconnecting the power to the amp doesn't bring any codes on either, (well it didn't on mine), but make sure keys are out of ignition to be sure.

If you do need to remove the carpet it can take days to dry, a piece of 100mm builders flooring foam cut to shape and covered with a plastic bag (unless you like polystyrene balls everywhere), makes an acceptable temporary floor so you can keep driving the car whilst investigating.

Let us know how you get on please.

[TheAspieDad]

Thanks chaps... once I manage to find a free hour (before it rains next!) I'll have a poke around starting from the scuttle.
Will let you know when I find a moist patch......