hey guys..

I played a prank on a former coworker (just before I quit) and threw a large pail of water on him while he was vacuuming his car. Obviously, I got water EVERYWHERE (dashboard, radio, seats, etc..).

After cleaning up my mess, we noticed that the radio (factory) didn't work (no sound/display, and the power antennae stayed down), and that the dot matrix display was a little distorted (looked a little hazy with a couple of missing dot displays).

The car is a 1995 SAAB and the ignition was OFF when it all happened. Now, everything else seems to have worked (power seats, climate control, cigarette lighter).

We pulled some of the dash apart and it was quite wet inside. After putting everything back together and trying the radio again, the display asked for the radio code (we had disconnected the radio completely), and the power antennae started to respond when we pressed the "on" button.

Just curious as to what sort of damage could've been done... or does everything just need to be dried out. I know that this was a dumb and possibly costly mistake.. thanks!

moderators: sorry if this is out of line with the board.

 

Pretty much anything that is electronic that got wet is at risk of failing immediately, or sometime in the future due to corrosion. Not to mention that if the water isn't completely dried out, mold and mildew will start to grow on anything that holds moisture. Things like seats, carpet, insulation... You get the idea. Oh, and what does metal do when you get moisture on it? Yep, it rusts.

I bet you're gonna enjoy paying for this mistake. Saab's aren't exactly plentiful in the junkyards, and parts houses don't stock many parts for them. That means? Dealership prices and markup for everything you ruined.

Bet you'll think twice before doing something that dumb again.

EDIT: Any corrosion that starts on wire is going to snake it's way down under the insulation, and in time will ruin entire sections of wire. Better hope that one didn't happen. I don't even want to know what a dealer would charge to tear out the entire dash and reinstall a new harness.