I did some searching but found no real solution in the forums and thought my case was a bit more specific and probably due to the rain. Just thought someone could see my situation and help pinpoint the problem.

Rained really hard last night, i turned on my car no problems to start, and then VDC/Slip goes on and Speed/Tach meters falls to 0 after about 2 minutes of driving.

On my way to work, none of my signal lights responded, high beams, etc.

Tried starting my car and no go once i parked it, I checked the IPDM and it doesnt look like it had much water there (seemed pretty clean).

Played around a bit more and the car finally turned on. But VDC/Slip lights are still on.

Do you have any solutions from your past experience? Any help would be awesome.

Some thoughts and research i have done for solutions:
- Wait longer for IPDM / Battery to dry (im in california)?
- Reconnect Battery?
- Could it be brake fluid? I have half when i checked
- Rear differential plug? (i read on this and it could be the problem since i got the oil change a few months back.)

Thanks.

 

Just to state the obvious that I have forgotten many times before, check that the bolts on the lines to the battery terminals are tight, had some 20-30 min scares before realizing the negative terminal was loose. Good luck!

 

Thanks, I wanted to confirm the fix / solution to this problem

For those who might be in the same situation here is what I did to remedy my issues. I thought the forums had great information but wanted to share my story as well for anyone searching.

PROBLEM:
- Happens right after a rainy day.
- VDC / Slip Lights stay On
- Speedometer and Tach stay at 0 (no miles are registered when driving)
- Occasional headlights turning off and on, followed by steering controls (wipers, high beams, etc) stop responding as far as the indication lights go.
- Car does not start unless giving some time charge or cool off.

MY FIX:
- First thought when reading through the forum was that the IPDM was damaged due to the heavy rain or puddle i ran into. This was the culprit.
- Pulled out the battery after removing the trim portions, at first it did not look like there was any water filling up underneath until after i got the battery out of there. Sure enough there was about an inch high of water sloshing around as the bottom dips in.
- I dried out the water with some towels and drilled some holes (after taking it out) to prevent this in the future (crossing fingers)
- I pulled the IPDM (located left of battery for my 06 model) out of where it is clipped on and tried my best to unplug all the wires closest to where the water was.
- I couldnt get all the plugs out of the IPDM so I brought the dryer to the IPDM to dry out any water remaining. I checked for corrosion and luckily everything looked okay.
- After putting everything back in, I fired up the car and it responded very well better than it had, BUT the VDC / Slip lights were still on - i was pretty depressed and thought I'd check it in the morning and give it some more time.

- Sure enough the next morning fired it up to go to work and NO MORE lights and everything back to functioning the way it was originally.

Some things to consider:
- I live in Southern California so it does not rain as much and so finding a permanent solution is still needed. i hope my drilled holes work but there are no guarantees and I'm sure my next rainy challenge wont be coming for awhile.
- I have read many other solutions to VDC/Slip lights being on such as the rear differential plug not being connected, or cam sensors (3 of them) needing to be replaced, and the best thing to do is getting the codes for the errors.

Hope this helps, thanks.

 

Something to add to this fix. If you can't get the connectors loose on the IPDM, hose it down with WD-40. WD stands for water displacement.

 

yeah the same thing happened to me. i actually end up putting a plastic bag over the cover of the IPDM. if you look at the holes on the side of the car where the fender meets the hood, it looks like water can drain into those holes and into the cavity, to where the battery is. I ended up just covering the holes with some tape. it won't prevent water from completely getting in, but it should reduce the amount that falls in.

i wasn't as diligent as you, so i just let it dry on its down. it took about a week.