A suitable electrochemical characterization technique for studying water effects at low-humidity conditions is electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). In general, an EIS spectrum for a PEFC shows one or several capacitive loops and in some situations an inductive loop at the lowest frequencies depending on operating conditions. In this study, low-humidity effects in an operating polymer electrolyte fuel cell have been investigated by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), with the focus on the low-frequency impedance. Measurements have been carried out using several membranes with different thicknesses at various current densities and operating conditions. At frequencies, around 1 Hz down to 5 mHz a pseudo-inductive loop was seen. The magnitude of this loop increased with thicker membranes and at lower humidities. Based on the results the pseudo-inductive loop was attributed to water transport characteristics in the membrane, where the capacitive part is attributed to drying out of the anode and parts of the membrane closest to the anode while the inductive part is attributed to rehydration of the membrane and the anode by product water from the oxygen reduction reaction on the cathode. In addition, both the magnitude and the top-frequencies of the pseudo-inductive loop were affected by the flow rate. (C) 2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.005208jes]