i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :(
10-06-2003, 04:41 AM
#1
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i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :(
ok i cleaned my engine bay yesterday....i bagged up the distributor and everything else i was supposed to. When i got done i started it up and everything seemed fine. Then as I was driving down the road it started to stutter everytime i got past 3k rpm's. So i brought it back to my house and checked it out. Nothing really seemed wet and i went to start it again and the car wouldn't even start....it would just stutter and stuff and stall out. Now i can't even get the car to turn over. I even tried jump starting it. I think that some water must have gotten into the distributor or i burnt out the coil or something. I took off the distributor cap and it didn't seem to be wet...i need help 
10-06-2003, 04:51 AM
#2
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (SOHC_MShue)
Hate to sound redundant, but it does sound like you still got some water in the distributor somehow.
Are your plug wires very secure over your spark plug tubes? I wonder if they weren't fitting perfectly if you could have gotten water in some of the plug galleys.
Are your plug wires very secure over your spark plug tubes? I wonder if they weren't fitting perfectly if you could have gotten water in some of the plug galleys.
10-06-2003, 04:55 AM
#3
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (B18C5-EH2)
well i removed the plug wires from the spark plug holes and stuck them in the bag that covered the distributor. I also stuck plastic bags into the spark plug holes so they wouldn't get wet. I'm guessing i should have just left the wires plugged in there? I did notice a little bit of water on the end of the plug wires. I think some water may have gotten in the bag.
10-06-2003, 04:57 AM
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (B18C5-EH2)
That sounds about right, I had the same problem the other day, it turned out that there was water in the spark plug tubes, and the car was misfiring. I just took the pump sprayer off of some windex, and put the tube in the hole, to spray out all the water. It worked pretty well, but thats just a bit of ghetto engineering
10-06-2003, 05:01 AM
#6
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (SOHC_MShue)
shouldn't my car be turning over though? It seems like my battery is dead. Maybe i drained it while trying to start it so much. I tried jumping the battery with jumper cables and it didn't work. By the way what are the best points on the car to connect the cables? It sais to connect the negative side to the grounding wire over by the power steering pump, but there is no way that my cables are gonna reach apart that far.
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10-06-2003, 05:13 AM
#8
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (FlatLineEG8)
yea i tried that, but it still didn't work. Also do you guys know the order that the wires go back onto the distributor? I kinda forgot when i took them off to pay attention where they went back.
10-06-2003, 05:23 AM
#10
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (SleepyDX)
you mean to the position that starts it? Does anybody know the order for the spark plug wires to go on the distributor for a y8?
10-06-2003, 05:24 AM
#11
Former Moderator
Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (SOHC_MShue)
If the car doesn't even turn over it sounds like it could be a starter-related thing.
Damn it diagnosing cars on the net is so frustrating.
When you try to jump the car (hooking up another battery to yours) is it still not even turning over?
As someone else said, do you hear one distinct "click" from the atarter area when you turn the key?
If so, have someone hit your starter with an extension and a hammer while you turn the key - your starter brishes could have gotten locked up. I wash my engine bay and have never had any ill effects on my starter, but I guess with water getting into the starter brushes anything's possible.
I also crank my car up immediately following any engine bay cleaning too though. Kind of steam cleans/dries everything.
Damn it diagnosing cars on the net is so frustrating.
When you try to jump the car (hooking up another battery to yours) is it still not even turning over?
As someone else said, do you hear one distinct "click" from the atarter area when you turn the key?
If so, have someone hit your starter with an extension and a hammer while you turn the key - your starter brishes could have gotten locked up. I wash my engine bay and have never had any ill effects on my starter, but I guess with water getting into the starter brushes anything's possible.
I also crank my car up immediately following any engine bay cleaning too though. Kind of steam cleans/dries everything.
10-06-2003, 05:31 AM
#12
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (B18C5-EH2)
well i hear the noise when you initially turn the key to start the engine. Like the chug chug chug chug chug chug type sound...i guess thats how you describe it 
. It doesn't do anything after that. It just keeps doing that and won't start. I think i have heard the clicking sound as i turned the key into the off position. I think thats normal though isn't it?
. It doesn't do anything after that. It just keeps doing that and won't start. I think i have heard the clicking sound as i turned the key into the off position. I think thats normal though isn't it?
10-06-2003, 10:14 AM
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (SOHC_MShue)
Matt this is what you get for washing your engine w/o my supervision , but it's not your battery if your car is "chugging" so it has to be your starter/distributor, and also Matt your plug wires should say which cylinder they go on, and on my car cylinder 1 is the closest to the cam gears. Call me today, and we will try and get it started.
, but it's not your battery if your car is "chugging" so it has to be your starter/distributor, and also Matt your plug wires should say which cylinder they go on, and on my car cylinder 1 is the closest to the cam gears. Call me today, and we will try and get it started.
10-06-2003, 10:28 AM
#18
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (FWD_4G63T)
i know its not my battery, but i think i drained it while trying to start my car so much. I think trying to start it after the decarbing earlier on in the day helped drain it too. Also yea i have already figured out that 1 is the closest to the cam gear, but i don't think my plugs say where they go on the dizzy. Does anybody know??
10-06-2003, 10:40 AM
#19
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (B18C5-EH2)
hey bro, it's tabias man, thats stinks about your car, and since i don't know anyting about it ill just say check your plug wires haha sorry i can't really give you any advice, my username on here is preacherboy lata man 
10-06-2003, 10:47 AM
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (preacherboy)
check all fuses and relays. then test your battery. Maybe the alternator fuse popped and you drained your battery. Just a thought. But yeah check all fuses first. 
10-06-2003, 10:55 AM
#21
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (preacherboy)
hey man whats up. Yea its just a little problem. I don't think its any big deal. I gotta figure it out though because i'm sick of driving my automatic 4cylinder truck
10-06-2003, 11:03 AM
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (SOHC_MShue)
Ill check on my plug wires tonight and let you know the order man!! That chug noise is your fuel system getting pressure (someone correct me if Im wrong!)
10-06-2003, 11:06 AM
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you guys need to COVER your alternator when washing engine bay. water saturates the armiture inside the alternator(that big green thing that spins inside) and when you start the car the first time after the wash, you get reverse current to the alternator which in turn shorts it out. the chugging you experienced after the wash was the alternator dying and the battery picking up the extra needed current to run the fuel injection. pull your alternator and have it tested.
10-06-2003, 11:23 AM
#25
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Re: i cleaned my engine bay and now my car is dead :( (Ricey McRicerton)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ricey McRicerton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ill check on my plug wires tonight and let you know the order man!! That chug noise is your fuel system getting pressure (someone correct me if Im wrong!)</TD></TR></TABLE>
thanx man!
thanx man!
