I am getting my engine put in tomarrow, but my car isn't running right and i don't know if i can make it to the shop. Heres the problom. Yesterday i power washed it (to get it nice and clean for the swap) But today it is acting weird. I know the water had to of done something. Whats happing is the check engine light and battery light came on (i am getting no codes) it was running fine though, but then i went to the gas station and it started acting weird. All my interior lights went dime and so did my headlights. Right befor it quit running i pulled into a friends house. I shut it off and when i tried to start it again it would just click. Then i waited 2 min. and tried it again, it almost started. I waited another 5 min and it started up fine. The idle was also going up and down from 800-1300 though. What the hell could it be? I just had a new alternater put on like 3 weeks ago. I need quick help. i have to drive it to the shop in the morning, and i don't know if i can make it.

 

My guess would be that water got into a bunch of electrical connections and is now causing all your electrical problems. It would be kinda hard to find the exact connections that are affected. This is why I'm not a fan of power washing or any kind of washing involving water in the engine bay.

 

well you dont wanna waste money on the motor...your best bet is to wait till the morning and try to make it...if not then tow it the rest of the way

 

Try taking off the distributor cap, and check the inside surface for moisture. Lots of times if you wash out the engine bay it'll gets a little water into the distributor cap. That would make your car run okay sometimes, and like crap randomly (usually at certain rpm ranges) until it's dried out. It MUST be taken off & given a half hour (or a blowdryer would speed things up) to dry out. As for the clicking but not starting, that sounds like a weak battery or the connectors to the battery terminals are loose. If you double check and they're tight, try borrowing someone else's battery (or use some jumper cables on yours) to give it full power to start with.

Hope that helps,

Ryan P.

 

Thanks, i'll give it a try in the morning