wont start after engine bay wash

[wildss]

first up sorry ive chucked this here but i need ideas asap

car is a vs 5.0
it was running while i pressure washed the bay/motor
started washing the wheels and it just died on me

* there was no water near/inside the dizzy, pulled the cap off and checked
*no water on the coil
*ive pulled every plug and blew everythign out of them including the main engine harness plug
*cant even get it to start with aerostart down its throat
*suspected ignition module so chucked suspected faulty one in the vn but it works
*it has spark
*fuel pump primes
*plugs arent wet
*sometimes does a little backfire after cranking for a bit
*catalytic converter is a letting off some sort of smell if that makes sense
*we got it to run about an hour after washign but it ran rough at high revs and it had a flat spot then died and has been a **** ever since

even my mechanic mate has run out of ideas

im hoping its not the hall effect sensor in the dizzy- can this be checked if its working btw?

anyone care to share some other ideas?

[jafo]

sounds like you soaked the wiring and its shorting out somewhere let it dry out and see what happens

[wildss]

i dont have 3 days lol , i need it to be running by 5pm tomorrow

i like your theory tho

[jafo]

wd40 everything electrical

[mavro]

pray and then grab a taxi.............

sorry had to do it...


good luck m8

[arrow224]

i dont have 3 days lol , i need it to be running by 5pm tomorrow

i like your theory tho

Room big enough to fit car + car in room + massive heater = dry ?

[Jecs]

get a 2nd car, jumper leads, and keep cranking it till it starts.

happens when i wash the stato engine. it gets water logged. usually let it sit and polish the car and then try and start if still no go i drive the ute into the shed and hook the jumper leads. always starts after that.

[Tsunamix]

Hmm..... 2 things spring to mind - Crank angle sensor - may be cracked allowing water penetration. If a tiny bit of moisture has got in you may get some odd resistance changes happening which means it's signal could be erratic. If it's got any grease on it afterwards it would seal the water in....

Clean it up and check it out.

Same deal with the throttle position sensor.

I guess it's possible that the O2 sensor has gone too, but the troubles your having don't seem to fit with what my mind suggests an O2 sensor could effect...That could mean my mind is wrong too :P

Pray like hell it's not a nick in the wiring loom somewhere allowing water into the loom, and randomnly shorting between some senosr cables (yes would also need a nick in the sensor cables inside the loom) because it would a pain in the almighties left trigger to trace it out and find it......

[Goon]

I dunno why u washed the car while it was running, electricals and water dont mix full stop.

I'd put it out in the hot sun for a day and see how it go's after that..

[love the general]

you could try puttin some floodlights on thereto create some heat and maybe dry it out like the painters use

[wildss]

yeah got it running this morning but it still has a miss now.

check out general discussion on sc, i started a thread there too and ive updated it

[levymetal]

just read your sc thread. check ebay, there's a guy who does reco ignition modules. $100 changeover. not sure about the miss though.

[Morton]

Almost certainly water has gotten into a sensor, or something electronic. It's going to be hard to track down, let's hope it's one of the first things you try

I hope more people read this, and stop sticking gurneys in their engine bays I've been telling people not to do this for years! lol

Tsunamix: There is no crank angle sensor on the 304. The function of that is taken by the hall effect sensor, which runs inside the distributor.

[andyman]

the joys of owning a new car with sealed connectors, can hose it down till the cows come home, and it'll still start,

does the engine light come on at all with it missing?

[Trevor 062]

Years ago I did the same thing & the shit heap wouldn't start..NRMA showed up & fired up the blow torch & dried out all the ignition leads with flame..sure enough it started..Mr NRMA recons the leads absord water..

[jas98]

i washed me vs v6 engine bay the other day....didnt cover up coils etc......only put litle bit of water on them...waited till dried and then it burnt out 2 coils.....one totally catus and teh other nearly....i cant belive it as they were new coils

[WogBoyz]

woa ive washed my engine bay with water pressure and without covering anything up , i washed my whole bay last weekend started right away no probs

and its a vs ecotec too

[wildss]

the joys of owning a new car with sealed connectors, can hose it down till the cows come home, and it'll still start,

does the engine light come on at all with it missing?

no engine light.

drove it home last night on the freeway and it was ok sitting in the driveway ideling and it had one slight miss this morning during the whole hour i drove it.

hopefully its soprted itself out lol.

btw i washed the ss engine the exact way and had no dramas at all

[Rossbx]

no engine light.

drove it home last night on the freeway and it was ok sitting in the driveway ideling and it had one slight miss this morning during the whole hour i drove it.

hopefully its soprted itself out lol.

btw i washed the ss engine the exact way and had no dramas at all

There is a good chance that you have a burnt plug lead. Try pulling each lead off and checking the connection on both ends. They should look bright and clean but if they are all black you will nee to replace them all. After saying that though, see how it is tomorrow morning after you start it up and see if the miss is still persisting, if not it may have dried out by then with aq bit of luck

[wildss]

it came good by itself somehow so im stoked

can someone move this to the correct section

[Jezza]

i washed the engine bay of my vl today and sprayed some wd-40 on the electric parts that wont like the water and the used some degreaser and washed it and then waited about 5 minutes and then started the car and there wasnt any problems

[jamesweinn]

Hey folk,

As I see it really a problem that every owner gets.. and you may nt have the evidence that the wires inside were shorted.. right..!! It may happened there in you case.. if you workout this under the floodlights you may find it.. I mean in the workshop you may find it..!!

James.

.

[ClairBear]

Go the thread dig.