AndyK

I remember seeing someone ask about this a while back, but the search turned up nothing, so:

I hand-washed my car on Saturday, and cleaned the wheel-wells with a "jet" setting on my hose head. I must have gotten water into something...because when I took the car out this morning, it stalled, and sputtered it's way to the station??

I assume it's water causing this sudden problem. Question is, will it work itself out, dry up, or what? Can I do damage to the cam chain, belts, etc. if I run the car and it sputters like one of the cylinders is cutting in and out?

What to do?

dualblade

if it's electrical, most likely when the water dries it will go away. that seems to be what happened to most people here. i would think that at the worst, the water might cause a short and possibly drain the battery.

i guess it's also possible that the engine ingested water, but i'd say that's pretty unlikely. i don't really see it being able to make it past the filter but i guess anything's possible

DerSchlechtSpecht

Andy I had a similar problem that got worse over time. It turned out my distributor and spark plug wires were bad. IF you want to check yours, just take them off and spray WD-40 on the inside of the distributor, all the outward contacts, and all the Spark plug wire contacts. If the car runs fine then you know that there in lies your problem.

Good Luck
Christian

Luis de Prat

Along the lines of what Christian says, did you open the hood at all during the washing? I usually cover the distributor cap with a grocery bag to prevent this kind of problem. Should go away after it dries fully.

AndyK

Why would they be fine one day, and bad, right after the wash? I think the wires and distributor are OK.

I will have to NOT use the power setting to clean the wheel wells from now on I guess.

Luis de Prat

AndyK, water and the distributor cap/wires do not mix. If the wires are cracked at all, you'll get erratic ignition. Try turning the car on in the dark and checking the wires for "fireworks."

AndyK

If I did get water in there, will it dry up by itself, or do I have to do something? I can't think that the same amount of water wouldnt fly up there while driving in a heavy rain...

Luis de Prat

Well, have you driven the car much in the rain yet? Was the car warm when you washed it or did you wash it cold and then attempt to start it? Water will penetrate more easily when the engine is cold.

Of course you may have a different problem than the water alone, but I'd give it a few hours to dry properly before looking for alternatives. Are both front fender liners in place on your S2?

AndyK

I washed the car cold, then didn't drive it till this morning, so it sat for a day in the garage.

If the fender liners are missing, doesn't that mean accident/fender replacement? I'll have to check that!

Luis de Prat

Well, next time you wash the car, be sure to drive it immediately afterwards while stepping on the brakes periodically to air everything out. It sounds to me as though water found its way into places it usually doesn't because the car was cold and sat after you washed it.

As for the fender liners, they're pretty enormous on the S2 and should be very easy to check .

pete944

I need to pressure wash the engine to clean it up. I plan to zip tie a plastic bag over the distributor cap. Anything else I should cover up before I wash it?

Luis de Prat

MAKE SURE TO COVER THE CLUTCH INSPECTION HOLE!!!

Also cover the sensor bracket at the back of the head.

pete944

Thanks Luis. I'm going to concentrate on the bottom of the engine but I'm not going to take any chances.

DerSchlechtSpecht

It isn't that the water gets in there, it is the ambient moisture present under the hood that causes irratic ignition.

944pete I would not recommend "Power Washing" your engine. Try disconnecting your negative battery lead. Spraying 2 cans of GUNK engine foamy brite all over the place. Let is sit for 1/2 hour. Then rinse lightly with a garten hose. After it dries spray some tire wet foam on the engine (don't get any on your belts or they will squeal to no end) and ou la engine looks brand new.

Christian

DerSchlechtSpecht

Oh don't forget to reconnect the negative lead. I once spent about 3 hours trying to diagnose my "No Start" problem after washing the engine, then I realized I didn't reconnect the power!

Stupid Me
Christian