washed engine-no spark
 

My engine bay was sort of dusty and crudy looking so I washed it and now it looks great. The car started no trouble. But then it started to act as if it were going to stall out. I gave it a few shots of gas and left it about 20 minutes at idle to dry off and shut the engine off. 1/2 hour later I left to go for a drive and the car ran like the sweet thing she is until the engine just shut off. I pulled over and for several minutes tried to restart, no luck. Towed it home and left it sit over night, still wont start. I notices that when cranking there was no oil pressure buildup so I popped the hood and pulled and replugged everything that looked like a sensor on the engine and tried again. this time I got the oil pressure to show it was building during crank but still wont start. I pulled the first plug wire off and stuck a screw driver in the end and placed that near the exhust manifold and there does not seem to be any spark.
This is a 1987 300E Straight six of course, new wire in April of 07 new cap and rotor in 06 new plugs. I would say the only thing I have not changed is the coil...Is there a test for this.
Sorry this is so long winded....car has just under 200000 miles.

There is water in the dist cap.

Mike

I did this on my C280 once and i found that water got into the spark plug ports....Took the plugs out, sucked the water, used a hari dryer for a few minutes and all was perfect....

Have you checked your plugs for water?

Water in the crankshaft position sensor's terminal ? That could take longer to dry unless you pull it out and dry it.

The same thing happened when I washed my diesel:rolleyes:

I used to engage in the engine washing practice, but no more! Too many moisture-sensitive electrical components with newer (post 1990) cars!

I have had issues 100% of the times I did so with the W124...including A/C failure!! The issues sorted themselves out after a few days, but it is really annoying!

If you MUST do so, expect to just pull it in the garage and not drive it for a week. Things will dry out enough by then...

Right now WD40 is going to be your best friend. Spray down any of the above-noted electrical connections that could have been exposed to water, including the inside of your distributor cap, inside of your spark plug wires (cap and plug end) as well as the coil wire and quite frankly any other wires you can see. WD40 is hygroscopic so it will absorb water that may be causing the loss of spark.

But doesnt WD40 create a film of some kind ? I would just let the car sun dry. Would not use any other chemical.

WD40 is actually hydrophobic - it Displaces Water. It does a good job of drying electical components, but yes it does leave a non-conducting film.

Thanks for the help. doing the WD and wait.

Have you removed the dist cap and inspected for condensation inside? WD40 is not a magic bullet. You have to check the basics.

Mike

I would use a hair drier thoroughly on all the sensor/electrical areas.
Ideally after the car restarted it should be elevated to allow the job to be completed in the lower parts.
Odds that it will be Ok are very high.
But your case and the others described here discouraged me to wash the engine...
Jorge

Did you get it going?

never wash a engine! it has built up its grease coatings, and if you remove them not only will the positioning of elements go into disaray, but why would you open up a TV and wash it cause it was possibly dirty? You would think it wouldn't work either!

I like to keep mine clean so I can see if anything starts leaking. I haven't had any problems so far. I do go to pains to avoid spraying water into areas where there are electrical components anymore than I have to.