Rinsed out engine bay, stall + no start Options

[dutchdettweiler]

Hi this is my first post. I had a hose blow coolant all over the motor the other day (having a few coolant related problems atm) I changed the hose, filled up the coolant but because there was coolant still on the tranny and such I got out the garden hose and sprayed everything down real good. There was a little steam hitting the header and such but not much. It stalled and when I went to start it back up maybe its my imagination but I thought I saw more steam then normal and smelt a little electrical type smoke. It turns over no problem the battery is strong but nothing. I left it 10 hrs and still nothing. I sprayed most of my electrical connections down with wd40 to pull the water out of them. I am at a loss. If I wake up and its still like that I may have to tow it. any ideas or suggestions. thank you very much for your help

[TClifton91]

I did this to my first car. The pressure from the hose forced water in to the plugs. Ended up having to replace plugs and wires. And you always want to put a bag over any major electrical components....alternator, distributor, etc.

[Bitter]

Check for water or moisture under the distributor cap. WD40 doesn't 'pull' water out of connectors once it's inside, nor does it water proof them. It only repels water that's not under pressure, like condensation from a heavy dew or splashed water when driving, or a light drizzle if you left the hood up.

[mi645]

its most likely ur distributor cap gasket is old or missing, and while u washed it down, water got inside the cap, usually u let the car sit for a couple of days and when the water dries up u can start it up, or just take out the cap, should be 2 8mm bolts. possibly 10, i forgrt. dry the cap and rotor etc. and run it

[dutchdettweiler]

it was the cap, no gasket. it was soaked and I gave it a light scruff on the terminals and blew it all out.
it started up instantly. thank you

[mi645]

ur welcome, and usually the caps have a gasket inbetween the dizzy and the cap, to prevent water from going inside, if no gasket that = resulting ur issue to happen.

[VavAlephVav]

ya always wrap the dizzy in plastic if you go anywhere near under the hood with a hose.