HELP! I f*cked up, WATER + Engine don’t go together

[ptlude]

Okay jus would like to clarify, I must be the stupidest guy im the galaxy

not know jackShit about cars, this morning decided to wash my car, I got carried away and wash engine of my 1999 Prelude vti-r as well, I watered the whole thing down, now my car is totally f*cked,
help, suggestions,
wat could possibly be wrong with it, how much would it cost for repair

[philBo]

far out man...bad luck..gotta be really careful when washing underneath the hood...

when you mean totally ****ed? are you like saying it wont start n shit?

[Stabo]

Well if you got water on your distributor or battery then that isnt cool :(

What does the car do when you turn the key? If it does nothing at all then you've probably wrecked the battery. If the cars electronics light up and engine churns but fails to start then you might have shorted the distributor.

Your best bet is to get a mobile mechanic to come check it out...

Good luck.

[ekslut]

Does it actually start? Or does it just run rough or what. Give us some more details so we can help try to work out what it could be.

[SKREMN]

Is your car missing and just running like shit???

[ptlude]

hmmmm, thanx for the reply dude, hmmm well after washing my engine i took it 4 a spin, 10 min after i notice the problem, the engine wont fire properly it switched off, I managed start the engine with abit of difficulty, luckily i manage take it home, I haven’t start the car since, waiting for it to dry, hoping everything would be alright
Any help or comments is highly appreciated

[ptlude]

It was pretty rough when I was taking it home, It couldn’t over 5k, it switched like 3 times,

I just went outside and manage to start the car, but im still scared to drive it, becoz it might break down on me, i think im gonna wait another 3 hours for it to dry
Appreciate the help guys

[sivic]

sounds like you got water in the dizzy for sure or down your sparky holes

[civiceg9]

take of your distributor cap and check if it is wet
use a blow dryer to dry the internals. if you can.

[bigteethygrin]

next time use a plastic bag to wrap the dizzy and alternator.. should save you when you wanna wash the engine

[Kenshin3180]

Almost definately the distributor. Don't panic. Just do as civice9 said. You should be fine.

[Steer^Gimic]

when i used to be detailer this used to be a regular occurance. battery should be ok to get a bit wet, but if you can use one of those blow guns connected to a compressor and give the dizzy, spark plug ports and maybe even your fuse box (you'd be surprised) it may work.

[**Ghost**]

i reccommend that for engine washing use a rag... with degreaser not water

[euro1978]

Agreed. Wait for your engine to cool down completely and use some cheese cloth with a degreaser or alternate engine cleaner and you can achieve a good result without the need to take to it with the high pressure hose which in my mind is unnecessary save for people who go 4 wheel driving.

[ptlude]

GOD bless Honda, I took it for a spin today, took it to 120km on a straight road, v-tec kicks in at around 5000rpm, as far as I know everything seems fine, well at lest I hope so,
I sure learnt my lesson this time,

Hmmm so u guys think I should take her or a check up to make sure

[tRipitaka]

yes.. check her out..

[DaPlaya]

u were lucky, when i first bought my LS (not knowing what a dizzy even was) i washed my engine bay at carlovers... smoke started coming out from the alternator and a strong burning plastic smell came out...car died. I'm pretty confident however that ur lude will be fine.

[DNYALL]

hmmm.......I washed my engine bay on thursday and the car seems fine. Although i did cover the battery and some of the other electricals up with plastic bags. Spray of degreaser and then soft spray of water accross the engine bay did the trick.

[ptlude]

hmmm LOL my mate was telling me other other day.he did a similar thing, but he was unlucky water got into his valve and ****ed up the engine, cost him like $1500 to repair, poor bastard

[j0nbubz]

by what you explained, you sound very lucky.. be careful when washing under hood man..

hope it turns out all right. get a pro to look at it if its all good next time u start it up

[spardikis]

i agree with steer gimic.... but you should also take out the spark plugs and blast the hell out of them as well... ive had water down on my sparkies from washin several times. It should be right as rain

[bubblecivic]

Ohh.. so it's okay to degrease the engine, leave it for say a few minutes and then just wipe it off?? I'd always hose it off but this seems like a safer way.

[ptlude]

yeah im thinkin of taking it to NRMA, i jus got this car aswell, I don’t know any reliable mechanic really, I live in the Sydney, Lansdale (Liverpool) any know and good 1 around?

[Mooro]

All these people washing their engines...I take it if you have a pod filter or some other exposed intake then you cover this???
If you get water in the pod and then it gets sucked into the engine then you are really stuffed!

[sivic]

yeah cover it to be safe. although it doesnt matter if a little water splashes on the filter.