Washed out engine....HELP!!!

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Stang_So_Luckie

New Member

Jan 21, 2009

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Jan 21, 2009

#1

• Jan 21, 2009

• #1

Ok, so I called myself trying to be "Mr. Clean" and decided to wash my engine at the local car wash after changing my oil. This is the first time I have ever done this to Georgia (thats her name), I started her up and she was idling very badly, running very hard and vibrating. She is a 02' V6 and i need help fixing her.

 

DLFD911

New Member

Nov 1, 2004

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Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jan 21, 2009

#2

• Jan 21, 2009

• #2

Let it warm up and it should dry out I would think.

 

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Stang_So_Luckie

New Member

Jan 21, 2009

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Jan 21, 2009

#3

• Jan 21, 2009

• #3

It happen on Monday and its still running hard.....is there a time frame

 

Skymarshal

Member

Nov 5, 2004

572

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16

Dallas

Jan 21, 2009

#4

• Jan 21, 2009

• #4

You might be missing a cylinder. Try pulling the plug wires off of all the plugs and all the terminals on the coil pack (label or mark them to make sure you don't mix them up). Wait a few hours to let them dry out and then plug them back in.

If that doesn't work, you probably got water in one of the plugs under the hood. Do you have a check engine light?

Best way to wash the engine is to cover electrical parts as much as you can, and use low pressure flow from a garden hose. No hose nozzle and DEFINITELY no pressure washer! There are a lot of things that don't like being wet.

 

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Stang_So_Luckie

New Member

Jan 21, 2009

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Jan 21, 2009

#5

• Jan 21, 2009

• #5

Yeah I had a check engine light that would stay steady, then when I got over 2000 rpm it starts to blink.

 

ChingonStang

Member

Sep 19, 2004

308

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Dallas, Tejas

Jan 21, 2009

#6

• Jan 21, 2009

• #6

If I ever wash my engine, which is rarely, leave the engine running. And yeah..make sure you cover electrical parts and keep your hose away from them.

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Mod Dude

Feb 18, 2001

43,271

17,959

224

Massachusetts

Jan 21, 2009

#7

• Jan 21, 2009

• #7

Prob got a coil pack wet. You'll need to pull them out and make sure they are dried. If the CEL is on, stumble down to Autozone and have the codes read.

 

MustangLX-5.0

Founding Member

Dec 2, 2000

856

7

38

Lehigh Acres Fla.

Jan 21, 2009

#8

• Jan 21, 2009

• #8

And if the CEL blinks,it means a cylinder is misfiring or not firing at all.Whatever got wet should've dried out by now if it started on monday.Get the CEL read by a code reader and it'll tell you what cylinder is misfiring.

Funny thing,I've washed the engine on both my 92 and 96.The 92 I just had to cover the diz.The 96 I've blasted with water no problem.As long as the electrical connections are tight and the plug wires have dielectric grease in them,you'll be fine.Coil packs are sealed and shouldn't get water in them.

Yeah,you shouldn't pressure wash it.It's actually ok to use a very light pressure on the engine.But most pressure washers have a very high output.IF you do PW It,make sure the nozzle is set to it's widest spray pattern and dont stand too close.PW's can force water into places a normal hose wont.

 

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Stang_So_Luckie

New Member

Jan 21, 2009

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Jan 22, 2009

#9

• Jan 22, 2009

• #9

I disconnected each wire one at a time from the coil pack and got sparks from all but one. I changed out all the plugs and wires and it still not getting in sparks from that one connection on the coil park.

I have to wait till the CEL comes back on cause when I disconnected the battery it reset the system.

 

MustangLX-5.0

Founding Member

Dec 2, 2000

856

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38

Lehigh Acres Fla.

Jan 22, 2009

#10

• Jan 22, 2009

• #10

Sounds like a bad secondary coil.Here is why I believe this.The coil pack has 3 primaries and 3 secondary terminals.The primaries are 3 of the pins off the main harness (3 yellow wires usually).That is your 12V input pulse signal from the PCM,one to each coil.The secondaries are your plug wire terminals.There are 2 secondary terminals to one coil.Now,when a coil fires for say..cylinder 2,a lower voltage spark is also applied to cylinder 6. 2 and 6 are on the same coil.1 and 5 on another,3 and 4 on the third.

So if all but one plug is firing and the adjacent secondary plug IS firing then you probably got water in the coil pack somehow and it's internally arcing instead of though the plug terminal.Get an ohmmeter,and with the engine OFF,test the resistance across all 3 coils.Look at the attached image below.Now,test across terminals 1 and 5,then test across 2 and 6 then across 3 and 4.You should have a reading between 9k Ohms to 15k Ohms.If you get a good reading on the coil with the non-firing terminal then you probably got water inside it.

a new coil will run you around $60 or so at your local auto parts store.

 

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Stang_So_Luckie

New Member

Jan 21, 2009

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Jan 26, 2009

#11

• Jan 26, 2009

• #11

I would like to personally thank everyone for their advice.....after countless hours and help from the board I have finally got "Georgia" back to her old self. The problem was in fact the coil pack. Once it was replaced the sound of heaven came back into my garage. Thanks again everyone!