I just washed the engine today. I used Simple Green and no pressure to wash it. Finally I rinsed it with a distilled water. I waited little bit and started it. It ran for about 3 minutes and then died. I tried again and it was doing the same thing. Than I kept it at 1500 RPM and it was ok but, once I let the gas it died again.

Any thoughts?

hmm maybe you got water into where the spark plugs go. this happened to my mazda once. i just left the hood open in the sun for a bit till everything dried then it ran fine. so i would suggest pulling off the covers on your engine (do you have them?) and pulling the plugs(?) coils(?) and let everything dry.


charles

hmm maybe you got water into where the spark plugs go. this happened to my mazda once. i just left the hood open in the sun for a bit till everything dried then it ran fine. so i would suggest pulling off the covers on your engine (do you have them?) and pulling the plugs(?) coils(?) and let everything dry.


charles

Yeah I have the cover but, right now its evening and no more sun. We'll see whats gonna happen when I go try to start it later on.

Spark plug wires are shorting out it sounds like.

Whenever I have had water where the spark plugs go the car runs, just lose power and hesitates. I would say give it some time to dry off and see what happens. Look for area that seem wet and see if you can dry them.

Whenever I have had water where the spark plugs go the car runs, just lose power and hesitates. I would say give it some time to dry off and see what happens. Look for area that seem wet and see if you can dry them.

Thanks. Well I did what I could. Later on I started and it died one time. Than I started again and after a while it was fine. I went to the bank, and when I started the CHECK ENGINE light stayed on. :help

Do you think the light will go off or I need to take it to the service?

you need to change out the spark plugs, that is why the light is on. A dealership will charge ~200 for it, you could probably get the plugs for 20-30 bucks too.

you need to change out the spark plugs, that is why the light is on. A dealership will charge ~200 for it, you could probably get the plugs for 20-30 bucks too.

But I dont understand how could water get in to spark plugs on a V8? They are so deep.

And I was not putting pressure with the water.

But I dont understand how could water get in to spark plugs on a V8? They are so deep.

And I was not putting pressure with the water.

A lot of people spew crap (including myself) on these boards. My fav. is "you need to change your O2 sensor :rolleyes . The only advice that I would give is DON'T over react and to take a GOOD look at your motor/engine bay. Look for exposed wires, you can take the engine cover off and look into the coil pack/ spark plug holes to see if you have water in there (to those who just say they are bad without knowing, I have had it happen TONS of times to me and have NEVER ruined a plug or had the car NOT start). Just look around, leave the hood open, put a fan (the more the better) blowing air in the bay to try to dry stuff out and if all else fails take it to a shop. You can remove the engine cover with a 10mm 1/4 socket IIRC. Think that is what I used on my dads.

Anyhow, good luck and don't start buying O2 sensors ;)

you need to change out the spark plugs, that is why the light is on. A dealership will charge ~200 for it, you could probably get the plugs for 20-30 bucks too.


I am not saying you are spewing crap with my above post but my car never set off a check engine light with water in my plug holes :dunno Plus, how do you know that he hasn't shorted out something else. I am not saying that you are wrong but from my experiance you seem like you are guessing.

A lot of people spew crap (including myself) on these boards. My fav. is "you need to change your O2 sensor :rolleyes . The only advice that I would give is DON'T over react and to take a GOOD look at your motor/engine bay. Look for exposed wires, you can take the engine cover off and look into the coil pack/ spark plug holes to see if you have water in there (to those who just say they are bad without knowing, I have had it happen TONS of times to me and have NEVER ruined a plug or had the car NOT start). Just look around, leave the hood open, put a fan (the more the better) blowing air in the bay to try to dry stuff out and if all else fails take it to a shop. You can remove the engine cover with a 10mm 1/4 socket IIRC. Think that is what I used on my dads.

Anyhow, good luck and don't start buying O2 sensors ;)

Lol, Thanks a lot. :)

So just letting you guys know that the engine starts and runs fine now but the Check Engine light is still on. I'am gonna disconnect the battery later on this morning, let it sit and reconnect and see if it that will reset the light.

Ok Guys just wanted to let you know that after having my car parked all night in the underground parking (5th floor!) at 85 degrees I started in the morning and the Check Engine light went off and everything looks good so far.

I feel better now.

hope all goes well

But I dont understand how could water get in to spark plugs on a V8? They are so deep.

And I was not putting pressure with the water.

haha EASILY! I did it on my 95. Its not as hard as one would think. I didn't use much pressure either, just a lot of water, thats what killed me. You gotta either mist it, or use a damp cloth on those engines. They are finiky.

why the hell would you want to wash your engine, and of all cars on a bmw? Especially a 7 series?

Imo you should not wash the engine bay with water, ever, just use a damp towel witha bucket of water and get that thing spotless. All those wires and water are a big no no. I had to change my dme because of water in the engine bay and that was from washing the car.

Good luck.

why the hell would you want to wash your engine, and of all cars on a bmw? Especially a 7 series?

Imo you should not wash the engine bay with water, ever, just use a damp towel witha bucket of water and get that thing spotless. All those wires and water are a big no no. I had to change my dme because of water in the engine bay and that was from washing the car.

Good luck.

I have even pressure washed my '01 Sport 2 or 3 times - no problems. Just do it on a warm day - leave hood open for several hours afterwards and use air or leaf blower to blow out excess water. I have washed ALL my cars this way, never had a problem. The worse or most temperamental are older Fords, believe it or not. :eyecrazy

Thanks everybody.

I wash all my engines with a bucket of soapy water, degreaser if necessary, and a hose. I even use a pressure washer for my old truck. One thing to note is that you should cover the alternator with a plastic bag held with a rubber band if it is in a convienient location. If not, just be careful not to spray it directly.

Sometimes water can get under the spark plug caps filling around the base of the plug. This will cause the spark to arc against the heads and make the engine run poorly. You do not need to replace the plugs in this case. Don't listen to these Three series kids because they don't know what the hell they are talking about :rolleyes Pull the plug wires and blow compressed air into the socket to dry them out. Should run like a champ afterwards. Check for water in other electrical connectors and such as well. The more elecronics your vehicle has, the more chances for water to get in and short things out. So on a car as complex as our 7-series I would recommend pulling the battery cable and letting everything dry out before re-connecting. For the most part the engine is designed to put up with some water on and around its components. That's how it got dirty to begin with, water splashing up.

I wash all my engines with a bucket of soapy water, degreaser if necessary, and a hose. I even use a pressure washer for my old truck. One thing to note is that you should cover the alternator with a plastic bag held with a rubber band if it is in a convienient location. If not, just be careful not to spray it directly.

Sometimes water can get under the spark plug caps filling around the base of the plug. This will cause the spark to arc against the heads and make the engine run poorly. You do not need to replace the plugs in this case. Don't listen to these Three series kids because they don't know what the hell they are talking about :rolleyes Pull the plug wires and blow compressed air into the socket to dry them out. Should run like a champ afterwards. Check for water in other electrical connectors and such as well. The more elecronics your vehicle has, the more chances for water to get in and short things out. So on a car as complex as our 7-series I would recommend pulling the battery cable and letting everything dry out before re-connecting. For the most part the engine is designed to put up with some water on and around its components. That's how it got dirty to begin with, water splashing up.

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate your help.

Sometimes water can get under the spark plug caps filling around the base of the plug. This will cause the spark to arc against the heads and make the engine run poorly. You do not need to replace the plugs in this case. Don't listen to these Three series kids because they don't know what the hell they are talking about :rolleyes Pull the plug wires and blow compressed air into the socket to dry them out. Should run like a champ afterwards. Check for water in other electrical connectors and such as well. The more elecronics your vehicle has, the more chances for water to get in and short things out. So on a car as complex as our 7-series I would recommend pulling the battery cable and letting everything dry out before re-connecting. For the most part the engine is designed to put up with some water on and around its components. That's how it got dirty to begin with, water splashing up.

You were much more to the point - I could not believe that comment about replacing plugs because they had gotten wet (on the outside).