Had engine cleaned, car won't start.
 

I had my engine cleaned last night at about 7:00pm.

Afterwards it ran fine, but at about 2:30am it stalled and wouldn't start. WTF? Anyone have any ideas.

What do you mean by "cleaned"?

You took it to some professional and paid to get it cleaned?

You took it to your friend with a pressure washer?

You took a garden hose and sprayed your engine bay?



-Ted

I had that happen it was that water got in my spark plug boots.

Was it fully warmed up when it stalled? If not, it might have flooded. But first, just let it dry out completely.

Well, I did take it to my friend w/ a pressure washer. However, my friend is a "professional detailer" and did the work at his shop. We had it on the hoist, cleaned the whole thing.

The engine was not FULLY warmed up. I do have a flooding problem, so that was my initial reaction. I had it towed last night to a shop, and this morning I stopped by and tried to start it. Didn't go.

Edit: The engine was "shampooed" or "steam cleaned" after we degreased/pressure washed the entire engine, top and bottom.

I am not 100% sure that the cleaning is the culprit of this not starting problem, although I am sure it is quite likely.

If it's flooded, is it to the point where it's spinning freely with no compression?

If that's not the case, then the first thing to do is to check everything out thoroughly. Make sure all electrical connections are intact, all vacuum hoses connected, ignition wires, and all that kind of thing.

With my car, I could always start it when flooded by holding the gas pedal to the floor while cranking. This shuts off fuel in an '89-91, but I've been told (once) that this isn't the case in an S4 like yours.

I'm not sure what you mean by the first question. I can usually start my flooded car by holding the gas to the floor and flicking my fuel cut switch every couple of seconds, or by pulling the #1 (right most) 30A fuse, cranking it, then putting the fuse back in.

Neither of those worked last night, or this morning,

A seriously flooded engine sounds very different - like the starter motor is spinning, but the engine isn't. Sounds like you've got experience with flooding though! I guess we all do to at least some extent.

Yeah my car floods all the time. I'm still not used to the Fuel Cut Controller, and I forget to switch it off sometimes. :(

Does the car crank? I bet you got water somewhere...perhaps one of the coil packs.

Older cars like these have old brittle wiring that doesn't take to blasts of water like a new car. When cleaning the engine you've gotta take some precautions on older cars and cover some things up. Tin foil works great for this!

Yes the car cranks fine. I was a little worried about getting water in something but took no precautions. We were in a hurry, unfortunately.

If there is water in something, what do I do?

Verify spark plugs are firing first...
If water gets into the CAS, this could be the problem.
If there is water in the spark plug boots, this could be the problem.


-Ted

If either of those are the problems, how is it remedied?

a wrench, or a pair of hands and a couple of towels, or even better a hair dryer

Thanks.

it definetly sounds like an electrical problem.
either something was affected/damaged by the water (very likely if electric components weren't covered), or a connection got knocked loose.

Crap. That sounds expensive.

I am pretty sure that there were no exposed (live) wires anywhere. I didn't cover anything, but most of the wiring is new(er) and I don't care about anything that isn't live.

Hmm. Maybe I should just get the engine rebuilt and be done with all of these problems. Mmm, streetport.

But anyway. If it is something electical, is it something that is most likely easily fixed, or will some rewiring be needed, or worse, some electrical component will need to be replaced. I doubt this, because the car ran fine for 7 hours after having it cleaned, then just crapped out - that makes it sound a little fishy to me, however I am very new to rotary's and don't really know anything about any vehicle's electrical components anyway.

so it DID drive fine immediately AFTER the cleaning?
hmm...well you are going to have to do some extra diagnoses.

you have told us it cranks but just doesn't turn over? and you have FOR SURE ruled out flooding as the possible cause?

well what you want to do next is check if you are getting a spark, and then check to see if you are getting fuel.

- Aaron

Yes, it ran fine immediately following the cleaning. It cranks, but does not start up.

I have not 100% ruled out flooding. But as far as I know it is not a flooding issue. I let the car sit over night, tried to start it this morning and it still did not start. I had the fuel cut all night, as well.

Man, I thought you started it up right after cleaning, it ran for a few minutes, then died. I didn't realise you had run it so long. My guess is that whatever the problem is, it's unrelated to the washing. Got fuel in the tank?!

Just over a half tank

Rotaries won't un-flood themselves just because they sat all night like a boinger will. I'm not saying I think it's flooded, but maybe. pull your plug wires one at a time and hold 'em by the block while someone cranks, does it arc?

Yes...they can. Ive done it a lot. Believe me. Takes longer than a piston engine...but it WILL unflood itself.

Then your friend should know that a pressure washer is NEVER to be used in an engine bay. It forces water into all kinds of places it was never meant to be, as you have found out.

Ive never had a problem using pressure washers in engines. I just leave the car running, spray it all down with degreaser and let it sit running for a few..then spray away! Granted...I dont sit there and spray right onto electrical parts or parts that I KNOW shouldnt get soaked either. Then...I just let the car run for atleast 30 minutes to let it all dry out.

Ive done this numerous times and my dad has done it all his life. There is NOTHING wrong with using a pressure washer in the engine bay...you just have to use some common sense.