Washed the Z today.Like I normally do nothin special.I usually wash lightly under the hood with low pressure water from hose.Never a problem.
But today after that I try to start it .It just buzzes/rattles somwhere in the engine compartment.The guages in the dash speedo&tach are jumpy,and the trunck popped open w/o hittin the trunk release.
Did I screw my car? I kinda already know something got wet...but what?And will the car start later after whatever dries?

Bummer and the battery is still green eyed even though the way it sounds when tryin to start sounds like dead battery.But started before the wash to get it out of the garage.Any help would be appreciated if you have had this happen or have info for me about this.
99 Z28 6sp

 

Don't know what you got wet, might have been one of the fuse boxes but I bet it will start after you give it time to dry, I would give it time to completelly dry before I tryied to start it again Don't worry.

 

I have no idea what you got wet.
When I hose under my hood I leave it running just in case something does go wrong the engine is hot and the water with evaporate faster. Also let it run after you hose it off to be on the safe side.

 

Yikes man, that does not sound good, most electronic things will be fine after they are dried, but I'm not sure about a car. You may have fried something when you tried to start it. Let it dry out for while. It might take a long time to dry, like a week or so, put a fan on it to speed it up.

 

same thing happened to me just this evening...acted like the battery was dead. I jumped it and it started after 20 mins. I'm gonna get it tested later today.

Btw, it's a 99 Z28, 2 weeks old.

 

In my opinion washing it while its running is very risky, I would not recommend it, there are several things that can go wrong.

 

sorry to hear your bad luck. Like someone else said, most electronics work fine after they dry, as long as you didn't fry anything when you tried to start it. My cell phone went through a full wash cycle, it worked fine once it was totally dry. I would leave the hood open, use a fan to keep air circulating around it to help all water evaporate quicker. Seems risky to wash under hood of car. I just settle for a nice wipe down.
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Go buy a can or two of Wire-Dryer...you should be able to get it at any parts store....spray all electrical connects as per directions. This will speed up evap.

And I always let the engine run when cleaning it so I can back off the water if funny things start happening and to keep water evaporating. I use intermittent quick spray bursts to rinse the engine, and try to keep the engine pointed nose up in my driveway so that water doesn't pool under the manifold and cause a problem with the knock sensors.

 

could be the coilpacks

 

I've never had a problem washing my engine bay .... knock on wood. I was going to suggest Wire Dryer (available at any auto parts store), but someone beat me to it.

 

Thanks for the help guys...yeah rncotton I never had a problem till this time either.
A guy over at norcalLS1 had an idea.Turns out a little water got in the computers connectors I dont think they were tight enough to keep water out .I dried them and checked the fuse boxes.
Car is fine now I THINK time will tell if some small thing got screwed in the process

 

Glad you got it going. As i had stated earlier, I had the exact thing happen, but I didn't even have the hood open. I went and had the battery tested and it was about dead. So.....it could be a combination of different things i suppose. It didn't act like JUST a dead battery though, that i know. The hatch opening by itself was odd.

Anyone else have any ideas how to prevent this in future? Something around my hood not properly sealed perhaps??

 

Plastic bags.. I put them on my computer, in the opening on the intake and over the alternator before I wash my engine. Never had any problems. Just remember to take the bags off before you try to start it.