Oh god! I broke it!!!

[200KGPGTP]

I powerwashed the engine. Afterwords, I started it and it was barely running. I dried out the dist, and it ran fine.

At the car wash, I was keeping it at a high idle to get things warm/dried off faster. Sounded good and smooth, had been at a high idle for a couple of minutes by then.

All of a sudden, it hit what sounded like a fuel cut. I let off and it was still idling ok. I get back on it, it does it again.

Now it 'cuts fuel' with anything over like 3000 rpms(est). So I can drive it, and it runs fine, but cuts out with even moderate throttle. I have to like baby it hardcore, ie 4th gear at 25 and I can't go over 55 at all


I'm pretty sure something just got wet or something causing this, anyone have any ideas though? Or did I actually break something?

[doylerl]

Did the air filter get wet? Maybe it is clogged now...?

[Grey Vw]

Wait till tomorrow to make sure everything is dry. Problem may clear up.

[200KGPGTP]

Did the air filter get wet? Maybe it is clogged now...?

WOuldn't that make it just run rough/poorly? This is a very hard crisp cut, just like a rev limiter, except like 6k rpms less than it should be LOL!

[200KGPGTP]

Wait till tomorrow to make sure everything is dry. Problem may clear up.

I have a paper route and kinda need it for that... I have 4 hours, lol

[Grey Vw]

Get the leaf blower out and start drying! I had a problem with my car not starting after washing the engine, it went away after a few hours.

[1990new]

Water in Intake

Be very very careful to not get much water into the intake manifold.
It can lock up the engine so that it will never run again.
I speak from experience...however luck for me, my comprehensive on
my insurance paid for the new engine (normally would not have gotten a new engine, but the insurance company at first put a used engine in it and in blew after one week.)
However, don't get any bright ideas from this, my original engine had relatively low mileage on it.

[200KGPGTP]

It'd take a fair amount of water to hydrolock....


ANYWAYS!!! The connecter for the TPS was wet. I used my big mouth to blow them dry, and its all better now!!

[thered56]

just like a rev limiter, except like 6k rpms less than it should be

You have a 9k redline! Wow!

heheh good to see you got it running right.

[walth]

whew! close call man. I've always been afraid of pressure washers and sensitive to water electronics...in the engine bay. lol

[bhazard]

Wd40

[1990new]

It'd take a fair amount of water to hydrolock....


ANYWAYS!!! The connecter for the TPS was wet. I used my big mouth to blow them dry, and its all better now!!

Glad that it all worked out for you. I guess I've become a little neurotic about water around the air intake.


You are correct. It was a fair amount that caused the lockup.
Here in Charleston we have a street known locally a the Crosstown.
It's the part of US17 (end of I26 dumps into it as well as traffic from the Cooper river bridge from North US17). It continues across the peninsula to cross the Ashley river.
When it's high tide and we have a lot of rain, the drainage system does
not work very well and water starts to rise on the street. Under normal circumstances it can be driven through at slow speed. But when a jumbo SUV come barreling by the wave of water it displaces has go somewhere..
and that somewhere in this case was into the breather of the Festiva.

The tow trucks hang around the area like vultures during these times, and it makes me wonder sometimes if their buddies aren't driving the the big SUV's.

In any case, lesson learned and a word to the wise in case you plan to be driving your Festiva on the Crosstown in Charleston during high tide when it's raining.

[KingFish]

Mine did the exact same thing along time ago, same fix too, had me freaked out for a day or so.

[Aspire]

My Aspire faired worse when I washed the engine compartment. It turned out to be one of the sensors on the air box lid....took me a while to trace it down, but I just replaced the lid with a spare that I have & it ran fine.

Glad to here you figured your problem out.

[graywolf_14]

Yeah I washed mine and ends up a fusible link blew..