1990 740GL -- Washed engine, no start

I'm trying to isolate an oil leak on my 1990 740, so I decided to wash the engine. Like an idiot, I used pretty high pressure from my garden hose. The oil leak is somewhere up front, more toward the passenger side, so I didn't get much water near the distributor, but I did hose most of the rest of the engine pretty hard. Stupid, I know.

Of course, I get no crank now. Instrument panel lights come on, but no crank.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance, JayR

Reply to
JayR
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Let it sit for a day with the hood up.

Reply to
Roadie

Thanks -- I do hope that simply drying out will fix it. I plan to check the fuses and all the connectors/wires to the starter and starter solenoid when I get home from work today. Is there a "main fuse" in the engine compartment, or are they all located in the fusebox behind the ash tray?

Reply to
JayR

I did the same thing on my 1985 245 wagon. For me I wet the distributor and had to open it and dry it. My 1987 740 distributor is behind the engine, so yours might not have gotten wet.

Check the plugs and wires and that you didn't blast something loose. Check the battery connections, sparkplug wires, etc.

jb

Reply to
Jamie

If not then look for loosened connections starting from the battery and working forward.

Reply to
Roadie

Let this be a lesson to you: Volvos were NOT designed to be washed. When we first got our '88 240, I washed the engine compartment, something I've been doing for decades. Almost sold the car as a result.

Actually, the pre-electronic era Volvos enjoyed a good soak. But the only other car I've had die after an engine wash was a P1800E. The ignition primary wire broke *inside the insulation*. The Last Good Mechanic In Town was able to diagnose it. Today's mechanics would probably have given up, or replaced the engine.

Reply to
mjc1

I haven't really had much trouble with it. I wash the engines in the family Volvos pretty much every time I wash the cars. In 15 years of doing it the only issues I've had are wet distributor caps in 240s. Pop the cap off and a bit of WD-40 fixes that problem. Naturally you want to avoid spraying things like ignition boxes but for the most part there's nothing too fragile under the hood.

Reply to
James Sweet

And which automotive engines are specifically designed to be washed or otherwise inundated with water.?

We all learn from our mistakes.

Nonsense, proven by common sense and your next sentence..

Reply to
Roadie

Well, since your starter is not working, there's not much point in looking for wet ignition. I'd start by looking at the connections on the starter motor - has one of the smaller wires fallen off?

Reply to
Mike F

After a day of drying out, the car cranked weakly and did start this morning.

Thanks to all who responded with suggestions. I'll definitely be more careful with water near the engine next time.

Reply to
JayR

Hiya,

Just a thought. I wash my engine all the time. I use one of those really groovy pressure washing gizmos that you can get at advance auto, o'reilley's, auto zone etc. It hooks up to your garden hose and your air compressor at the same time. Effectively, it raises the overall pressure of your stream while drastically reducing the overall volume of water thar you are pumping into your engine box. It also tends to atomize the water to some degree, so if you do in fact have a problem, it tends to dry far more rapidly. As a bonus it sends a very directed stream, so that you can verry precisely blast the crud, and not sensitive components. Cheap too, Like $23.

Good luck,

-E-

Reply to
Zeke

Reply to
John Robertson

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