No Spark After I Poured Water On Engine (1 Viewer)

[PeterTheBeater]

I've recently replaced the coolant temp sensor, which unleashed a gushing coolant beast and soaked most of the driver side engine. I poured probably about a gallon of water in that general area to flush out the coolant before it dries. The water was poured in that general area:

I was careful to avoid alternator or any major electrical connections, however after that my truck wouldn't start (no spark I suspect) until it dried off.
Question: What might have caused it? I ordered a new coil pack because that's the only thing I though that could have gotten wet. I want to "bullet-proof" whatever caused this in that area as I don't want to worry about that area getting wet from anything in the future. Any ideas?

 

[Kernal]

Water can get into the distributor via a couple of breather holes. Look closely at the side of the distributor that faces the head/valve cover (it would be the bottom if the distributor were sitting upright).

Do not block any holes, they are necessary to allow the distributor to breath, otherwise condensation can build up and cause corrosion of the metal bits located under the cap.

There is also a rubber gasket (packing) that is located between the distributor cap and the body of the distributor, if that is missing or broken you would be more likely to get water inside. Not very likely to be the cause IME.

Also, if you get water into the vertical spark plug tubes (by aggressively washing off the top of the valve cover) that can short out the spark plugs.
In that situation you may have to wait days for it to dry out, or suck the water out with something like a dry vac.

Here's a link to a previous discussion about the distributor vent holes with photos:

Plugging Distributor Vents

How long can you plug the vent holes on the distributor before you have a problem? I plug the top vent when washing but would like to plug all the vents when its wet wheeling but not sure how long one could plug it before it would cause a problem. Could you plug it for a day, week or...

forum.ih8mud.com

This is what could happen if you seal up the vent holes (photo from a previous thread):

 

[PeterTheBeater]

Water can get into the distributor via a couple of breather holes. Look closely
at the side of the distributor that faces the head/valve cover (it would be the bottom if the distributor was sitting upright).

Do not block that hole, it is necessary to allow the distributor to breath, otherwise condensation can build up and cause corrosion under the distributor cap.

I was very careful to avoid the distributor and the alternator but it's possible that it got splashed. Any other potential areas?

 

[Kernal]

Water might have gotten into a harness connection causing a temporary short??

Or could have been unrelated to the water say if you have a loose/broken connection somewhere, loose ground, maybe a questionable fusible link just
from messing around in that area and bumping/moving/pulling/stretching harnesses, ----?? Hard to say unless/until it happens again.

Did you notice when you attempted to start the engine (key in the ON position) if the check engine light came on then went off (it normally should do this)?

 

[PeterTheBeater]

Water might have gotten into a harness connection causing a temporary short??

Or could have been unrelated to the water say if you have a loose/broken connection somewhere, loose ground, maybe a questionable fusible link just
from messing around in that area and bumping/moving/pulling/stretching harnesses, ----? Hard to say unless/until it happens again.

Fusible link is new. I'm going to take that whole area apart in few months so I guess I'll find out then. After no start I just pushed it back into the garage and let it sit overnight. Started off kinda rough but was fine after a minute.

Thanks

 

[Kernal]

You might want to remove/open the distributor cap (three 8mm screw/bolts) and check/clean it out.

One tip: do not use Carb, Brake, or Throttle Body cleaner for the guts of the distributor as those solvent mixtures can damage rubber including the seals for the distributor shaft bearing. Safer to use Electronics cleaner (Quick dry or regular), Contact cleaner, or MAF cleaner.

 

[flintknapper]

Water can get into the distributor via a couple of breather holes. Look closely at the side of the distributor that faces the head/valve cover (it would be the bottom if the distributor were sitting upright).

Do not block any holes, they are necessary to allow the distributor to breath, otherwise condensation can build up and cause corrosion of the metal bits located under the cap.

There is also a rubber gasket (packing) that is located between the distributor cap and the body of the distributor, if that is missing or broken you would be more likely to get water inside. Not very likely to be the cause IME.

Also, if you get water into the vertical spark plug tubes (by aggressively washing off the top of the valve cover) that can short out the spark plugs.
In that situation you may have to wait days for it to dry out, or suck the water out with something like a dry vac.

Here's a link to a previous discussion about the distributor vent holes with photos:

Plugging Distributor Vents

How long can you plug the vent holes on the distributor before you have a problem? I plug the top vent when washing but would like to plug all the vents when its wet wheeling but not sure how long one could plug it before it would cause a problem. Could you plug it for a day, week or...

forum.ih8mud.com

This is what could happen if you seal up the vent holes (photo from a previous thread):

View attachment 3242892

 

[flintknapper]

Coil and igniter are both in that general area. But ANY ignition related connector/sensor that gets wet could have caused the issue.

 

[lumbee1]

I've used a foam cannon on my engine bay followed by a rinse. I let it sit and dry for a few hours before starting. I did not properly protect the dizzy or alt and when I started it there was a random misfire. The next day it was running like a champ.

BTW, freshwater is a poor conductor of electricity and probably did not cause a short. Seawater or saltwater contain dissolved ions and the ions conduct electricity better than water alone.

 

[PeterTheBeater]

View attachment 3243160

I guess too left corner is the vent, i guess most likely cause is few drops of water got splashed in there.

 

[Kernal]

Most likely the water got in via the large hole located ~ the 1 O'clock position of the distributor (top right in the photo). The smaller hole at the 6 O'clock position is a drain/weep hole.

Here are the photos from the link posted above:

 

[CJF]

BTW, freshwater is a poor conductor of electricity and probably did not cause a short. Seawater or saltwater contain dissolved ions and the ions conduct electricity better than water alone.

"Fresh" water as in tap water conducts electricity just fine. You're thinking of pure distilled/de-ionized water.