[OmniEquipped]

I recently ran through the car wash. When the water hit the grill area at the front of the vehicle, the engine died and would not start without applying throttle. It then started but would not run at less than 1500 RPM. By the time I got it home it would idle but very rough, belching black smoke, etc.

I have a ram air setup that draws air from the grill, so the first thing I did was check the intake tube and mass air for moisture. It's possible that the air filter got wet, but I did not find any moisture in the intake tube. When idling I unplugged the mass air and it died, which tells me it was at least working to some extent. I also checked the distributor and all the electrical connectors I could locate to no avail. I let it set for a week to dry, and it still ran like crap. I let it set two more weeks, and it ran fine with no problems. I figured something must have gotten wet?

Part II: So the next time I had to wash it, I went to the hand wash place. I washed it by hand with the engine off. When I finished, it cranked up and ran fine until about halfway home at which point it proceeded to run like crap and die at every intersection. I barely got it back. I checked everything again to no avail. I ran codes and produced nothing helpful. It has now been sitting for three days. Still runs rough, poor idle, black smoke, etc. It seems to clear up at about 1800 RPM, but anything below that is crap.

Anyone ever encounter anything like this? I'm leaning toward the mass air sensor, but I hate to buy one without confirming it.

[Six Banger]

Is it throwing codes (do foxes even throw codes? haha)
If not maybe water fouled some plugs or the distributor/coil pack?

[91cobra5.0]

Originally Posted by Six Banger Is it throwing codes (do foxes even throw codes? haha) If not maybe water fouled some plugs or the distributor/coil pack?

I agree with the plugs being fouled, I would pull them and swap in some cheapo autolite coppers and give that a go, also change your air filter, it might have been ruined due to the water if it was not a washable filter

[fb93]

Never had an engine die after a car wash. First thing water would hit would be the air filter and MAF. Can only guess the air filter acquired some soap which got sucked thru to the MAF? Try a new filter and pull the MAF. Get a T20 security bit, remove the sensor, and make sure the two tiny 'wires' are clean. Careful as they are fragile. If they look clean my next guess would be moisture in the distributor, but ive only had that problem on the older points/condensor arrangement.

I thought maybe plugs, but figured the water wouldve evaporated once the engine warmed up?

[OmniEquipped]

This has got me baffled. I've run it through the car wash for years without issue until now. I've checked the MAF. It looks visibly clean, but if the sensor itself is failing I have no way to know. It does act like a MAF problem, but it hasn't registered any codes. I've checked the distributor and replaced the cap to be certain it wasn't cracked. The air filter is a fairly expensive K&N conical type. If it got wet, it is certainly dry now in the 105° heat we are having. I can't imagine the plugs getting water fouled from that. On some of my off-road machines I've had water literally standing in the airbox, and once drained, it had no effect on the spark plugs.

[fb93]

Wouldnt hurt to check the plugs anyway, just to be sure. Its entirely possible the issues youre having are nothing more than coincidence and just happened to pop up after a washing.

As far as codes go the computer has a specific set of values for each sensor. Once it gets below or above a certain value it will throw a code. If its an intermittent code it may not throw one at all. Those can be a bear to track down.

[1slo5.0]

Had it ever died driving in the rain or going thru any puddles? Sounds like maybe bad spark plug wires.

[OmniEquipped]

It hasn't rained here since this problem began, but in times past I have never had issues with rain, puddles, or washing the vehicle. Now, as soon as water hits the front of the vehicle it goes into crap mode. The plug wires appear to be in good shape; they have about 10k miles on them. If it is the plug wires, I wonder if the problem would persist even after they have dried? I'll double check them.

[PONYMAN]

With many miles , your plug wires could be going bad.
Do you see like a gray line on any of the wires ,sometimes the heat from the engine can eventually burn them & cause misfire , hesitation, etc ....
Hope you can get the problem solved , know it can be fustrating .

[OmniEquipped]

Yes, this is certainly frustrating. I don't get time to drive it very often, so when I do I'd like to be able to enjoy it.

I just checked the plugs and wires, they look perfect. I looked at the wires close. I don't see any heat marks or cracks. Although similar, it doesn't act exactly like a traditional ignition problem. It's somewhat erratic. I might start it once and it may run fine for 30 seconds to a minute, then it goes nuts hunting for idle and running rough. Or I may start it a second time, and it doesn't idle at all.

[PONYMAN]

Keep us posted on the solution , good luck on getting her back running solid.

[fb93]

Im grabbing at straws here but check the fuel pressure. Or maybe a vac line came loose or cracked? Battery cables? Starter wires got wet? Do you have an ignition box up front where it could get wet easily?

[OmniEquipped]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm grasping at straws myself. LOL I've gone down the list and have checked everything I know to check. I even poured water on all the ignition components while running to see if it would cause a change, but nothing. I read an article in Hot Rod about a very similar running issue, and it indicates either the ECM or MAF. So I switched out the ECM with a known good A9P and it made no difference. My brother has a MAF that is good, so I'm getting him to bring it over sometime. I'll give that a shot and cross my fingers...