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Hi
On wednesday (yesterday) I gave my engine a good clean with water and an engine decreaser. The end result was good, but even though I covered up all what I thought to have needed covering such a sthe alternator and battery and air intake, I drove 5kms to a local bp to check my tyre pressure.
About 2 minutes down the road after backing off my sloped driveway, The car starts thumping about and becomes quite rough. It then goes away after I stop briefly, and this happens about 5 times on the trip, at one point the car is splattering and can't do more than 50kph. I get it to the place where I'm going and ask the mechanic whose located next to the bp to take a look. He said I had got water on the spark plug leads. i did what he said, took the engine cover off, dryed it out with a rag and let the engine sit for half an hour just idling. This seems to have solved most of the problem, but every now and again when I start it up and go to back down a slope it still misfires a couple of times. I struggle to see the spark plugs because they are hidden when I check to see if there is more water, but I cant understand that it wouldn't have dried out by now after about 60 kms of driving. There isn't anyway I could have permanently damaged something is there??
Thanks
Mitchell
Hi Mitchell. You don't say what type of car this is, but the mechanic is absolutely right - you would have got water into the HT ignition system. This could be at both ends, ie; the spark plugs and distributor or coil.
Ideally, you should try to dry it out, although it will dry out itself with heat eventually.
It's very unlikely that you have done any permanent damage.
Its a 1999 mazda familia 1.5 with vvti and electronic injection. My mechanic has offered to take it in and clean out the spark plug holes
Its a 1999 mazda familia 1.5 with vvti and electronic injection. My mechanic has offered to take it in and clean out the spark plug holes
Good, I think this is the best option. It shouldn't take him long to blow the water out with an air line.
Thanks heaps for your advice. Being my first car, its very scary when things go wrong. I suppose im lucky that i have a mechanic who deals specially with mazda's and when it needs repairing I know im in good hands with him and the help from you and the aa