My title says it all pretty much. I was an idiot and didn’t think of covering anything electrical or sensitive when I washed out the engine bay of my 72 olds 98. It was off at the time and had the battery connected as well. 😒 the strange part is that it started right up after getting cleaned and ran fine. I drove it and parked it where I usually do, the next day I try to start it and absolutely no power even the drivers door buzzer doesn’t work. Any key places to check first?

 

Battery terminal connections...are they clean and tight? Check the battery with a voltmeter.

Good luck!!!

 

I pressure wash my engines all the time and I don't do anything except cover the carb so no water gets in. If it started right away, that wasn't the real cause of your current problem. I agree that corrosion on the battery terminals is a likely cause. Look for anything that might have been loosened or moved by the spray.

 

Thanks for all the replies! I’ll check the battery for sure, how quick can corrosion occur? I bought the battery brand new for the car when I picked it up 2 weeks ago.

 

Here's my experience with this problem...

When you wash the engine, water can get into the distributor. It's only in the base, the 12 V parts. So the engine starts and runs fine.

However, when you stop, heat soak evaporates some of the water in the distributor base and it condenses on the inside top of the distributor cap. That's the 30,000 V area.

That water will prevent spark from reaching the plugs.

Solution is to disconnect the hold-downs on the cap (no need to remove wires), look inside, wipe away any visible water and let it dry for an hour. Reassemble.

Good luck.

 

does it have a fusible link??

 

Thanks Norm. I missed that.

 

my money is on battery cable end corrosion at the battery

 

His big girl is pushing 50. Wouldn't hurt to check all the underhood wiring.

Gray Ghost pitched a fit couple years ago where starter would sometimes drag and sometimes the solenoid would only click. Turned out to be a bad (-) cable- the blades on the terminal end were worn to where they sometimes didn't make good connection.

Natcherly that didn't show up till it got towed in and starter replaced, because it sure did act like a bad starter at first. And I'm not inclined to wrangle a high-torque GM starter laying on my back any more.