Saga of the under hood pressure wash, rover down!

[marcnat]

To all who replied....Thanks. Newest Readers Digest version: Presure wash under the hood resulted in some sort of electrical problem that fixed itself after it sat and dried out for 2 days. It started up and idled perfect for about 15 seconds and then all HELL broke loose. Misfiring, smoke, sputtering, . I really don't know where to start. Before the pressure washing incident I had already replaced the plugs and also put a new alternator(generator) on it. I have the repair guide on disc, and I have been reading several of the post that are titled "misfire" but can anybody point me in a direction to begin trouble shooting????

[stolenheron]

wow. got codes?

[ArmyRover]

x2 on the codes that will tell us a direction to head.

[afirover]

let try and find out what year your rig is what if any mods have you done to it

and then mabe we can help you

[AAXD]

I did the same thing to my truck, only I got no fuel. My problem ended up being a wet ECU that was causing the fuel pump to die. While I hate giving advice on a problem that could be anything, my solution was to clean and dry the ECU. Mine turned out to be full of salt from 7 years of New England winters so its a good thing I caught it when I did.

[ArmyRover]

1998 and stock going from his previous thread

[marcnat]

Thanks to all of you very much! I am a novice, shade tree mechanic that loves to do the basics, but I'm not a good "trouble shooter." It is a 1998 Disco I bought from a couple that lived in Maine but relocated down to SC a couple of years ago and it sat for an undetermined period of time in their yard. I would say probably 6-8 months. It has 192,000 miles on it, so I basically bought it for the "Toy" value. It is bone stock.

The salt concept sounds logical because I have seen a ton of salt residue under the frame, etc.

Codes? Whats the best (i.e. most cost effective) way to get the codes?

[ArmyRover]

autozone and like parts stores will scan them for free.

Or go to said parts store and drop a few bucks to buy a OBD II Scanner and do it yourself.

I have one like this

Actron OBD II AUTOSCANNER / Code Reader w/ CAN Coverage: Compare Prices, View Price History and Read Reviews at NexTag

[daniels disco]

hi, i now own a '94 disco, but my previous disco was a '98 and i did the exact same thing to mine... on day one of ownership.!! MY problem was the under hood ecu. water pools up in the wiring harnes at the contacts.
to repair., remove the ecu (located on the pass. side wheel well by the washer fluid canister)its a flat black box with 2 wiring harnesses going to it. I used a q-tip to remove the pool of water, then sprayed the contacts with wd-40. replace.. and avoid high pressure washing in that area again. dan

[marcnat]

I got the ecu off, one longer black connector, single red connector and a smaller black connector. The smaller black connector (male side) on the ecu itself had water in it. There was green buildup all over a couple of the connectors and I followed your advice and used q-tips to get most of the water out. I used air pressure to push some of the water out and I believe I got most of it. I went deeper into the ecu and didn't see any evidence of water on the controll boards, so I quickly buttoned that right back up! The wiring harness (or female side) also had more water then the ecu connector. I tried my best to get out what I could. I left the harness haning upside down so maybe gravity will do some of the work. I am going to let both the ecu and wiring harness just air out for a while. Thanks so far for the help! By the way, did you ever have problems with the tachometer not working? I have a new battery and alternator, installed less than a week ago. I noticed that when I turn the engine over it moves upward about a quarter of an inch and just sits. If you look at it real close you can see movement, sort of like it might be stuck. Any advice?

[GreatDivide1]

hey just read your tread.... i did the Exact same thing as you and had the exact problem..... what min endedup being was water in the distribtor from the pressure washer...was all fine then bam!!! running rough misfireing coughing farting... the whole works... try popping off your cap then take off the yellow cap lol that says do not remove...blow the whole thing out good with air then see if there is any build up on the contacts if soo clean them.... this worked great for me.... when i reassembled i die greased everything... i have since washed my motor 4 or 4 time and havent had another issue yet...... hope this helps....

[marcnat]

I'm calling you SUPER DAN. Seemed to do the trick. For good measure, I grabbed the wifes hair dryer and blew some hot air into the wiring harness. All is well and I have returned to rule in Disco land........for now. It acutally seems to have a bit more "pep." Thanks to all who helped out.

Marc

[daniels disco]

Hey., I am glad that worked out for you !! "SUPER DAN" I like that !! sorry i cant help you with the tack problem., i am sure someone here knows the answer to your problem. dan