Washing the Engine Compartment

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by jhv48

What he said times 10.

I thought I had covered all the electrics with plastic and proceeded to spray a degreaser all over the engine compartment and then proceeded to lightly spray water on the engine to rinse off the degreaser.

BAD MOVE! I must not have covered the starter solenoid well enough as water got on it and shorted out the solenoid causing the starter to engage and try and start the engine. Since it was parked and in first gear, as the starter turned, the car lurched forward and hit a cement planter that was in my drive way, and since the connection was still wet, it kept pushing the car into the planter until the solenoid finally gave out and the starter quit.

Result? $17,000 in fiberglass damage and a month in the body shop! Also, battery and solenoid were shot. So use a rag or, if you're going to use anything wet, disconnect the battery and don't even think of reconnecting it until the entire compartment is dry.

Wow - I feel for you, man! What a day that must've been - mishaps like that either make a man blow a gasket or just stand there shaking his head in disbelief.
I've always carefully used degreaser and a hose along with some elbow grease after covering the carb and distributor with plastic, but I never ever thought of something like that happening.