i have a 1987 monte carlo LS. The vehicle from my understanding has all its stock parts( as i have not done any work on it yet). As i was washing it the other day i had the bright idea of spraying up under the hood( not a lot of water but enough) to clear some of the webs and dirt. the car was running the whole time i washed the car and even after i sprayed under the hood. After i was done, i shut the car down without any problems. I came back about 25 mins later to start the car again, it would crank but not turn over. I assumed i gotten water possibly in the distributor which was the reason for it not starting, so i changed the distributor cap and the rotor button. after changing that the car turned over but ran at high idle. I shut the car off and tried to start it again, and now it wont start again! insugestions on what could be going on and how to fix this issue?

 

Well, I dont know much about your engine but maybe something to check (until someone more knowledgeable comes around) is water in the intake?? Maybe??

I sucked up some water in a cold air intake going thru a really deep puddle once and there was like a week where the car just wasnt right and had the starting issue like youre talking about. -It would start, then it wouldnt, then it would, then not.... Plus the really high idle, which is what gives me the idea of water..

What I did (and I really dont know if its safe) was just let it be and hope I didnt kill the battery trying to start soo much..

Hopefully someone will be around soon.. Theyll know what to tell ya..

 

thanks for the advice. i have not checked the intake yet. figured since it was running when i sprayed it, it wasn't a big issue.

 

Yea, you know ive been told by 2 mechanics that cars from 1995+ its ok to spray under the hood if the car is running but that just cant be.. Furthermore with a car thats as old as '87.. Theres just too much stuff under there that can hold water, be water damaged, alternator are just a few things that come to mind atm...

I would think its unsafe to ever spray under the hood.. Youre supposed to bag off stuff and all that noise..

Good luck and I really hope someone else comes around and chimes in but if you do figure it out or need any other help, please post back..