Quote:
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.
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Wow, that's one helluva lesson. I have taken various classic cars to a motor steam clean service but the golden rule they followed was to let it sit in the sun with hood up for 4 hours before returning it back to you. I never had a problem, not even with cars still using points, condenser and much of the original wiring.