SpeedSin

OK, so the other day im driving to work in sever rain. I am on the expressway going about 40mph (couldnt go any faster due to the storm). So i driving along and all the sudden the car starts to hesitate. I push the throttle and the car spudders and acts like its going to stall. The check engine has always been on steady (since the addition of long-tube headers), but now its blinking rapidly. So i pull off the ramp and into the first gas station. I get out and pop the hood the engine bay is soaked. I cut the car off due to the horrible idle. I wait about 15 min and start it up again. It seems to be ok, get to driving back home and it keeps doing it. So i limp it home (about 5 miles).

OK so i look in the owners manual and it indicates that a flashing "check engine soon" means a misfire condition. So i assumed it would be plugs & wires. Seeing as how i had them laying around (MSD wires and tr55s gapped @ .055) I whent ahead & changed them out. Well, 3 hours later I crank the car and to my surpise....no change. Still idleing poorly and driving even worse. WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM?????? If anyone could help me I would be very grateful. Could it be coil packs or even the fuel system? Any advisments would be great!

technical

Basically it's only a matter of finding what got wet that shouldn't have.
Suggestions: The MAF might have sucked up some water and is fuggin up closed loop operation.

GMTECH

I had a similar problem. Definately check the MAF sensor, and the sensor that goes into the intake. If its not those, check your EGR. My EGR ended up being clogged with carbon, and ironically it was a rainy day when this occured.

cyphur

iTrader: (10)

also check your o2 sensors under your car. if those got messed up(extensions went bad maybe?) then your engine would run damn poorly. i've heard of many people having issues in the rain w/their extensions.

otherwise, like technical said, check your MAF and the related sensors and connections. also worth checking your PCM connection and coil pack connections.

john shea

Sounds like you got the o2 sensors wet.

jay_99z

iTrader: (5)

Exactly what mine did.

01350ss

iTrader: (18)

CHANGE YOUR OIL NOW!!! Do not run your motor anymore without changing that oil. What happened is you got water in your motor! Drain your oil, change your filter, REMOVE the plugs. Then, unplug your main connector for the coils and crank the motor over for about 10-15 seconds. re-install the plugs and coil pack connectors. Then unplug the maf, iat, tps, and all 02 connectors. blow them out, make sure the connectors (both male and female sides) are bone dry. It would'nt hurt to LIGHTLY coat the termianls with dielectric grease. Replace your air filter. Clear the computer and let vehicle idle for 10-15 minutes with hood open.
I am a certified mechanic, and in our shop this past week (north jersey was flooded for the second time in 4 days) we had 5 cars come in with water in the motor. 4 cars made it out of the shop in one piece on their own power. However, the 5th one needs an engine. It was hydrolocked. The owner admitted driving the car through a wicked rain, having the SAME symptons you described, and continued to drive it for over a day before he decided it was time to bring it in. IT CAME IN ON A FLATBED! The back half of his motor is MISSING! Water does not compress and will eventually destroy your motor. Please take care of this, this is something you can do in your garage/driveway. Do not drive that car anymore without addressing this serious and potentially catoshtrophic problem.

8-Pack

Just curious, what is the back half of a "motor"/engine? Good advice by the way. Dont take chances with water and your engine, check everything. Dont get too worried you didnt say anything about your engine knocking yet so it is more than likely an electrical problem vise a mechanical one.

technical

*IF* water actually gets in your engine via the intake...two things can happen.
1: nothing
2: hydrolocked
Both of which will happen immediately.

Water will not end up in the crankcase and "eventually" blow the motor unless you drove through deep water and the car was submerged. I doubt at 40mph this is the case.

01350ss

iTrader: (18)

neither "1" or "2" would happen immediately, they could, but unlikely. the vehicle does not have to be sumberged to get hydrolocked.
as for the back half of a motor - civic, cylinders 1 and 2 were "cross-sectioned"

technical

No, the vehicle does not have to be submerged to get hydrolocked but water won't find it's way into the crankcase unless the motor is subjected to a large amount of water (submerged) where something like the PCV system takes on water. If water gets into the intake while running, it will hydrolock immediately or nothing at all will happen because the remaining, small amount of water will evaporate quickly due to the heat.

SpeedSin

01350ss thanks for the advice. But i checked the filter once i pulled over immediatley after it happend and it was barely damp. I would think that if it sucked in that much water the filter would be saturated. Also, ive hydrolocked a motor before and it seized up as soon as it hit the puddle. I dont think that is the case (of course i could be wrong). I am going to take the car up to autozone and let them hook up to they're scanner and see what codes Im getting.

Frosty

iTrader: (17)

Exactly.

cyphur

iTrader: (10)

wow....yea hydrolock would happen immediately. like you said, water does not compress and the motor would lock the first time it tried to move up on the compression cycle.

SpeedSin

OK, well thanks to CableBandit we properly diagnosed the problem. I brought his HP tuners to my house so we could check everything out. Turns out Bank 1 Sensor 1 wasnt even operating. So I pulled one of my 02s of my stock cats and plugged it in. Problem solved. Its weird to think that the O2 could cause the car to act so poorly.