1990 740GL -- Washed engine, no start

[JayR]

I'm trying to isolate an oil leak on my 1990 740, so I decided to wash
the engine. Like an idiot, I used pretty high pressure from my garden
hose. The oil leak is somewhere up front, more toward the passenger
side, so I didn't get much water near the distributor, but I did hose
most of the rest of the engine pretty hard. Stupid, I know.

Of course, I get no crank now. Instrument panel lights come on, but
no crank.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance,
JayR

 

[Roadie]

I'm trying to isolate an oil leak on my 1990 740, so I decided to wash
the engine. Like an idiot, I used pretty high pressure from my garden
hose. The oil leak is somewhere up front, more toward the passenger
side, so I didn't get much water near the distributor, but I did hose
most of the rest of the engine pretty hard. Stupid, I know.

Of course, I get no crank now. Instrument panel lights come on, but
no crank.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance,
JayR

Let it sit for a day with the hood up.

 

[JayR]

Let it sit for a day with the hood up.

Thanks -- I do hope that simply drying out will fix it. I plan to
check the fuses and all the connectors/wires to the starter and
starter solenoid when I get home from work today. Is there a "main
fuse" in the engine compartment, or are they all located in the
fusebox behind the ash tray?

 

[Jamie]

I'm trying to isolate an oil leak on my 1990 740, so I decided to wash
the engine. Like an idiot, I used pretty high pressure from my garden
hose. The oil leak is somewhere up front, more toward the passenger
side, so I didn't get much water near the distributor, but I did hose
most of the rest of the engine pretty hard. Stupid, I know.

Of course, I get no crank now. Instrument panel lights come on, but
no crank.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance,
JayR

I did the same thing on my 1985 245 wagon. For me I wet the
distributor and had to open it and dry it. My 1987 740 distributor is
behind the engine, so yours might not have gotten wet.

Check the plugs and wires and that you didn't blast something loose.
Check the battery connections, sparkplug wires, etc.

jb

 

[Roadie]

Thanks -- I do hope that simply drying out will fix it. I plan to
check the fuses and all the connectors/wires to the starter and
starter solenoid when I get home from work today. Is there a "main
fuse" in the engine compartment, or are they all located in the
fusebox behind the ash tray?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If not then look for loosened connections starting from the battery
and working forward.

 

[mjc13]

Let this be a lesson to you: Volvos were NOT designed to be washed.
When we first got our '88 240, I washed the engine compartment,
something I've been doing for decades. Almost sold the car as a result.

Actually, the pre-electronic era Volvos enjoyed a good soak. But the
only other car I've had die after an engine wash was a P1800E. The
ignition primary wire broke *inside the insulation*. The Last Good
Mechanic In Town was able to diagnose it. Today's mechanics would
probably have given up, or replaced the engine.

 

[James Sweet]

Let this be a lesson to you: Volvos were NOT designed to be washed.
When we first got our '88 240, I washed the engine compartment,
something I've been doing for decades. Almost sold the car as a result.

Actually, the pre-electronic era Volvos enjoyed a good soak. But the
only other car I've had die after an engine wash was a P1800E. The
ignition primary wire broke *inside the insulation*. The Last Good
Mechanic In Town was able to diagnose it. Today's mechanics would
probably have given up, or replaced the engine.

I haven't really had much trouble with it. I wash the engines in the
family Volvos pretty much every time I wash the cars. In 15 years of
doing it the only issues I've had are wet distributor caps in 240s. Pop
the cap off and a bit of WD-40 fixes that problem. Naturally you want to
avoid spraying things like ignition boxes but for the most part there's
nothing too fragile under the hood.

 

[Roadie]

Let this be a lesson to you: Volvos were NOT designed to be washed.

And which automotive engines are specifically designed to be washed or
otherwise inundated with water.?

When we first got our '88 240, I washed the engine compartment,
something I've been doing for decades. Almost sold the car as a result.

We all learn from our mistakes.

Actually, the pre-electronic era Volvos enjoyed a good soak.

Nonsense, proven by common sense and your next sentence..

 

[Mike F]

Thanks -- I do hope that simply drying out will fix it. I plan to
check the fuses and all the connectors/wires to the starter and
starter solenoid when I get home from work today. Is there a "main
fuse" in the engine compartment, or are they all located in the
fusebox behind the ash tray?

Well, since your starter is not working, there's not much point in
looking for wet ignition. I'd start by looking at the connections on
the starter motor - has one of the smaller wires fallen off?

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

[JayR]

Well, since your starter is not working, there's not much point in
looking for wet ignition. I'd start by looking at the connections on
the starter motor - has one of the smaller wires fallen off?

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

After a day of drying out, the car cranked weakly and did start this
morning.

Thanks to all who responded with suggestions. I'll definitely be more
careful with water near the engine next time.

 

[Zeke]

After a day of drying out, the car cranked weakly and did start this
morning.

Thanks to all who responded with suggestions. I'll definitely be more
careful with water near the engine next time.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hiya,

Just a thought. I wash my engine all the time. I use one of those
really groovy pressure washing gizmos that you can get at advance
auto, o'reilley's, auto zone etc. It hooks up to your garden hose and
your air compressor at the same time. Effectively, it raises the
overall pressure of your stream while drastically reducing the overall
volume of water thar you are pumping into your engine box. It also
tends to atomize the water to some degree, so if you do in fact have a
problem, it tends to dry far more rapidly. As a bonus it sends a very
directed stream, so that you can verry precisely blast the crud, and
not sensitive components. Cheap too, Like $23.

Good luck,
-E-

 

[John Robertson]

Use your wifes hair dryer after a little wd-40 any water will disappear

 

[goodell70]

Wet ignition

I read with interest the problems some were having with a wet ignition. I'm up in the Portland,OR, area, where there was record rainfall this year (already one of the wettest parts of the country), and my Volvo 740 was parked out in the rain when I was out of town for several weeks. The starter turned the engine OK, but it wouldn't start. Undid the aircleaner and tried starter fluid, but didn't even get a "pop." Since I had a little trouble starting it in the past after it rained a lot (it would start, but only after several seconds of turning), I figured it had to be a wet ignition. I got a bunch of extension cords and the cheapest woman's hairdryer I could buy, and pointed the dryer at the ignition for 20 minutes straight. Didn't do any good. I did it for 10 more minutes, just in case, and it started!
Had the problem again after not running it for a few days when it was raining every day, and had to use the same remedy, although this time 20 minutes was enough. I've never taken the distributor cap off (this is a 90 740), and I'm not sure I know how, but I'm interested to know if spraying WD40 in there will end this problem. (???)

 

[bigbenn]

Washed engine, no start

Hi,
Oil leaks are very important to find and fix on a Volvo. Usually an oil leak is a warning of something else which is going wrong and if you don't fix the leak pretty fast, whatever is causing the leak can become an expensive repair bill.
Leaks I have noticed and fixed include Harmonic Balancer ($1,200), Turbo ($3,000), Seals at the front and back of the gearbox ($300 - $500) and they are the leaks I remember!!
My Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon is 23 years old and I'm told a Classic at 24 years old, so oil leaks and other wear problems can be put down to fair wear and tear and reasonable to expect. LOL
BigBenn

 

[bigbenn]

Hi goodell70,
Spraying WD40 around all electrical parts under the engine hood is always a good idea.
The distributor is the cap into which all of the spark plug leads go and usually there are 2 clips on the outsides of the cap, which you prise off, to open and remove the cap from the top of the distributor. Just reverse the process to put the cap back on. There is a keyway under the cap, which when you turn the cap left or right, will align the cap to the distributor, when you put the cap back on, so that the firing order of the rotor inside the distributor is correctly aligned, after you put the clips back in place.
Spraying WD40 in there is a great idea, because WD40 is a wetness remover as well as a lubricator and over the wires from the distributor to the spark plugs and from the distributor to the coil, any of which could be the cause of the poor starting issues you mention.
BigBenn