So I washed my car and decided to spray some water with a commercial high pressure hose in the engine compartment to dust it off a bit, now the car is misfiring and shaking a lot when idling and the engine light is on as well as the ABS and ASR trac (or something like it) not working. The restricted performance message came on once. Also when I brake it sounds like the brakes are grinding on metal, although I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the water, but I'm pretty sure it wasnt that bad before the water, or maybe I just need new brakes. I'm almost sure the shaking of the engine has to do with the coils/spark plugs getting wet or moisture since the cover is missing a screw and the seal is not tight . But what about the ABS and and the asr trac message?

Thanks for your suggestions and input.

 

That sounds about right. You never want to use a commercial sprayer under the hood of any car. I'd suspect you waterlogged a bunch of your electrical connectors and relays. Let it dry while you get your key back. (Get more made if you only have one). Then I would do dosconnect the battery for a good 20 minutes or so then reconnect it. Hopefully everything will be gone and you can pat yourself on the back for lesson learned. Don't be too upset. I tripped a code last weekend using so mild soap and a brush under the hood too to clean up the top of the engine compartment. I can't fantom what using a pressure sprayer would result in.

 

I would pull the coil covers and carefully remove and dry each one. As much for future corrosion problems as anything. It will take about an hour and is almost sure to fix your shake.

 

Update: I went for a drive and after a few miles the shaking and misfire as well as the track/abs messages were gone. The engine light is still on but I'm pretty sure it'll go out after a few miles cycle.

 

Almost guaranteed that you have water in the spark plug wells.
The coil covers have a seal going around them, but its no match for high pressure washer. You may also have oil in there too, as the valve cover seals are most likely up for replacement. Like sparkenzap suggested, remove the coil covers and each coil, and check for moisture and oil sludge in the spark plug holes. Also, it would be good to get a can of connector cleaner spray and clean all the connectors that you might have drenched.

 

Guys thank you for the responses, however as I said before on my initial post I already knew about the coils: "I'm almost sure the shaking of the engine has to do with the coils/spark plugs getting wet or moisture since the cover is missing a screw and the seal is not tight".

My question was really about the other error messages I asked, but as I also said above, everything is fine now that it's all dried after driving a few miles.
Thanks again.

 

well, how about some more info. Soes the indication stay on, or come and go? Does it come on at about 12 mph? Have you searched the archives to know about wheel sensor connectors and the motor connector problem? Are you inclined to work on it yourself, or do you want advice about what to tell your mechanic?

 

The engine light has been off and all the errors messages have gone away and the car is running good again.

Only problem not is the brakes, when I brake it makes a horrible grinding noise from the front driver side, as if the brake pad was gone and the caliper is just grinding the rotor. I understand I may just need new brakes but I just find it kind of weird that it started doing that the day after I sprayed water to the engine.

 

Pulling the brakes apart is the only way you'll be able to diagnose that...i'd do it quickly so you don't wonder if you're damaging your rotors. Maybe you got a small pebble in between the pad. Never hurts to get them apart, clean the rotor face (and inspect it for damage/grooves) and lube the caliper guide pins.

 

Thank you, that sounds like a probable cause, specially since I did pressured washed the wheel. Most likely the high pressure water loosen some screw or something and it fell between the pad and rotor.

Going to take it apart as soon as I get a chance.

 

Most likely just coincidence... but you do need to pull the wheel and check.

 

Newuser, sorry about your troubles and I'm sure you learned a much valuable lesson. Next time take a soft cloth and some wd40 and wipe things gently and you'll come out shining bright. Don't over do it because you'll start collecting dust as you drive if you use too much, just a touch sprayed into the cloth and rub it in you'll see the difference.

 

I was just going to ask if I would have any problems power washing my engine compartment. I do that on my other cars and have had no problems. Unless the car is old enough to have points ignition and no electronic.
It sounds like I will have to clean by hand.

 

I didn't think it would be a problem either, 1st because most newer cars have water proof electronic connectors, and 2nd the coils are well hidden under a plastic cover with a rubber seal. And when you think about it, with a high pressure washer you're not really spraying as much water as you would with a regular water hose. You're mostly spraying a high pressure mist. Also I made sure the tip of the nozzle was about 3 feet away from the engine while I was spraying to prevent from blasting anything away. I used to do it to all my other cars including a 2006 GTO and never had a problem. In my opinion the reason I had problems had to do with the fact that one of the plastic lids that covers the coils is missing a screw so it's not properly sealing the coil compartment. Although I did try to seal it with a peace of black duck tape, but I guess that wasn't enough to prevent moist from getting to get to the coil. Good news was that 2 days later after it dried it all went back to normal. The only mystery that remains now is the brake grinding issue, but we'll find out when I take it apart.

 

Washing the engine can be debated, (I like to foam mine then rinse with low pressure water before I work on it) BUT there is a great body of knowledge about pressure spraying derived from sealing standards for electrical control cabinets (google IP65, IP67, NEMA4). Suffice it to say that it is well known that high pressure water is much more intrusive than submersion, and you wouldn't submerse your engine would you?

 

I saw this thread and I thought I would ask for some advice, if you'll indulge me resurrecting a dead thread.

04 XJ8, 64,2xx miles. Went to the car wash today, amid the triple digit LA heat. Same car wash I have used for the last 6 months. Just a basic tunnel wash/hand wash place. Nothing different that I know of. The hood was never lifted.
The car has had an intermittent SES light for a while, though I don't know how long, as it is my sister's car. Today, after leaving the car wash, I drove to the end of the block. Turned around and drove into a parking lot. Shut it off for a few minutes and restarted it. Really bad shaking and it barely ran. I shut it off and restarted it. All is well. Tried to accelerate and it bucked and fell on it's face. Scanned the dash and it had the SES on and restricted performance. drove two miles home and shut it down for 30 minutes or so and restarted, same thing. Wife drove it for a few miles and shut it down, this time a few hours go by. I restarted it and the same thing. It idles fine and drives fine, but it won't go over 3K rpms due to the restricted performance issue.
Could an undercarriage wash cause the SES and RP? I am curious about the coil packs and the throttle body.
IN January and August the Jag dealereship replaced the MAF, first cause it was bad, second because the part was bad. Any chance it is related?
SES light is still intermittent even with the new MAF.

 

As to the undercarriage wash- Yes, the shkes is probably a result of that- let it dry and it will be ok.

 

Ok, here's the latest development. I had it scanned and the following codes came up. P1111, P0101, P1338 twice. The MAF has been replaced by Hornburg Jaguar Santa Monica, twice. The last time was just a few months ago.
It still has the restricted performance illuminated.

 

its as simple as this...

Cats don't like water

 

So glad to see your post as the EXACT same thing happened to me. I used a high-pressure hose at a DIY car wash and the next day the amber light on my 2003 S-type appeared. Prior to this, the car was running perfectly. I had a feeling this was a result of water entering the engine compartment, and I have searched this Jaguar forum and found 2 other posts suggesting moisture in the engine compartment caused cylinder misfiring. I had my car scanned and found the P0301 and P0305 codes (cylinder 1 and 5 misfires).