Engine hesitating/sputtering after washing engine bay - Honda Prelude Forum

carlizle84 · 02-03-2009, 10:47 AM

Hi all. Relatively new to Honda's, came over to the dark side from F Body Chevys. But my 2000 Prelude is really a blast to drive, I really am suprised that 4 cylinders can be so much fun. Anyway, I've searched the forums top to bottom and all i could find was a few problems similiar to mine. Anyway, yesterday, after reading the posts on here about cleaning the engine bay, i scrubbed mine down. I covered the distributor, alternator, fuse box, and big wires junctions with a bunch of plastic grocery bags. I washed everything using Simple Green and a water hose on low pressure. I towel dried everything and then let the car sit for 24 hours. This morning I take the car out. At first everything was fine. I stopped to get gas, filled up, and when i started the car, the CEL came on, and the car started to idle very slowly, around 500-700 RPM. When i started moving, the car was very hesitant and would accelerate fine until about 3200 RPM, then just bog down and lose alot of its power. The motor sounds more like a 4 wheeler now than a car. So I ran the car up to Autozone and had the codes pulled. I got the following codes:
P300- Random Cylinder Misfire
P301- Cylinder 1 Misfire
P302- Cylinder 2 Misfire
P303- Cylinder 3 Misfire
P304- Cylinder 4 Misfire
P1399- Random / Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected

I looked the problem up on here, and alot of the other threads about H22A4 hesitations seems to blame the MAP sensor, which when i checked, I didn't cover up before I hosed down the motor.

Anyway, would the MAP sensor really cause the computer to throw that many codes if it got wet? Would the MAP sensor dry out over time, or would I need to replace it? I have my car going in the shop next Thursday anyway for timing belt/ water pump and all seals to be changed, but my car running like this is going to drive me insane. I checked the plugs and wires, they were all dry. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

dbr1 · 02-03-2009, 10:54 AM

Just open the hood, put engine in the sun, and let everything dry out. You can also go buy some canned air and use it to blow out all electrical connections to speed up the process. Something in there is wet -- that's probably all. I've done this too many times...The auto store also sells a spray specifically made for drying electrical parts.

carlizle84 · 02-03-2009, 11:00 AM

Thats what I'm gonna try to let it do. Unfortunatley the weather around here is so out of whack. It was 75 Saturday and Sunday, then yesterday and today its like 45. So it might take it a while to dry out. Do you think just driving it will dry it out through engine heat?

dbr1 · 02-03-2009, 11:26 AM

It might speed up the process, but I'd try the canned air method first. I had that problem a few times, but because the car drove so erratically, I didn't want to drive it sputtering like that. I was afraid of what that might do to it.

You might also try a blow dryer on the cold setting.

carlizle84 · 02-03-2009, 12:14 PM

Yeah, i'm gonna let it sit for the rest of the day and tonight. Hopefully that will give it plenty of time to dry out. If not, maybe I should reset the ECU? Some of the folks on here said that worked. Damn MAP sensors are pretty expensive for being so small.

Jason01LUDE · 02-03-2009, 04:18 PM

Dry out the the inside of the Distributor.

98auto · 02-03-2009, 04:57 PM

yes, and check to make sure the spark plug tubes didnt fill with water. if they fill up, they can short your plugs out.

BBYlude · 02-03-2009, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98auto

yes, and check to make sure the spark plug tubes didnt fill with water. if they fill up, they can short your plugs out.

yup! happened to me once. It'll easily cause a mis-fire

wreckdiver · 02-03-2009, 05:16 PM

Take the distributor off and spray the inside with WD-40 and check the plug wells as stated, that should make you happy1

carlizle84 · 02-04-2009, 08:43 AM

Well after letting the car sit for a while, I went back out and took the distributor apart. It was bone dry. Took the MAP sensor off and took a blow dryer to it. Rechecked the sparkplugs, there was a small amount of water in the tubes, so dried it out. Then reset the computer. And the car is running like a champ again. Appreciate all you guys input. Now to get the T belt and water pump done. Good times are here again.