Just GUNK'd the motor, now it won't start

[64nailhead]

The starter starts to click, then just dies. All other electrical functions work. The battery is new.

Yup - bad connection(s) or wire - you're washing could be totally coincidental. If you have to wait for the snow before messing with this, then I'll assume it's outside - yesterday was single digits here. Cold weather and starts will find every weak wiring component.

I'll bet the starter is fine - try the jumper cable thing I described before - if the battery is good and the motor isn't locked up, then it will turn over.

 

[Supercharged111]

Can also give the starter a few whacks to see if that gets it going.

 

[Old ElCo Dude]

You have to find out if its a mechanical or electrical problem.Doing this will help you decide which it is.
1st-Try putting a socket on a long ratchet and cranking the engine by hand if its OK it will turn easily ifits hydro-locked you'll need a big bar to crank it over.If it won't turn then pull all the plugs out.Also,Has the engine oil level increased by any amount ?
2nd- If the engine spins by hand then use a volt meter to see if the battery voltage drops real low while cranking.A good engine & battery will drop down to about 10.5-10 V while its cranking.If the battery voltage isn't about 12.6 while sitting its too low.You may have let the battery V drop too low.Try charging the bat or worst case at least a jump start,leaving the cables hooked up long enough to re-charge the battery some before trying to crank it over.

 

[scarborough]

Gunk that’s for them 70s and 60s pieces of sh*t you need to get yourself a bottle of simple green for this newer stuff

not trying high jack this thread. is there any do's and don't when it come to cleaning the engine /bay and not affect it's ability to start ( power wash verse water hose ,steam cleaning...… ). is it best or ok to have the engine running while washing it down. i have a fresh rebuilt and painted engine and bay in a car that I'm restoring. the compartment is a little dusty from setting on my three plus year long resto journey. just needs cleaning no grease. i plan is to cover the carb, distributor and alternator. as always little water can cause a lots of problem.

thank for any advise

 

[Cuse99]

not trying high jack this thread. is there any do's and don't when it come to cleaning the engine /bay and not affect it's ability to start ( power wash verse water hose ,steam cleaning...… ). is it best or ok to have the engine running while washing it down. i have a fresh rebuilt and painted engine and bay in a car that I'm restoring. the compartment is a little dusty from setting on my three plus year long resto journey. just needs cleaning no grease. i plan is to cover the carb, distributor and alternator. as always little water can cause a lots of problem.

thank for any advise

Funny how I remember doing this engine cleaning some years ago and it was always with a warm, running engine. But when I read the instructions this time, it say the motor needs to be cold. I covered the distributer and the carb/air cleaner and tried not to directly spay anything electrical. Some how I missed.

 

[Old ElCo Dude]

I tried again this morning and it won't start but the starter was clicking like it was bad or not getting juice. So I'm betting this is a starter issue, and probably a bad connection. I'll have to wait till after this storm, expecting 18 inches by tomorrow. Thanks for all the replies.

I don't trust jump starts they are too unreliable and lots of time people think just hook up the cables and think it will start right away. They don't even give it time to re-charge the cars battery a little before trying to start it again.
Try to find a side post battery, preferred is one that is from a running car and swap it into your car then try again. It definitely sounds like a weak battery or a bad battery connection.Starters don't just go bad from getting cleaned but if water got into the starter motor then a spray down with WD40 will get that out of there.You can also use it inside the distributor cap to dry it out if water got in there.Also just spraying the outside of the plug wires will help get it to start if that is a part of the problem.
Incidentally that's what WD40 stands for.....Water Displacement 40.....The 40th try when they were inventing the chemical formula and then finally got it right.

Check to see if the +Pos and -Neg terminals are clean & tight. Follow the cable down to the starter, is the battery cable tight at the starter ? And to make sure it's tight there,You can just give it a good tug if its loose you'll feel it move.
If it was starting before you cleaned the engine the new or temporary replacement battery should get it to start up again. keep us posted.

 

[Cuse99]

Funny thing. I left my lights on and killed the battery. I charged the battery to full in my garage, and now the car starts right up. Not sure what I did with the gunk, but the motor is much cleaner and it runs. Good enough.

 

[Streetbu]

Glad to hear it was a simple fix.