Last Wednesday I had my 89 Cutlass Supreme's interior and engine
completely steam cleaned and shampoed.

That same day, I had some strange electrical things happen. First, my
drivers-side power window did not work at all. Second, my "FASTEN
SEAT BELTS" light would light-up full or half-dim sometimes all by
itself even though I had my seat belt on. My shock sensor for my
alarm would cause the alarm to go off by itself.

Then, on Friday morning, I tried to start the car to go to work and
found that the battery was so completely drained that it wouldn't even
CLICK or turn-over at all! My digital dash, which normally shows
5-bars for the battery when not running showed NONE! It was that
dead...

So I got it boosted Friday after work and took it for a 45 minute
drive on the highway to get it charged-up. Since then, everything has
started to get back to normal. The power window now works fine, the
"FASTEN SEAT BELTS" light no longer comes on, and the alarm is working
perfectly. Plus, the car started fine every try on Saturday and
Sunday. Although on both days I did notice that the voltage wasn't as
high as it normally was before the engine was shampoed, especially at
idle.

Then, today, going out to go to work AGAIN, the car battery was dead!!
Wouldn't even attempt to turn-over it was so drained! It had only
been parked for about 15 hours over night. I got it boosted and drove
to work, arriving a few minutes late.

Now, I am convinced that SOMETHING is draining the battery when the
car is shut off. I believe this is known as a "parasitic drain".

The battery, an Interstate Megatron, and alternator, a GM Delco, are
both fairly new, about 1 year old, and both were replaced at the same
time. Before Wednesday, I had absolutely NO charging or starting
problems, so I know for a fact that the cleaning did something to
cause this.

Anyone have any advice or possible solutions?

THANKS!

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004, bigbossfan80 wrote:

Never a good idea.

And that's why.


Don't do it again!

Steam cleaning an engine compartment is not recommended. All those electrical
connections now have expensive boots and other designs to keep water out. A
steamer overpowers those and puts water and chemicals where they shouldn't be.
With modern electronic systems and multiplexed wiring, the consequences can be
expensive. If it dries out and all the problems go away, you dodged the
bullet.

As for the battery, you need to put it on a slow charger overnight. The
alternator is a maintainer, not a charger. Go buy a *fully* automatic charger
that has a 2-amp setting and let it charge overnight. Then start it and check
the voltage at the battery terminals. Should be about 13.5 volts (13.2V
minimum) or more with the engine running and the battery charger not connected.
Keep jumping it off and you will have more problems.

On 23 Aug 2004 11:12:53 -0700, deanbrnz (AT) yahoo (DOT) ca (bigbossfan80) wrote:

Texas Parts Guy

Yes there is probably water somewhere it shouldn't be causing you grief. It
seems the window and seatbelt have dried out but there is still some more
water somewhere that needs to dry out.

If you want to narrow it down, check the amps across each of the fuses (by
removing the fuse first, any fusable links, etc. This will tell you which
circuit is draining. I hope things dry out for you soon, but keep a charger
on your battery in the meantime.

You may also want to check the integrity of your electrical connections
under your hood, especially around your alternator. Who knows what could
have been blasted by the steam cleaner. If your voltage is less than 13.5
while running, your alternator or connections to it and the battery are
likely the problem.

If you need more particular steps in troubleshooting because your problems
persist, please post back.

You 'had' it steam cleaned and shampooed? Who did the work? Take it
back to the bone-heads who handled the hose. Why bother doing this
sort of thing?(Shampoo)Unless you've got some serious engine work
ahead. Engines don't care if they're a little grimy, there's no
performance issues with a regularly dirty engine and engine bay.
In your spanky clean bay, look for evidence of shorts, look for
connectors still wet.

Rick De Visser wrote:

Hi...

Might also be worth 10 second effort to check the belt?

Dunno what high pressure steam might do to it, but it
surely can't be good

Take care.

Ken

Take a volt meter, and start the car. Then test the voltage of the battery
with the engine running. It should be around 14 volts. Then check the
battery with the engine off, it should be around 12 volts. It could be
either:

1) Your battery is dieing.
2) The amperage your alternator is putting out isn't enough to completely
charge the battery, draining the battery.

"bigbossfan80" <deanbrnz (AT) yahoo (DOT) ca> wrote

I've cleaned engines in several of my vehicles without any problems but
MAYBE a little spudder till they dried out. I always used Degreaser and the
hose at the car wash, never steamcleaner and shampoo


"master of none" <turnleftbythestick (AT) yahoo (DOT) co.uk> wrote

I have used tire foam and the garden hose for years with no problems at all.
Had to be the pressure and steam that jacked things up. The "shampoo" that
was used may have caused an advers effect on the belt strtching it out, and
then resulting in no charge to the battery.

"bigbossfan80" <deanbrnz (AT) yahoo (DOT) ca> wrote

Best bet is to spray every snap connector you see with a WD 40 type
product. If you spot green
electrical connectors, unplug,apply some fine valve grinding compound to the
connector, and plug / unplug many times, follow up with more spray oil
to flush away abrasive. Modern cars have so many electrical connectors that
time spent maintaining them will pay off big down the road.

I use Castrol Super Clean, and hot water to clean filthy engines. Once
it's clean,
Simple Green, and warm water will keep it that way