1997 Chrysler Sebring WET ENGINE. PLEASE HELP!

TJSNFRD

MEMBER
1997 CHRYSLER SEBRING

Electrical problem
1997 Chrysler Sebring 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

My car had a minor oil leak and I went and bought a can of engine degreaser. I followed the instructions exactly as they were listed:
Start with cool engine
Spray engine with degreaser
Let sit 15 minutes
Rinse with minimal amount of water
Start car.

All went like it said. Except the starting part. The car wont start. Period. Ive had the hood open two days in a row to try to dry it out but still no luck. The car sounds like it wants to turn over and seems like the starter is working but it just wont start. Ive even tried using starting fluid in the air intake thinking maybe it wasnt getting fuel. No luck!

*Note- I removed the distributor cap to check for moisture and found only a few drops of water. I dried it out and still get the same symptoms.
PLEASE HELP!

1 Reply

ERNEST CLARK

MECHANIC
1,730 POSTS

First of all, you really shouldn't use starting fluid on a fuel injected.

Is your "Check Engine" light now coming on? If you shorted any connections with moister, it may give you a code. Have it scanned to see if there's any recorded. AutoZone will do this for free.

Also, are your interior electrical accessories working fine?

As for your "Degreased Engine", I hope you didn't use a high-pressure hose? That is a BIG no, no!

And you probably got the degreaser inside of a connector on your wiring harness. That would short out the wires and give your computer some hick-ups.

What you should do is disconnect your battery's negative cable, then unplug every single connector and visually inspect their insides. If you see any moisture, use a Q-tip to dry the inside, making sure not to bend/break any of the pins.

Then try to restart you motor. And if you ever have oil on your motor, don't worry about it. If it spills on the exhaust, it'll smell for a little while, but eventually burn off. The only issue would be spilling too much on your alternator, which sill short it out. Other than that, it won't cause you any problems. Just don't spray your engine with anything anymore.