Technical Puddles, loss of power and lots of steam

[eltoastio]

Hey guys, first post here, unfortunately it's due to technical faults with the Uno

This morning I drove through a pretty big puddle which seems to have caused a few problems...

About 30secs after I went through the puddle, the car started to lose power in the lower end of the revs. After quite a short while, it seemed to settle down so I continued to travel to work.

However, I just started her up and there was a bit of a burning smell and what appears to be lots of steam coming from the exhaust.

She didn't have much problems starting - I had to apply a small amount of choke, though this is usually the case with this car.

Has anybody had the same problems before?

Someone has told me the electrics could be soaked, or that water could have got into the air intake and I should let her run for a while so the water will dry out. Good idea or not?

I wanted to get some opinions from people a little more familiar with the cars really

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the massive post!!

 

[Biz]

Yeah generally going through puddles isnt good for a older car like Unos!

Itll get in most electrics and if the engine suck its up it can go bang!
Remember water cannot be compressed remotely as easily as petrol can!

Let a hot day take care of it, if you still get troubles, remember what it does from the moment you start it to when i does it

 

[alexGS]

Hey guys, first post here, unfortunately it's due to technical faults with the Uno

Hi - welcome to the forum - sorry it's been so long but I was sure I replied to this before - did you double-post somewhere else? :chin:

If it's the FIRE engine, you might have drowned two of the spark plugs - check they're not underwater in their little holes on the back of the engine - preferably blow the water away with compressed air, then check that the plug lead boot is not damp. If no compressed air, use a sponge, paper towels or similar.

Also check that the distributor has no water inside.

Biz means "water cannot be compressed as easily as air/petrol mix" Petrol itself is incompressible (otherwise, the fuel pump wouldn't work too well).

It is true that if water went in the air intake, you may have major problems - but it would take a lot of water to get through the air filter. You could start by using compressed air (again...) to blow out the carburettor - fuel will spray out but hopefully also any water left sitting in there which can play havoc with the fuelling. Again, if no compressed air, take the carburettor apart carefully (two short bolts and two long bolts that hold it down also, for the FIRE) and dry it out with paper towels or rags (preferably non-linting).

I used to have an X1/9 where, after driving around a right-hand bend, the engine would stutter to a halt. The reason was a puddle of water in the carburettor that the petrol would sit on top of, until I went round the corner and then the main jet would suck water instead of petrol

Cheers,
-Alex

 

[stealthstylz]

The exhaust might just be full of water. Get it running and rev it a bit and it should clear.

Matt