TaiMaiShu

mannnn..............what a day.
I have a feeling my car is done for. I just got back from a day from hell. I know this is a long explanaition but please read on, I need all the help I can get guys. Here's what happened:

I was in Groton, about an hour and a half ago, driving to auto zone to buy some throttle body cleaner. The stop light turns green and i go on my way, now I'm driving hard but not so hard like a maniac, I'm in second gear at about 4000 rpms, and all of a sudden, I get like all the check lights on my dash. At first I'm thinking, oh ****, I just fucked my clutch. So i punch the gas a few times and the needle doesn't move. Stuck on 0 rpms. I didnt know my engine was off until I turned off the radio. So I floated down the hill, and turn to the next street that wasnt busy and put the hazard lights on and park it. I pop open the hood and there's a tiny bit of smoke, maybe from stuff being a tad bit wet from earlier today. It didnt smell like anything burning so I thought it might be my alternator. I check all the spark plug wires, make sure they're nice and snug. I walked about a mile and a half to some pay phones panic mode like ****, god bless that kind man for the lighter as my car was too far away to use the car lighter. I call up my pops and he comes down like half an hour later and we test the alternator...I don't know if we should trust that thing. anyway, the battery is new.
So then we try jump starting it. The starter is going Chuck-chuck chuck-chuck like normal, but the engine wont turn over for nothin. Now i'm fucked. It's labor day weekend, and we don't know if we can get a toe truck until tuesday since monday is labor day. Just when my dad said we'll have to accept our fate and pay the parking ticket, a man comes out of his house and offers us to park it in his driveway. God bless that man.

now, Here's the thing: Earier today, I was cleaning the engine with some simple green. I tried to be as careful as possible. Tooth brush and a rag, making sure I dont wet any electrical parts or wires. I used the hose to rinse stuff off but with the teeniest sprinkle possible. When I turned on the car, I noticed the car was running on 3 cylinders (maybe less) because you could feel the car trembling and the pulsating noise from the exhaust. So I checked the distributer and made sure the plugs were snug. Started her up and she was fine. I left the engine running for about 3-5 minutes and went out to do some errands. the car ran fine then. Do the spark plugs have to be in any particular order on the distributor? I know they're in the right order on the valve plugs.

Now I need you guys' opinion. What could the problem be? Did I blow my engine? Is my alternator shot? wires shorted? If I had an alternator problem, wouldn't all the electrical components die GRADUALLY instead of abruptly?
I wanna get the car back on the road A.S.A.P for the kent meet coming up this saturday.
I dunno man, I guess I never realized how much I loved my car. otherwise I wouldn't be so worried. I've got big plans for that machine.
thanks for reading.

edit: I tried not to wet the alternator but I might have. Could that be the prob?
and the only mods I have is a muffler and C.A.I (no turbo or anything) and the air sensor WAS plugged in. (everything was)
its a '93 Protege DX.

Glazedham42

Hmmm..... Very interesting. The first thing I would try doing is blowing out all the electrical components with a air compressor. There is a chance that you could've gotten water down in your plug holes. Also, if you unplugged your wires from the distributor you'll want to make sure that they ARE hooked up the same way you took them off. You can't just hook them to wherever, or the car won't fire right. They MUST be hooked up to the correct location on your dist. cap.

Take out your spark plugs and blow out the holes really good. You probably have water in them. If it's not that, I would guess maybe the timing belt is broken?? Dunno for sure. If it isn't something electrical then I would say you didn't cause it by washing out the engine compartment, so don't get too bent out of shape about it. I used to soak the engine on my 91 DX and it never hurt it.

These are the first things I would try. If that's still not what's wrong, don't give up. From my experience these cars are durable as $%#@. You can't tear up the 1st gen Pros. Just keep hunting and you'll find out what's wrong. Good luck!

TaiMaiShu

I wouldn't be surprised if I went down there tomorrow and turn the key and the sunuvabitch starts up. lol. Do you know what order they go in on the distributor?

websurfer970

you said some smoke came out, what color? how long had you been driving when it happened? check all the connections, something could have come loose. has the alt. ever been replaced?

skr33t_rac3r

maybe u floated a valve. i did that once all my lights came on and alot of my fuses blew so i suggest u check the fuses that could be all ur problem

TaiMaiShu

smoke was white i think, it was dark out and I didnt have a flash light but I'm almost sure it was clearish white.
and it didnt smell. So I thought it was steam. The alt. was never replaced. At least not by me, maybe the previous owner did but it looks old as hell so I doubt it. I was driving it for about 10-15 minutes before it happened but before that, like I was saying earlier, I was running around doing some errands for about 45 min, so the time the car rested in between was like an hour. not sure if that matters....
I think it's just the way I plugged the sparkies into the distributer. Might have fucked up the firing order (?). I just need to know which order they go in. If thats not the problem then I'm gonna have to get a new alternator (last resort) but before that i'll get a hair blow dryer and make sure every nook and cranny's dry.

TaiMaiShu

which fuses? the one inside the car underneath the steering wheel next to the clutch pedal? or under the hood?

skr33t_rac3r

they blew everywhere 2 under the hood and like 5 under the steering wheel

cortez

You might want to make sure that it isn't that the timing belt broke. If you crank the engine and the cams are not moving (check by removing the oil fill cap), that will tell you.

Good luck!

TaiMaiShu

*Sigh of relief*
well I got that bad boy started up.
What happened was the wire leading from the ignition coil to the distributor was bad, my dad checked it with an ohmeter. Somehow, I guess I had wet it yesterday. I'm glad the problem wasn't more serious.
The dude that let me park his car in his driveway wasn't home but before I left, his wife and kid came home and I helped her carry her groceries into the house.
MILF! MILF!
By the way, when my car was running on 3 cylinders, will that screw up my compression? I didn't drive it around like that but it was sitting there for a few minutes.

zenilder

nah. you shouldn't really worry about any adverse effects from one cylinder being out while idling. compression won't be affected.

cool to hear it was only a wire. when I was first reading it, sounded like you really fried something. heh.

Vormav

on your distributor there will be the number one in one of the corners.. top left if your lookign straigth at it from the fender. .. now from left to right your plugs go into it like this..
1-top left 2 top right 3 bottom left 4 bottom right ...

TaiMaiShu

I thought so. I'm a genius.

Vormav

lol.. yeah im a master at it after today read this
http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...threadid=30784
...stupid things... grrrr

TaiMaiShu

SPEAK OF THE ****** DEVIL

NOW i need a new alternator.
Her lights dim when I hit the accelerator and i get the "charge battery" light, which means my alternator isn't charging the battery, and the alternator is dead so the car is running on battery power.. Perfect timing huh?
I know a guy I can get a rebuilt one for around 25-30 bucks.