Do I cove the Battery For Enginebay Cleaning?

M

miata_roadster

New member
Hello Autopia,



I'm detailing my aunt's Toyota Camry this week and I'm wondering if I should wash it or cover it for protection? :confused: I can recall that some have never covered anything for a enginebay cleaning. Now I would never do that! But I would cover most electricals. Thanks in advance.



Happy Motoring,

Kurt
 
Where I work we don't cover anything. But I always thought you should cover all electrical things ie. alternator, distributor, battery ect. Does anybody else not cover anything?
 
I covered things up on the first engine cleaning I did, and now about 7 or 8 engine cleanings later; I don't.



The engine was made to be water tight because you can drive it in the rain.



I take caution around the battery and wires though. I wet them but don't spray them down full force. After I rinse off the engine degreaser, I wipe everything I can reach dry. Then start the engine. I run it and rev it slowly up to about 4 or 5 RPMs 3 times and let it idle for 2 minutes. The I dress it.
 
My experience is on detailing a 25-yr-old car. The battery really needed cleaning. So I just detached the connections at the post. Used baking soda to neutralize some of those white buildups, degreaser on other areas. Then dried. Then reconnected the battery. No problems with that.
 
Well I just did the enginebay today w/ every electrical thing that I thought could be harmed by water. It started up w/o a hitch :). It looks very lovely now. I can't wait to finish up this project to show my aunt on how great looking of a car it was underneath that gunk! Thanks for the info guys :).



Happy Motoring,

Kurt
 
I don't cover the battery for an engine detail, but I do generally cover the alternator and the distributor or ignition coils. Tin foil is my product of choice, it's very easy to shape around the part your protecting. Jason is correct about the engine being able to withstand water so you can drive in the rain, and if you've ever worked on cars, you know that water gets everywhere in the engine bay....but, the engineers do not take into consideration a concentrated blast of water when designing the engine, that's why I cover those sensitive areas. Also, I don't spray the plug wires with too much water, don't count out their ability to short through the wire harness. Actually, if you have ever seen it happen, it's pretty cool looking. When testing for a bad wire we used to run the engine and spritz water over the engine bay...where you saw the electricity arc was where you had the bad wire. Like I said, a very beautiful thing to look at...provided that you didn't have to pay for the new wires.
 
I always use seran wrap on the battery connections and the alternator, distributor/hei coil, etc.



I would say also just be careful, anyplace you see wires try your best not to spray down (especially be careful where the harness sticks through the firewall... I got an interior soaked one time because I sprayed that area too much :( )
 
Thanks for the much needed info! My aunt will be shocked on how clean it will be under the hood. I personally think that under the hood is what really shows who is really into it or not. I personally am crazy about cleaning cars. I love doing the exterior paint surface but have found that cleaning the enginebay is just as much fun to do so. The interior is my least favorite of them all

:(. I just have a rough time getting all of the lint, hair, sand, and etc. out! But I now I'm just talking off the subject again :). Thanks once again on the info on what to protect.



Happy Motoring,

Kurt
 
You don't need to cover anything up. Just don't hit the alternator

too hard with the water and run the motor until it's dry once done

rinsing. Mop up any large puddles you can get to with a rag to

shorten dry time. I've never had any electrical problems using

this procedure. Just make sure to run it til it's dry (15 min. is

usually plenty).





P.S. If you're drying with a rag while the motor is running, be

extremely careful around any pullys/belts...we wouldn't want

you to lose any fingers or worse.
 
Just my opinion, I always pull the battery out before cleaning the engine and clean the battery separately. One needs to be careful with any battery acid inadvertently getting on or into places you don't want it, will mar, leave permanent spots, and even remove the paint and damage metal areas. Neutralizing any acid and cleaning the battery tray and terminals, before cleaning the engine compartment, is a lot easier and safer. The place I used to work at used to do a lot of engine steam cleaning and on older cars, we replaced a lot of corroded and rusted battery trays that could not be saved plus the battery holddowns from battery acid damage, and had to sand and repaint the areas underneath the battery tray. Not much fun and the uniform people weren't too happy about the acid damage (holes) to their clothes...lol.
 
IMO, no need to cover the battery per se. However, if we're talking about an engine detail, it would be prudent to remove the battery and most other removable parts from the engine bay. If it's a quick engine cleaning, then no need to remove the batt nor cover it.



It's wise to cover the alternator, distributor and other exposed ignition components. What's 3-5 minutes covering up these components, right? Again, this all depends on your method of cleaning the engine bay. If you won't spray water all over the place, chances are you can get away without covering anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top