I was on my way home in the middle of a downpour last nite and I hit a water puddle in the road on the right side of the truck. The water spashed over the hood and 5 seconds later the engine dies while I'm driving. I pull over and try to crank it up and it won't. So I got a ride home and decided to wait until today to check it out, to see if maybe something just needed to dry out.

I go back out there today and try to crank again. It's doing the same thing it did last nite... it's trying to turn over but it won't. I checked everything from the ignitor to the plug wires and it's all working fine. No water in anything. I didn't pull the plugs because water isn't supposed to get in there anyway and it didn't look like any water was pooled up around them. I checked the intake hose to see if water got in the engine but it was dry as a bone. The only thing I can think of is the starter. But why would that kill the engine while I was going 40 mph? Does the starter keep the engine going? If you guys can think of something that I'm not, I'm all ears.

 

I'd pull the plugs anyway just to be on the safe side.

 

Also pull the distributor cap. Water can get in but doesn't leave very easy.

 

The EFI fuse was blown. It kills me to think it was something so simple. I never would have thought of it if I didn't call my mechanic. Just your classic case of overlooking the simple things. I'm relieved though.

 

Gald you found the problem! I was going to say check distributor cap also. Just goes to show ya, check the easiest first and work your way up. I guess water must have hit your wire and grounded it somehow and blown your fuse. Glad all's well!

 

Good to hear.

 

Glad you found it. Now you know what fuse to pull if you want to disable your truck while leaving it somewhere.

I do it to our Accord all the time.

 

This happened to my brothers 90 4Runner. We tracked it down to the EFI fuse but the fuse kept blowing. Finally tracked it down to a shorted lead on the Oxygen sensor. If it blows again you might check that.

 

Funny you should mention that, because the next two days after the first blow, it blew both days. Each time was within the first 5-10 mins of starting the engine after it had been sitting overnite. After I replaced it the first time, it was fine for the rest of the day. I figured something was still wet so I decided to wait and see how long it would last. It's been 2 days since the last blow, so I guess the problem is gone. I just hope it didn't cause any hidden damage that I might have to deal with later.

 

Originally, we thought it was the fuel pump but after the fuel pump was disconnected it would still blow the fuse. It was hard to tell that the oxygen sensor was actually in the same circuit, even with the FSMs. An internet search actually found the answer to the problem. Cutting out the melted insulation and splicing the wires did the trick and tying it up out of the way to prevent it from happening again. Hopefully, your problem is simple to fix.