[Zainrz96]

Hi guys! how are you all? i have a couple things to discuss.
i recently washed my engine bay (stupid thing to do) i just used the regular hose we have at our house. no pressure just normal,
after i was done the engine light came on, i didnt notice anything with the cars performance though, it was fine, then it went away in a couple hours.

its been a few weeks now, and ocassionally , the light randomly comes on and goes away in a couple hours, this never happened before with me, is something wrong with the car? i dont know what to do, but i never notice anything in driving the car, its just the light,

and second, im thinking of getting a battery for the car and i dont wanna pay 600$ for it if i get from Bmw , can i just get one from Canadian tire or Costco for way less (150-200$) would that battery work the same?

oh and btw the car is a 323i 2009
Thank you everyone!

[Jashan90]

First of all.... never a good idea to wash your engine Bay!!!! Especially with a full blown hose. Never do that again... As you know as complex as these cars can be there are a lot of sensors working together to constantly give information to the ECU. Good chance you got a sensor wet. I would go though all of the connections that are visible and one by one clean and reconnect each one. Keep in mind you want to disconnect your battery before you do so.
My Indy mechanic always tells me to leave battery disconnected for at least an hour because the car still may have some juice in it.

2. Your battery can be replaced by the one at Costco that's fine. You'll have to register your battery with the car as well. You can get a local Indy mechanic to do that or you can use the Carly app.(you'll need the Carly adapter)

[unrulyteach]

Washing ur engine bay is totally fine

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Originally Posted by unrulyteach

Washing ur engine bay is totally fine

I washed mine a few weeks back because I had a coolant leak and got antifreeze all over the place. I covered the obvious electrical connections and alternator with foil. I sprayed degreaser on the engine and I used a low pressure hose and minimal water (just to wash off the degreaser). After I was done I ran the engine to try and dry off any water that was pooled on the engine.

I don’t know that this will keep you from having issues but it worked for me...

[Bimmer Pleaser]

Originally Posted by Zainrz96

Hi guys! how are you all? i have a couple things to discuss.
i recently washed my engine bay (stupid thing to do) i just used the regular hose we have at our house. no pressure just normal,
after i was done the engine light came on, i didnt notice anything with the cars performance though, it was fine, then it went away in a couple hours.

its been a few weeks now, and ocassionally , the light randomly comes on and goes away in a couple hours, this never happened before with me, is something wrong with the car? i dont know what to do, but i never notice anything in driving the car, its just the light,

and second, im thinking of getting a battery for the car and i dont wanna pay 600$ for it if i get from Bmw , can i just get one from Canadian tire or Costco for way less (150-200$) would that battery work the same?

oh and btw the car is a 323i 2009
Thank you everyone!

Check engine light may/may not be related to you washing the engine bay. You need to connect a BMW specific code reader and scan for existing/old codes.

I also think there is no good reason to wash an engine bay. wipe off dust with shop paper towel. If there Oil you need to find the leaking source and fix it.

[Zainrz96]

Thank you everyone! You guys are amazing. I appreciate the help 😊

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by unrulyteach

Washing ur engine bay is totally fine

Bingo

[unrulyteach]

Originally Posted by Zainrz96

Thank you everyone! You guys are amazing. I appreciate the help

Did u figure it out

[Zainrz96]

Originally Posted by unrulyteach

Did u figure it out

Yup i did! Thanks!

[unrulyteach]

Originally Posted by Zainrz96

Yup i did! Thanks!

What was it?

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by unrulyteach

Washing ur engine bay is totally fine

Its actually TOTALLY unecessary and not even a good way to get rid of oil stains..

In theory it might be fine. In practice different story. Water is the last thing i want at every crevasse of my engine bay.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by unrulyteach

Washing ur engine bay is totally fine

Originally Posted by tlow98

Bingo

I've also done it a number of times before... Never had any issues.

I think the key here is to not pressure wash the living shit out of it, lest you end up forcing water past seals on electrical connectors, or into other nooks and crannies that shouldn't be getting wet.

Apparently it's good practice to cover your alternator, and perhaps a few other areas, but I've never bothered.

And if you live where I do (freezing 8 months of the year), then it's probbbably not a good idea to do it if it'll freeze before it dries.

------------

LOL just noticed OP lives where I do too. Whattup.

[Zainrz96]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

I've also done it a number of times before... Never had any issues.

I think the key here is to not pressure wash the living shit out of it, lest you end up forcing water past seals on electrical connectors, or into other nooks and crannies that shouldn't be getting wet.

Apparently it's good practice to cover your alternator, and perhaps a few other areas, but I've never bothered.

And if you live where I do (freezing 8 months of the year), then it's probbbably not a good idea to do it if it'll freeze before it dries.

------------

LOL just noticed OP lives where I do too. Whattup.

Hey, really sorry for the late reply, just came on here and saw this
What part of Calgary are you in?