I tried searching but I'm not even sure what to search for so maybe you guys can help.

SO i washed the engine bay yesterday, covered all the vitals yada yada, I've washed my engine bay many times never with any problems. I'm not sure if its related but I thought I would share that info.

I have a 2004 STi. When I start the car the parking brake light, the r.diff light and the battery light stay on. I start to move and step on the brakes and it will go away...but come back on sporadically. The ABS light flickers on and off. The windows will barely move, my wipers are super slow. My radio wont come on, the clock is dim, and my speedo and tach go from working to not working.

Also the car will barely start and refuses to accept anything other than 2% throttle, anymore it bucks and jerks and coughs.

ANy ideas????

:(

odds are water got into someplace it shouldn't be... maybe open the hood and leave it in the sun for a little while and see if it dries out?

For diagnosing, just start working your way through the electrical system - make sure everything is dry, no grounds are loose, etc.

Ok thanks, its kind of drizzling right now so i'm going to have to wait.

My guess with problems like that, the main fuse box behind the battery has soapy water in it.

Remove the negative terminal just in case something is shorted enough to be getting warm. Do that anyway for the time being to keep it from dying. And put it on a trickle charge while you are up. Sounds like it needs it.

Get some starter-fluid (ether) and squirt a healthy dose into that fuse box. The nearest gas station has cans if you don't. It will knock out some of the water, and evaporates quickly, carrying some more water with it. It's an old wet-distributor trick. (Even us noob muscle-heads have something to bring to the table. :cool: ) Pull the relays and the large fuses and do the same under each one, givign it time to evaporate each time before plugging them back in. Then let it sit and dry for a bit. Hook the battery back up and try again.

The speedo connection is electrical and is on the top, passenger side of the front of the tranny and I think they are succeptable to being flaky when wet. They'll throw a code too which is annoying. Instead of pulling the TMIC to get at it, perhaps setting a box fan on top of the motor to move air down (or pull it up) through the engine will speed up drying that out. But with a big hood scoop like we have, it'll get wet again, so pulling the TMIC and getting a good look at those plugs to insure they are tight might be a good idea.

The tach dying is kinda scary. Not sure where the sensor (cam sensor?) is that pulls that info.)

The bucking could be a wet MAF. Do you have an aftermarket open air elment... short ram/ K&N or such? Remove that and let some fresh air get in there. I get that sometimes after a wash, but it usually only happens within 100 yds of taking off.

Some people will probably flame you for washing the motor. I applaud you personally as I've had to reach into far to many nasty engine bays on days that I would otherwise have remained clean. Just be aware of these problem areas and try to keep them from geting hit full-on with high pressures. At home I just wipe and windex a bit. At the HP wash, I mist that tire clean over the area, then mist with the rinse. I might tag some nasty spots or some safe spots like the strut tops or the battery. A clean battery top is essential. Dirt slowly conducts.

Also look to see if you didn't blow a vaccum connection off. Check the port behind the power steering pump on the intake, it's not a good connection, and the one behind, to the passenger side of the TB.

Do you have any engine mods that might be succeptable to water?

In general, most new engines should be pretty waterproof. I mean look at the Evo's hood. It's like a gutter. Modern engines are pretty tight.

Probably not a issue but pull the ground from the battery and scuff it up real well and re connect. With that many issues it sounds like a bad connection at the main negative terminal.