Cleaning Mud off the engine by spraying water

[Dagwood]

No, not at all. Water creates a shock hazard because it is so non conductive that your body is a better source of conductivity for electricity to go to ground therefore shocking you

Sponsored

 

[Stormin’ Moorman]

Every single item below 30" is water proof. Every single item above 30" is extremely water resistant. Just watch the high pressure stuff and you should be fine.

 

[Arterius2]

No, not at all. Water creates a shock hazard because it is so non conductive that your body is a better source of conductivity for electricity to go to ground therefore shocking you

I know that pure water is not conductive, but as you know, you will almost never find pure water anywhere... electrolytes(salt, minerals, impurities) in water is what makes water conductive.

 

[Dagwood]

And dc current is not dangerous like ac. You can touch both positive and negative on the battery and not get shocked

 

[jayvis]

Not a conductor of electricity.

No, PURE water is not a good conductor at all, though the conductivity is not zero. According to the LennTech webpage Water Conductivity: Pure water is not a good conductor of electricity. Ordinary distilled water in equilibrium with carbon dioxide of the air has a conductivity of about 10×10−6 W−1m−1. It is the impurities in plain water that conduct electricity. I doubt very much that the water you are using to spray off your Jeep is PURE water. Most water we use is full of minerals and other impurities.

 

[Arterius2]

So, what's the consensus here? Spray or Nay?
Cover the up intake, battery and fuse box with plastic bag, and spray away?

 

[Dagwood]

So fill a plastic bowl up with tap water and try to complete a dc electrical circuit and let ne know what happens . Hint, nothing

 

[Dagwood]

So, what's the consensus here? Spray or Nay?
Cover the up intake, battery and fuse box with plastic bag, and spray away?

Spray away

 

[mwilk012]

Regular tap water being sprayed on a battery is DEFINITELY capable of conducting between the poles. However, the low voltage of the battery will cause nothing to happen, just as if you touched the +&- poles yourself. a 48v battery may have different results, I'm not sure how far apart the poles are.

 

[Badweissenbier]

And dc current is not dangerous like ac. You can touch both positive and negative on the battery and not get shocked

Not exactly true, low voltage in a 12V DC application is less likely to overcome your internal resistance. However modern automakers are moving to higher DC voltages where there could be more of a danger. Voltage level is the danger not wether it’s AC or DC.

 

[Dagwood]

Not exactly true, low voltage in a 12V DC application is less likely to overcome your internal resistance. However modern automakers are moving to higher DC voltages where there could be more of a danger. Voltage level is the danger not wether it’s AC or DC.

Agreed but a car operates on 12v

 

[TJ2018]

So, what's the consensus here? Spray or Nay?
Cover the up intake, battery and fuse box with plastic bag, and spray away?

I say spray away with the caveats mentioned above.

I did a washdown of my engine last night without issue. It's difficult to get to the engine cooling fans (at least from up top) so I don't know if they may still have mud on them (if they ever did). I "think" the engine fan (or fans... anyone know if there's 1 or 2 fans for engine cooling?) is running smoother but not hot enough to spool up to full speed this morning.

I haven't tried accessing the fan from underneath yet so that may be easier. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get to the cooling fan (2.0T motor)?

 

[mwilk012]

So, what's the consensus here? Spray or Nay?
Cover the up intake, battery and fuse box with plastic bag, and spray away?

Just don't spray it directly with a ton of water, and dry it off when you're done by driving around a bit.

 

[mwilk012]

Agreed but a car operates on 12v

Yea, but that doesn't make all DC safe. It's all about the voltage.

 

[Badweissenbier]

Agreed but a car operates on 12v

Actually doesn’t the jl now have 48, and what about Tesla, leaf, volt, Prius and the rest. Gone are the days where saying it’s a car it’s safe cause it’s just 12V. That was my point. I deal with DC systems that will make you DRT. So I’m just trying to kill the old adage that DC is safe while AC isn’t. Both are extremely dangerous in the right circumstances

Sponsored