This post is "dead on" about how your converter started glowing. If you didn't drive it too much and distort the converter it should be OK. What causes them to go bad is that the bed of platinum inside gets so distorted that the gases leak around it. The other problem is that if too much raw hydocarbons get into the converter, especially when cold, they don't burn completly and "soot up" the converter plugging it up. Replace the ignition wires immediatly and you should be alright. If that doesn't work you may also have to replace the distributer cap and rotor. A bad fuel injector can also cause this but since you say it happened right after having the car washed it is more likely to be an ignition problem. David Teitelbaum vin 10757 --- In dmcnews@xxxx, "therealdmcvegas" <DMCVegas@xxxx> wrote: > You said the magic word: "wash"! Don't worry, you've just got a bit of water > down in the sparkplug wells. Water creates electrical path, so the spark is > weak because most of the charge never reaches the plug, thus fuel is not > completely burned, and the Catalytic Converter overheats due to eating up > the raw hydrocarbons. > > To fix, just pull the boots, and blow out the water with some compressed air, or > a straw. Just in case too, a hair dryer never hurts either. Daub a bit of that > spark plug conductive goop on, and replace the boots back onto the plugs. > But make sure that the boots themselves seat fully onto wells. If not, water > gets in, and will cause this exact problem. And of course, this is also why you > want to use wires meant for the PRV block. They're designed to keep water > out by having those boots installed. In anycase, all of this is in the archives of > anyone would like more details. > > One thing I don't know about though is if you'll have to replace the cat. I don't > don't know just how much "damage" it can take. If not melted, it could just > simply get clogged. I've seen gas additives in the store that claim to clean out > cats of excess deposites, but I'm still scratching my head as to just how in the > world they work.... In any case, if you're concerned about it, perhaps it's time to > check up on local regulations, and see about replacing that cat w/a straight > pipe anyways... > > -Robert > vin 6585 "X" > > >