Cleaning the engine bay?

I would certainly be concerned with keeping water away from the air intake and fuse box but I have routinely ( for 30 years) sprayed off the battery when cleaning the engine compartment without experiencing any problems. As far as the alternator, I have gone so far as to thoroughly hose them out once or twice when they became caked with mud; again no problems. I don't use a pressure washer, just a garden hose. Sometimes I use a commercial degreaser, sometimes just plain water. Sometimes the engine is cold, sometimes hot, and sometimes while its running but always start it up and keep it running to dry things out. The only time I has a starting issue was due to a worn out spark plug wire creating a short and very rough running and stalling engine. Just get a buddy to hold onto them one at a time while you crank the engine and when you see him fly across the room you know you found the bad wire!

 

If I do any mudding I take it in and have it professional cleaned, then just maintain the keep up with simple green and a damp towel.

If that isn't an option, a pressure washer is a useful tool to clean engine bays. Just keep the pressure low.

 

I've done it with garden hose and the gun they sell for watering. Had no issues. I Wouldn't use any pressured water.

 

Hopefully going to be doing this soon, if anyone has any new tips or products since this thread was created, thatd be great, thanks.