Throttle problem cropped up after wash.

[Retroman1969]

Hey guys!
I'm in the middle of my Eureka Springs trip, and the old Box did beautifully the whole way. Carved the mountains giggling like a kid!
However it stormed last night up here and I took the car to the car wash to hose off the pine needles and such, and when I pulled out of the bay, the throttle suddenly started revving to 2500, then making a pop! noise, and dropping to 1000. And just does this over and over. A bit nerve rattling driving slow in close quarters.
I'm assuming something got wet.
I'm at the car show now and will see if it still does it after it dries off.
Perhaps of note: a small split in the back window let a dribble of water run down the shelf carpet.
Any ideas? Could my computer have gotten wet? TPS?
Thanks!

[Retroman1969]

I may have it figured out.
I checked under the seats and the carpet under the drivers seat is very damp. Not soaked, but damp. There is no check engine light or codes, but that has to be it.
I've put the top and windows down to let it dry out. See what happens.

[Jager]

Any luck...?

[Retroman1969]

Yes, it just got worse until I filled it up with fresh gas and the problem went away immediately..... So, bad gas? I guess? Weird how it drove fine on the the first 3/4 of that tank and suddenly horrible on the last 1/4. I guess the car wash was a red herring.
Drove it 2 hours through the mountains to Branson and drives perfectly fine.

[Jager]

I was in Missouri Tuesday last week and had a similar experience. Got down to ¼ tank and my 4S coughed a few times. Got off the next exit and filled-up and then added some “Heet” fuel additive. I have not had a problem since. Maybe we purchased bad gas from the same station??

[Retroman1969]

LOL! Sounds like it! Or they were visited by the same truck.
Glad yours was as easy to remedy. It's a sinking feeling when the car suddenly starts misbehaving. The worst thoughts come to mind, especially out in the middle of nowhere!

[Retroman1969]

The rest of the trip has gone fine, and the car has been an angel on these roads! I'm finally driving it the way it was intended, and it delivers!

[Retroman1969]

[Jamesp]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing!

[Retroman1969]

Thank you James!

[steved0x]

Yeah cool pictures and glad it got worked out for you.

[RandallNeighbour]

Great Pix!

My guess is that the bad gas was burning fairly well when the motor was up to temp or that you have some condensation in your fuel tank.

[Retroman1969]

Thanks guys!
Homeward bound now, and the old Boxster is still humming along like bass-voiced sewing machine. that had to be it.