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View Full Version : Car acts like crap in the rain



Sabz5150
06-15-2004, 06:57 PM
Whenever it rains hard the car will stall out at idle. It'll run fine and drive fine, but when I have to stop or let the engine idle, it'll stumble and die. I'm guessing water is getting into something that it shouldn't be. Anyone have any guess where to look to solve this problem?

Vinny
06-15-2004, 07:11 PM
Might be in the coil, especially if its an aftermarket. Been there, done that, causes a short. Oh that reminds me. The hatch did that once. Theres a ruber seal between the dizzy and the cap that gets dry rotted and lets water in. Car died everytime I took it to the car wash or hosed down the engine. Replaced said seal, not a problem since.

zero.counter
06-15-2004, 07:15 PM
Check if there are any cracks ont he distributor. When it is humid, condensation can get inside of the housing causing these issues.

BlueBead
06-15-2004, 07:44 PM
It's got to be either the dizzy or the coil like these guys already said. There is a product out there that will displace water from the parts, but if your dizzy cap is cracked like zero.counter said you'll want to replace it for sure. Hopefully its just a leak like vinny is talking about though.
The stuff I'm thinking about is made by Gunk brand.
here is the link- http://www.gunk.com/oe2.asp?pic=M1306
I used the stuff on my Jag's diz last fall and it worked great.
Hope this helps!

Sabz5150
06-16-2004, 04:55 AM
I'll check that out. Also it's worth noting that it only does it when the engine's warm. Had to take my g/f to work today and on the way there it was just fine. Coming back it started crapping out again. It would hold a rough low idle at first, then I had to keep the pedal slightly pressed to keep it running.

O2 sensor?

Vinny
06-16-2004, 05:27 AM
Take a hose to it when its warmed up and see what happens. Spay the dizzy, the coil, and whatever else you think may be a cause. If it bogs or dies, you've found it. It may not be a temp. The more you drive when its rainging the more moisture could be getting into whatever it is thats failing

PortugalFocus
06-16-2004, 06:11 AM
Check if there are any cracks ont he distributor. When it is humid, condensation can get inside of the housing causing these issues.

Ditto, I suta have a Chevy Citation that whenever it would rain the car would stall and die if I came to a light and stopped. I had to pull the distro cap off, wipe it clean of any water with a rag and dry it. Once i did that then the car would run fine again.

I was just to lazy and it was too expensive at the time to replace the cap. So i just kept cleaning.

Sabz5150
06-16-2004, 01:26 PM
I think it's the ignitor. When the car is stumbling, it feels like it's not firing on all cylinders, and the air/fuel ratio gauge (although not accurate) does a stoich-rich-stoich-rich-stoich-rich thing when the car is TRYING to idle.

Anyway, I went to a service station and put a cold rag on the ignitor for about a minute and VROOM, the car ran fine.

Am I right? Anyone else had this problem?

86LXItooFAST4me
06-16-2004, 02:13 PM
lol, just change out your dist cap and wires.

Sabz5150
06-16-2004, 03:42 PM
lol, just change out your dist cap and wires.

Plugs are almost new, cap is not cracked and dry as a bone.

86LXItooFAST4me
06-17-2004, 06:52 PM
i had the same prob one time and it turned out one of the wires was worn bare in a spot. i highly recomend just change'n the cap and wires and your probs will be over. its only like $20

AccordEpicenter
06-17-2004, 06:56 PM
change all that stuff, if youre too cheap, get some wd40, that might temporarily relieve the problem

Brentm
06-17-2004, 08:45 PM
I have the exact same problem, I checked the dist cap and wires, and it was all dry and in good condition. I had my car tuned up, but it hasnt rained or been wet out since... Can I just put some silicone around the dist cap and press the dist cap back on or will this scerw something up?

86LXItooFAST4me
06-18-2004, 06:56 AM
if the cap has one little tinny crack, precipitation will cause the spark to "jump" and instead of the spark going to the spark plug it is transferred from the rotor to the crack and from the crack to a ground somewhere causing your engine to shutter or stall. now go spend 5 dollars on a new cap. and if you dont believe anyone, go out at night and open your hood, turn your can on an see if you see and sparks around the dist and wires. if not, throw some water on it and im sure youll see it the. that is if you do have a crack or short somewhere.

IN_ONE_ACCORD
06-18-2004, 08:13 AM
Do you have a CAI down low under the car? I've heard of water getting sucked up into the intake and making a unit run shitty....only happened when it rained.

BlueBead
06-18-2004, 10:10 AM
If you don't want to buy anything new, that gunk spray is supposed to:
*
M1306 Wire Dryer
- Dries wet ignition systems leaving a weatherproof coating.
- Excellent for all electrical parts, batteries, distributors, coils, plugs, leads, cables, and wires.
*
and so should solve any issues if its actually the dizzy. Of course, if it is the diz you're better off with a new one in the long run. I dunno man, sounds like you need to spend some time messing with it. I'd try the hose like Vinny said and hopefully you'll get it figured out soon. Good luck!

Sabz5150
06-18-2004, 10:15 AM
If you don't want to buy anything new, that gunk spray is supposed to:
*
M1306 Wire Dryer
- Dries wet ignition systems leaving a weatherproof coating.
- Excellent for all electrical parts, batteries, distributors, coils, plugs, leads, cables, and wires.
*
and so should solve any issues if its actually the dizzy. Of course, if it is the diz you're better off with a new one in the long run. I dunno man, sounds like you need to spend some time messing with it. I'd try the hose like Vinny said and hopefully you'll get it figured out soon. Good luck!

I'll probably grab a new cap and some of the wire dryer. Eventually I'll break down (no pun intended) and get a distributor off a Prelude. We'll see :)

sticks
01-11-2006, 02:20 PM
did you ever get it fixed? i have the same problem and i can't figure it out. took off the cap and it was cracked and had all kinds of moisture in it. replaced cap and rotor and it's still happening.

it feels like the car isn't getting enough fuel and that's what's causing it to stall. it's slow on the pickup and when it stalls out i have to pump the gas like 5 times for it to start back up.