car died after hitting water puddle

[86-accord-lxi]

I was driving my girlfriend back home the other night.
It was raining pretty good, I was going about 45mph downhill, Then right
at the bottom hit a big water puddle. Start going up another hill when all the sudden the car dies and all the idiot lights come on. I stop, put on the hazard
lights, put the car in park and try starting it, I get nothing. Eventually
someone drives by and asks if we need help. Keep in mind we're in the middle
of nowhere in the country. My girlfriend doesn't have her phone because she lost it already and she just got it like 3 or 4 days before this. The people who rolled up on us call the police to see if they will help me get the car of the road. Eventuallly the police show up and help me push it up hill and off
the road. The cop lets me use his phone to call someone to pick us up,
He can't give us a ride because he has a k-9 unit. Right when my grandpa answers his phone, the cop is like we gotta go, there's a wreck a few miles up the road with a fatality, So I give him his phone and he's like we'll be back after we get this wreck cleared up. Not long after the cops leave, my girlfriend, who is sitting in the drivers seat because she was steering while we pushed the car, gets the car started. It runs like crap and sputters and shit, But we try to go back to my place which is closer than her's. After about a minute the car dies again, We wait 5 minutes then she fires right up like nothing ever happpend. That was the first time since owning this car that I have ever had any problems with it. Ever since the car has been starting and running just fine. What do you guys think happpened ? It seems like hitting that water puddle is what caused the car to mess up. I don't have a cold air intake, and I checked the stock air intake just incase, But it was bone dry. The only issues I am having are the egr code 12, the front end is out of allignment and pulls to the right a little, The brakes need to be flushed and bled, and probably need new pads and rotors. The transmission shifts a little hard, But it's about 1/4 to 1/2 quart low on atf. What the hell caused it to die and act funny like that ? Im so sick of this car, The other day I almost
traded it in for a 97 z28 camaro. The car dealer was going to give me $1000
for my 3g, Which would have covered the down payment on the camaro.
The reason I didn't do it is because I need something economical insurance and gas wise. But I only get like 20mpg with the 3g, Which is about what
that camaro would get. The insurance would just be too high though.
Im sooooo tempted, It would be nice to have a car that you don't have to push hard just to go 75 mph.

[AccordRacing21]

Did you get water in your distributer cap??

[B16KILLA]

Did you get water in your distributer cap??

Thats what it sounds like

[speedpenguin]

You better hope that's what it is, because anything else it could be is going to be a bitch to repair.

[Michael Cote]

Probably need new wires but maybe first get the small distributer cap o-ring that goes around the edge between cap and where it mounts. They dry out. About $10-$20 at Honda dealer. If water gets behind distibuter cap it takes forever to dry. I had to change mine for exact reason.

[lostforawhile]

how old are your wires? if they are pretty old a big splash will cause them to short out. I'm positive you had water in your cap, the little seal in there is very important in keeping it out. if you want to make sure you got it,take it off and spray WD40 in there. it displaces water. while the cap is off might as well replace it and put in a new rotor. it sounds like you need a tune up anyway. if you have to push this car to do 75 something is def wrong. I drive that fast all the time and the engine isn't even straining,I have a carb also.

[Blkblurr]

Sounds like a water in the dist cap to me as well. Could be the wires or the coil to.

[86-accord-lxi]

Well, I've got new plugs and wires. I think it may be the dizzy cap .
I don't have to push the car real hard, It just seems like it should have more power. The fastest I have gone is 120mph and it seemed as if I could have gone faster. I run at like 3000rpm at 75mph on the highway. Shouldn't I be running a little lower than that ? This damn automajic, I just need to do the 5 speed swap and get it over with. Then again, It's a 20 year old car with a 20
year old drivetrain that has 219,xxx miles on it, It needs more power.

[NXRacer]

power doesnt = speed

do you have a cold air intake? you could have hydro-locked it

[86-accord-lxi]

I don't have a CAI, I was thinking about getting one.
Im just worried about it sucking up water.

[lostforawhile]

pull the passenger side fender off,remove the little right angle thing on the other side of the factory intake,and put a bigger flange for a bigger hose on there. in other words pull air from under the fender like factory,but with less restriction. if you manage to get water up there you are probably sitting in a lake. if you want a cool look,and are good with bodywork,do a cut out in the fender,roll the edges to make it look clean,and put some mesh there. it's functional not like the fake vents on the ricermobiles. I almost did that,but decided to do the cowl induction instead.

[86-accord-lxi]

That's a good idea, But If I can sell my 86 lxi for $900-$1000, I can get a sweet 89 lxi with 130,000 miles on it ! So I don't think I'll do it to the 86.

[crazykamper]

u should sell the 86 and get the 89 if it is in better cond....