car dies on rainy day

[goldadition]

well here is what i have recently replaced(w/in 4 month)
new plugs
new autolite wires
new cap
new rotor
new coil wire
new fuel pump/filter and filter under the car

ok here is what the car does only on a rainy day
on any other day the car runs like a top.

at first it looses power
backfires like crazy
cuts out
stalling/sputtering
to me it seems like it looses spark
dies if i run it like this for too long
once it does die after like 20 min. i start it up and it fires up stops sputtering after 5 min or so of idling. and i can drive it for another hour before it starts to act up again.
at sertain speeds ai can keep it going though.
like yesterday i was able to keep it going by shifting to 3rd
winding it up to 4500-5000 about 65mph and holding it their till i can pull off the road somewhere.

any idea of what to look for,
sensor of some kind
anyone had this problem?
please help.

[Mac]

Just something to try: next time it is acting up, pull the dist cap and wipe the entire inside real good. Put it back on and see if it runs better.

[whyterice]

I bet you have mositure in your coil. I had an old prelude that wouldn't run on rainy or really humid days and it turns out mositure would build up somehow in the coil where the coil wire connects to it. I shot some WD40 in there and it cleared it right up.

[Blkblurr]

Sounds like it is a coil problem. Also could be your ignition switch or main relay going bad.

[1988starter]

Bad coil is my guess

[soljaboy2000]

I think your intake is sucking up the rain......

[rocky2]

you may have a hairline crack it the body of distribter. see if the cap you have is vented properly. Also did the o ring on base look good on cap? You could try to "paint" the whole dist/wires/body with a product to repeal water.Do it when its running good though. Take a look at engine compartment when its doing this in total darkness you may see it arching.

[Michael Cote]

Before replacing coil, replace the rubber cap seal at base of distributor cap ($8.00). Or first you can start car when dry out and spray water just on dist cap and see if any sparks or arcing. Grab distributor with hand after spraying and see if you get a shock. That's how I found my problem. It was that seal. If that doesn't work then replace coil. Spark/electricity takes the easiest path of resistance just like water. Rather ironic. Goodluck, Mike

[johnwc723]

if you find that its your coil go buy your self an MSD blaster 2 coil, i like mine alot and its cheaper than an oem one! heh funny that!

[Noles]

I agree with micael on this one. Replace the distributor cap seal if it looks dry rotted.

[A20A1]

Water in the gas tank... maybe?

[Vinny]

If it only does it when it rains why would anyone suggest parts that are inside the car like the main relay or ignition switch???? I don't get that one. Lets not lead people on wild goose chases. More than likely is the rubber seal that goes into the grove on the outter edge of the dizzy, it keeps water from getting between the cap and distributor itself. Depending on what dizzy you have its either Part number 17 (3.40 from San Leanardo Honda)

Or part number 13 (alsop 3.40 from San Leanardo Honda)


Thats one of the most neglected parts on our cars because most people don't know its there. My hatch would die out if I hosed down the engine compartment and wouldn't start for like an hr after. I changed the seal and havent had a problem since. Mine came out in Dry small sections

[iamvandemon]

A20A1 might be on to something there... the fact that reving keeps it from dying makes me think it is a fuel delivery problem.

is the filler on the tank rusted out? when is the last time the filters were changed?

then of course there is the backfiring part.. does it backfire hard? like "bang!!" if so, then it is electrical or vacuume..

[88LXi68]

MY 88 DX hatch does this too...but only when its cold and raining. I could not for the life of my figure it out. I too replaced plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filters, and coil. Still happened.

[goldadition]

thanks for all the info guys. i went and got another new cap just incase my old one was broke. but unfortunatly it hasn't rained here in the last 5 days so i'm going to wait and see if it acts up the next time it rains.
but it was weird cause the last time it acted up i was in school. so my we hooked it up to an analyzer. to see what was happening inside the engine. everything looked fine. we even took a spray bottle and sprayed everything down under the hood, coil,cap,wires, vac. lines, to see if it would act up again. of course it didn't. I'll wait for it to rain and see if it acts up again. lata

[Keachman1]

My 88 LX does the exact same thing. I've changed the wires, plugs, cap, button, and distributor. I've checked it at night in the rain when it acts up and don't see any arcing. The coil checks good with an ohmmeter. The next time it acts up, I'm going to check the voltage with a meter. My car has a alt light and may not be showing a small voltage drop. Spraying the engine with water doesn't cause it to do this. I've also checked the fuel pump wiring under the car to check for corroded connections. They all looked good.
I'm always by myself when it acts up so I can't tell if it is fuel or spark related. No one to crank it while I check for spark and watch the carb while they pump the gas.
Mine will crank right back up if I wait about 5 minutes. I'm going to replace the coil and check the wiring to the fuel cutoff solenoid on the back of the carb next. That wire comes from under the motor and the problem seems to be caused by water splashed by the tires or puddles.

[Blkblurr]

High voltage shorting usually does not show up using a meter because the voltage to check resistance is very low. Sounds like you have a crack in your coil and moisture seeps in. It may not show up by spraying water on it because it will take time to get into the coil.

[goldadition]

well so far i've only drivin in light rain. but at the same time it hasn't acted up. (knok on wood)
keachman you do know that their are conectors on top of the tank that could be corroded? in my opinion because are tanks are such a pain to drop, i would spend the extra 35-50 for a new fuel pump while i was checking the wires for corrosion.
i have already done this and i know for sure that my wires are not corroded. well that's my 02 cents. good luck

[Keachman1]

I was looking through other posts and found one about the radio condenser. It completes the ground to the coil and may cause the car to quit running according to the manuals. I'll unhook it the next time my car acts up and see if that helps.

It is there to help filter electrical noise from the radio that is caused by the coil.

Update: I took the condenser off and checked it at work. It was good.

I did find some corrosion under the ground wire on the distributor and cleaned it off. So far, it hasn't acted up in the rain the last 2 times.

2nd Update: cleaning the distributor ground wire seems to have fixed the problem. I've driven in the rain many times now and haven't had anymore problems.