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wont start

Featured Replies

i went through a big puddle, it died in the puddle and wont start. ive checked the spark plugs ther dry, the intake box has a little water in it? what should i do???

Pull your distributor cap. Youve got water in there. Clean as much as you can out with a paper towel. Then it should start right up. Chances are, it will die again soon. There is moisture in there, and as soon as it evaperates it will collect at the top of the cap. Just pull it again, clean it out, and she'll start right up once again.

 

Ive heard WD40 works great as well for drying out the disty. Ive never done it myself, but I should carry a can of WD40 cause im always getting water in the disty.

 

-Brian

I had the same problem with my 92 Loyale only mine was from degreasing and washing the engine.

 

Water got into the distributor and wouldn't get out. After inspection, there were hair-line cracks in the distributor cap, so I replaced it.

 

Now it runs great!

 

 

T.J.

:D

  • Author

ive taken the cap off it did have some moister in it, i wiped it out and still didnt start

Just make sure the water didn't shoot up and knock a vacuum line off (I had that happen, killed me) but 99.99999999% of the time it is the disty cap. If you don't need to drive it for a while then pull the cap and let it air dry but if needed immediately, pull cap, wipe out, then from a half of an arm's length away, blow into the cap to dry it out some more. If you are too close then it won't do any good because your breathe has moisture in it. Boz

Check it again, make sure ALL the moisture is out. Chances are there is still more water inside the disty.

 

Keep at it. Are you getting spark to the plugs? Pull one of the plugs, ground it out and with someone cranking the engine check to see if that plug is sparking. Be careful. Might want to hold onto the plug wire with a pair of needle nose plyers and wear a pair of kitchen gloves (the rubber kind) hehehe... or just make sure your not standing in water.

 

Since you drove through a puddle and stalled the car, chances are its the disty. Cant think of anything else.

 

-Brian

  • Author

ill double check it again, and let it air dry. and ill check for spark. ill write again if that doesnt work. thanks!

i second the WD-40 notion. the WD stands for water displacement and you definitely need to get that damn water out of there. when you're checkin the plugs, make sure you wear gloves or use a pair of pliers w/rubber grips. i've been shocked before from touching the end part of the plug wire while the engine was running. there was less resistance through my hand than through the plug. it sounds like an easy fix though.

good luck man

old spark plug wires stop insulating so well, though you don't get the shock you could holding onto the plug itself. I once got a vw beetle for free because the coil wire was up against a spark plug wire, which grounded out the coil or something like that, even though no metal was touching :D All I had to do was seperate the wires and vrooom!

 

squirt some wd into the cups on the disty-coil wire too.

 

It's not so much the water that will cause the spark to ground out, it's the minerals in the water, that can be left behind. If you see light deposits flush it with isopropyl (rubbing) alchohol.

I floated suby 1 through a much deeper than anticipated pudle once.She climbed out in 4-low and promptly died.Turned out it was water under the boot of the primary wire at the coil.

 

When I got to end of the road there were some extreme toyo's and such in amasement that I got there!Always fun:banana:

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