TMc993

CAR:
1997 NB - 6 speed - 66,000 miles - Car has always started immediately with no grinding of the starter.

CONDITIONS:
It's been raining and wet here for over a week...Very high humidity and a lot of rain...Car is garaged at night, but sits outside in the day.

SYMPTOMS:
On this past Friday, when I pulled out of my driveway partial throttle in 1st and shifted to 2nd, I got the slightest stumble, but it cleared up and didn't happen again. Just one of those "H-m-m-m-m-m..." moments.

Today, same location, same conditions, it lasted a little longer, then cleared itself.

But this afternoon when I got in it after work, it started but idled roughly, and stumbled noticeably for a couple of gear changes.

I stopped to run errands and each time, I had to spin the starter much longer than usual to get it to start. One time, pulling in 2nd gear, it stumbled so badly, that the car nosed down.

I couldn't try WOT because it was raining like a bitch, but when I got home I let it sit and again, it took a longer time than usual to start and stumbled noticeably when coming off of idle.

EDIT:

Checked under the engine cover and it was remarkably dry...No signs of soaking spray or dampness. Also, got a smell like paint thinner the last time I tried to start it.

EDIT: No (!) light or CEL

Ideas?

TIA,
Terry

payam972

this happened to me last wk. when the rain dried up and the car did also...it worked just fine.

i assume...distributor was soaked?

TMc993

BUMP - I'm strugglin' here guys. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Terry

jhummel68

Just a thought. Could it be the distributor belt going. If the belt slips a couple of teeth the timing of the second distributor will be off and it won't run right. The moisture could just be a coincidence. Try disconnecting the wire from the coil to the primary distributor and seeing how the engine runs. Again, just a thought.

NC TRACKRAT

Certainly could be condensation in dist. caps, ign. wire boots, coils, etc. but you may have gotten a tank of bad gas with water and/or crud in it. Might want to change fuel filter and cut it open with an exhaust pipe cutter and see what's inside. If just water, try adding a bottle of "Dry-Gas". If clogged, you'll need to drain, clean the tank and fuel pick-up. Good Luck!

Uber 911

Lets look at the simple things first, its either electrics or fuel.

1. The car is covered overnight but during the day its outside in the rain, how heavy is it?

2. The paint thinners smell(cellulose). Dumb question, your not possibly confusing it with fuel? If not can you narrow down the smells location?

3. Have you looked in the engine bay in good darkness see if there is any arcing? Try a water spray over the HT leads and distributor to try and force an earth arc.

4. To check if the distributor belt has failed, pull the low volt lead off one coils or the center HT lead off one distributor, fire it up see if it runs worse or not at all. Pop the lead back on and do the same with the other distributor.

5. While your there pop the distributor off and see the condition of the caps inside, carbon deposits indicate arcing. You could clean them up but generally they'll need replacing.

Robin 993DX

Sounds like you have a crack spark plug wire somewhere. I am willing to bet it is probably the lower spark plug wires, there were probably enough moisture around the wires to cause it to arc at the exposed wire area enough to cause a hesitation.

TMc993

Thanks guys...I'll look at these things tonight.

NC TRACKRAT

Caution: Don't handle those distributor leads while the car is running unless you have insulated spark plug pliers.

Stealth 993

Also check the distributers, if there is moisture in there, it will also act like that. Usually you can just pull them off & spray some WD40 in there. Yes, that is a appropriate use of WD. Also make sure the vent tube is attached & not dangling, as moisture can get in that way.

On the spark plug leads, if you get a spray bottle & fill it with water, then you can spray it in the engine bay around the leads, if the engine stumbles, that is the wire, if you do it at night, you might be able to see the spark.

TMc993

Sun and heat came back today and no problems...Clearly moisture related...If you've seen the news from Atlanta you know how much rain we've had...I'll probably be chasing this for a while...Thanks again everyone.

Terry