no spark after hard rain

novatc · 04-12-2007, 02:37 AM

the title says it. my mk1 just left me stranded at work after a hard rain. its getting plenty of gas, just no ignition. last time it did this the sun had come out, it dryed out and started just fine. it was backed into a hill, and the rain was going straight in the engine bay. on the technical, with a multimeter and the ignition on, i got a reading of .5 volts on the coil. the car is bone stock with over 200k on it, this is the one that came from Mass. north of boston. any suggestions would be nice. bad coil or igniter

jakobe · 04-12-2007, 08:15 AM

maybe a faulty disrtibutor cap..my jeep had the same problem every time I would get it wet..replaced cap with a new one and
viola!..no more water inside.

PHOENIX · 04-12-2007, 08:41 AM

As jokobe said, get a new distributor cap, should cost you $5 bucks and about 30 minutes of work and you will be good to go.

Mista 2 · 04-12-2007, 08:55 AM

i was told if you clean your engine with a pressure cleaner(water) the be careful around your leads, well the part that touches the valve cover as you can get water in there and it will take time to dry out before you can drive again. if you can understand what i mean the i hope its helpful

novatc · 04-12-2007, 12:03 PM

just got the car back to my garage, intend to replace cap and rotor. will check for spark from the coil, and test it with ohm meter. will try my other coil and igniter from my gts ae86 that I scraped 2 yrs ago. my just start replacing parts until it fires up. its cold and humid here in columbus ohio.

canadam · 04-12-2007, 02:44 PM

Quite often with MKIs under heavy water the spark plug valley will fill with water. The gasket on the cover doesn't keep the water out well. Pull it off and see if you have a lake in there. It's a very common issue with MKIs, I had it happen to me. I'm surprised it would happen after rain though.

jakobe · 04-12-2007, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadam

Quite often with MKIs under heavy water the spark plug valley will fill with water. The gasket on the cover doesn't keep the water out well. Pull it off and see if you have a lake in there. It's a very common issue with MKIs, I had it happen to me. I'm surprised it would happen after rain though.

I forgot about that one...the 2nd day I had my 2, I washed with a huge pressure washer ,and then it misfired/stumbled when I started it...I pulled off the plug boots and sure enough there was a large amount of water in the holes.

novatc · 04-13-2007, 11:51 PM

my spark plug valley is dry, if it was wet, it would be misfiring. I had the same promblem on my 88 nova twin-cam(FX-16, ae82)when I used cheap wires. I've got new 10mm wires on there now, bought a new coil, cap and rotor, plus orderd a hayes manual for the 85-87 mr2s. my engine bay has a tendency to get wet right around the coil/igniter, then there is that noise supressor thing right under the coil, it gets wet also. What's the deal on that thing? Is it necessary for the engine to run? can I do with out it?If the stated parts don't work I will have to try an MSD ignition control box, otherwise its do a compresion test and get ready to yank the head to clean the exhaust valves.

novatc · 04-15-2007, 10:11 AM

car starts now, I installed the replacement parts. I also bridged the rain gutter gap on the right side. I was chanaling water right were the coil bracket bolts are, and right on that noise supression thing. also coated stated area with dielectric grease

04-12-2007, 02:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
novatc No Skills Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	no spark after hard rain the title says it. my mk1 just left me stranded at work after a hard rain. its getting plenty of gas, just no ignition. last time it did this the sun had come out, it dryed out and started just fine. it was backed into a hill, and the rain was going straight in the engine bay. on the technical, with a multimeter and the ignition on, i got a reading of .5 volts on the coil. the car is bone stock with over 200k on it, this is the one that came from Mass. north of boston. any suggestions would be nice. bad coil or igniter

04-12-2007, 08:15 AM	#2 (permalink)
jakobe Cert. APR System tech Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Ga. Posts: 939 Thanks: 12 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	maybe a faulty disrtibutor cap..my jeep had the same problem every time I would get it wet..replaced cap with a new one and viola!..no more water inside. Last edited by jakobe; 04-12-2007 at 08:15 AM.. Reason: sp

04-12-2007, 12:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
novatc No Skills Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	still no spark just got the car back to my garage, intend to replace cap and rotor. will check for spark from the coil, and test it with ohm meter. will try my other coil and igniter from my gts ae86 that I scraped 2 yrs ago. my just start replacing parts until it fires up. its cold and humid here in columbus ohio.

04-12-2007, 02:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
canadam MidshipExpress Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Beautiful British Columbia Posts: 10,399 Thanks: 120 Thanked 142 Times in 121 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (34/100% )	Quite often with MKIs under heavy water the spark plug valley will fill with water. The gasket on the cover doesn't keep the water out well. Pull it off and see if you have a lake in there. It's a very common issue with MKIs, I had it happen to me. I'm surprised it would happen after rain though. __________________

04-13-2007, 11:51 PM	#8 (permalink)
novatc No Skills Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	no spark con't my spark plug valley is dry, if it was wet, it would be misfiring. I had the same promblem on my 88 nova twin-cam(FX-16, ae82)when I used cheap wires. I've got new 10mm wires on there now, bought a new coil, cap and rotor, plus orderd a hayes manual for the 85-87 mr2s. my engine bay has a tendency to get wet right around the coil/igniter, then there is that noise supressor thing right under the coil, it gets wet also. What's the deal on that thing? Is it necessary for the engine to run? can I do with out it?If the stated parts don't work I will have to try an MSD ignition control box, otherwise its do a compresion test and get ready to yank the head to clean the exhaust valves.

04-12-2007, 08:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
PHOENIX Beams Owners Group Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: On Hiatus....... Posts: 9,266 Thanks: 92 Thanked 292 Times in 224 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (49/100% )	As jokobe said, get a new distributor cap, should cost you $5 bucks and about 30 minutes of work and you will be good to go.

04-12-2007, 08:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Mista 2 Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 463 Thanks: 16 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	i was told if you clean your engine with a pressure cleaner(water) the be careful around your leads, well the part that touches the valve cover as you can get water in there and it will take time to dry out before you can drive again. if you can understand what i mean the i hope its helpful

04-15-2007, 10:11 AM	#9 (permalink)
novatc No Skills Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	car starts now, I installed the replacement parts. I also bridged the rain gutter gap on the right side. I was chanaling water right were the coil bracket bolts are, and right on that noise supression thing. also coated stated area with dielectric grease

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