2000 hinda civic will not start after rain

my car will not start after it rains overnight, when it warms up (when
the weather) . it starts right away. what can i do. i have a new
battery, new starter. any help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

Did you ever have it serviced by a mechanic from England? If so, check
and make sure that none of the electrics were replaced with Lucas
products. It's rumored that cars so equipped will have difficulty
starting if a stray dog pisses within three blocks of the car.

Seriously, have you double (and triple) checked the battery connection?
It's possible to have a periodic problem like this with the terminal
being slightly loose. Without it being properly tightened you can
experience intermittent "dead" battery problems.

 

If it turns over and not starting when it is wet it is caused by bad
plug wires and probably a bad distributer cap. I can almost guarantee
it.

 

I second this - try replacing plug wires with a new set and make sure
they're well seated.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/1272351

a

 

I would agree if the OP said this happened after driving in the rain as the
engine area gets wet from splashing. But every car I've owned the engine
area stayed dry when sitting there, even if raining.

Unless you are saying the increased humidity of nearby puddled water was
enough to make the plugs and wires act wet.

I'd be looking more towards a more sensitive component than the plug wires
and/or cap.

 

I would repectfully disagree on this one. Don't lead the OP astray on
this one. I would bet if he sprayed his wires in the dark the light
show would be like 4th of July fireworks.

 

just general humidity can be a severe problem on ignition systems if
maintenance is not performed properly. this is because sweaty hands
leave salt residues. salt is both a conductor and hygroscopic. this
can easily create either full or partial conduction paths to earth for
the spark current.

ignition systems should always be worked on with gloves. all sensitive
components like plugs and distributor caps, especially rotor arms,
should be carefully be wiped clean with a clean lint-free cloth prior to
assembly.

on a side note, never clean spark plugs with a wire brush - it leaves
metal residue on insulators which has much the same effect of creating a
conduction path at high voltages.

 

you could get enough of a temperature change from a rainstorm to cause
condensation under the hood on plug wires or dist.cap.,particularly when
combined with the higher humidity.

If the HV is leaking away,it's not going to ignite the cylinder charges.

causes for no start;
no crank
no fuel/too much fuel
no spark/spark not getting to plugs(going elsewhere)

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

dirt and grease films can also conduct HV.

Good point!
ceramic is much harder and more abrasive than the metal of the wire brush
bristles.
it's like wiping a lead wheel weight across concrete;it's gonna leave a
track of metal.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com