2000 hinda civic will not start after rain

[john sunday]

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

 

[Dddudley]

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.

 

[Clete]

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

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.

 

[a]

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

 

[Seth (2)]

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 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.

 

[Clete]

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.

 

[jim beam]

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.

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.

 

[Jim Yanik]

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.

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]

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.

dirt and grease films can also conduct HV.

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.

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.