No start when it rains a lot

[Greg Wright]

98 S10 2.2L won’t start after lots of rain unless I hold the gas pedal to the floor. Still hard to start. Starts fine other times. I’m baffled

Topic

[Matt]

I would guess a short that is getting wet, maybe. Water getting into unusual places on older cars can do weird things. I had a Ford Aerostar the battery would drain down when it rained. But I also had a Ranger that would flood and not start, requiring holding the pedal down. Could be the latter is the problem. I had some ignition issues with the Ranger, and after fixing that issue, didn’t have the hard start again. So maybe the ignition isn’t firing fast enough, and it floods, causing the pedal to need be held down to choke it.

[Zac Aleksovski]

When the engine is running, get a squirt bottle with water and spray around the spark plug wires. If it starts missing or quits, you have a few or all plug wires with bad insulation or maybe a voltage leak from the coil pack?

[Antonio C Michael]

Also check arou d your fuse panel could have a ground wire not tight enough that when it’s getting wet the ground is drowning out and not grouding

[Bluesnut]

More than likely moisture is getting inside the distibutor cap. This problem can be somewhat common in areas with certain climatic conditions involving a high dew point.

The cap and distributor are mated together tightly so moisture can’t get in you say? Yes, it can no matter how tightly it is sealed.

You might try removing the cap and spraying the inside and outside of the cap with WD-40 or wipe it down with an electrolytic grease. That should take care of the problem.

I’ve seen this a number of times over the years but recently went through it with my Sonoma.

[Antonio C Michael]

Very good point bluesnut didn’t even think of that at the time of my post

[Matt]

1998 S10’s didn’t have distributor caps. It has two ignition coils. It’s also fuel injected. I’ve had this happen with a Ranger that also had ignition coil pack, and fuel injected. Holding the gas down to start is a clue it’s flooding. I do agree a weak ignition system can cause this. A fuel rich start without enough spark, holding the pedal chokes the fuel, starts up just like his S10.

[Antonio C Michael]

Check to make sure all spark plugs are firing and check ignition wires and coil packs

[Bluesnut]

My 1998 Sonoma (4.3) has a distributor cap.
No matter; a coil pack makes it easier. Spray the entire coil pack liberally with WD-40.

[Antonio C Michael]

Bluesnuts it does later since it has coil on plugs and wd 40 can cause problems with coil on plug system

[Author]

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