Ray: This sounds like the most basic of water-related automotive issues, Jim. This car has an old-fashioned distributor cap and rotor. Most likely, when you forded the Nile that night, you got water inside the distributor cap, and it's causing the misfire by creating a short circuit. And I'd suspect that your problem is exacerbated by old spark plug wires that "leak" electricity when there's moisture or lots of humidity in the air.
This used to happen to cars all the time. Distributors and old wires would get wet on rainy days, and cars would die and strand people. AAA towing service still refers to that time as “The Golden Age”! But with distributorless ignition systems now, and fuel injection that prevents flooding, cars that don’t start or run in the rain are really rare.
In your case, what’s happening is that the moisture that’s stuck inside the distributor cap is compromising your spark. The spark is sufficient when all the other conditions are perfect, but once rain or moist air steal additional energy via the old spark plug wires, the engine starts misfiring.
Eventually, as the engine heats up, the moisture in the distributor evaporates, the plug wires warm up and dry out a bit, and the cylinders all fire. But when the engine gets cold, the moisture re-condenses inside the distributor cap, and on the next rainy morning, you have the same problem.
While you might be able to fix it by simply removing the distributor cap and drying it out really well, I’d recommend replacing the cap, the rotor and the wires. That stuff’s cheap, Jim. And it should solve all of your moisture-related problems. Except those bad hair days. Good luck.
Broken wire likely cause of wiper failure
Dear Car Talk:
I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey minivan. Its rear wiper suddenly stopped working. I took it to a neighborhood mechanic. He thought that the motor had burned out, so he replaced it. It still didn't work. He tried to replace a coil, located on the driver's side near the back door. That didn't fix it, either. Finally, he replaced the switch. Still nothing. If I try to turn on the wiper, only wiper fluid comes out. Could you please tell me what to do next? - Vinod
Ray: Go to another shop, where they know how these things work.
Well, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he tested for current, and found that there was current getting to the motor. That’s why he figured the motor was bad. I’m not sure why he then replaced the switch or a coil. But let’s leave that aside for the moment.
If current is getting to the motor, the motor is brand new and it’s still not working, then the cause of your rear wiper failure probably is a broken wire in the tailgate.
There’s a bundle of wires that goes from the body of the car into the liftgate itself. It goes in up at the top, where the liftgate hinges are. Those wires run the wiper, the washer, the rear defroster, the license plate illumination, etc. After the tailgate is opened and closed 50,000 times, and those wires are bent and straightened out 50,000 times, it’s not unusual for a wire to break. And since we’re assuming he had current at the motor, I would guess it’s a ground wire that broke.
So what he needs to do is test that theory by grounding the motor to some part of the body - the car’s body, not his, Vinod.
If the motor then works, he needs to re-establish a good ground for the motor. And it has to run back through that bundle of wires, unless you want it draped over the seats.
So he’ll then cut open the bundle, find the fraying or broken wire, splice it back together, close up that bundle, apologize for selling you $300 worth of parts you didn’t need, and send you on your way. Good luck, Vinod.
Visit the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com.
About the Author