Car engine dies when raining
Car engine dies when raining
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Discussion

cornflakes2

Original Poster:

230 posts

100 months

Wednesday 8th April 2020
quotequote all
I have a 2000 Daewoo Matiz with 80,000 km, automatic, gasoline engine.

I've seen people spray or wash the engine bay with water so water getting inside the engine bay
on all the components shouldn't actually be a problem.

I have found that on certain rainy days the car engine will suddenly die and I'd have to wait 10 minutes
and then it would start up again and run normal.

It appears to be some water dripping down onto the secondary ignition system (the distributor cap).
It seems there may be a broken seal that is allowing water to get in or shorting out the system.

I was just wondering is there some sort of protective covering I can place around the distributor cap
to keep from any water dripping or splashing onto it? What sort of material would be safe to use that won't
catch on fire or anything?

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

284 months

Wednesday 8th April 2020
quotequote all
It's more likely to be a cracked cap. I had one on a Escort XR3i back in the day. Impossible to see, but every wet day...

Change the cap.

steveo3002

11,061 posts

197 months

Wednesday 8th April 2020
quotequote all
replacement cap and leads maybe ...or look over the wiring for breaks /cracked insulation

any spray on products would be a patch up and not fix the issue...lets face it all the other matiz managed to run in the rain

E-bmw

12,278 posts

175 months

Wednesday 8th April 2020
quotequote all
cornflakes2 said:
It appears to be some water dripping down onto the secondary ignition system (the distributor cap).
It seems there may be a broken seal that is allowing water to get in or shorting out the system.
There is no seal on a distributor, they are normally sited in such a position that water can't get up into it.

If water is getting inside it can only be through a crack.

It is equally likely to be an HT lead shorting down when wet through deteriorated insulation.

A good way to help find what it is is to park the car up somewhere completely dark & use a water spray to spray locally onto the area as in the dark the sparks will be very obvious.

stevieturbo

17,965 posts

270 months

Wednesday 8th April 2020
quotequote all
cover it with this


mtrehy

87 posts

170 months

Wednesday 8th April 2020
quotequote all
You have a 20 year old automatic daewoo matiz? living the dream!

cornflakes2

Original Poster:

230 posts

100 months

Thursday 9th April 2020
quotequote all
E-bmw said:
There is no seal on a distributor, they are normally sited in such a position that water can't get up into it.

If water is getting inside it can only be through a crack.

It is equally likely to be an HT lead shorting down when wet through deteriorated insulation.

A good way to help find what it is is to park the car up somewhere completely dark & use a water spray to spray locally onto the area as in the dark the sparks will be very obvious.
Sounds good. Does the car have to be on and running while doing that dark test or does it work also with the car off?

cornflakes2

Original Poster:

230 posts

100 months

Thursday 9th April 2020
quotequote all
stevieturbo said:
cover it with this

That will not fit inside the engine bay duh

cornflakes2

Original Poster:

230 posts

100 months

Thursday 9th April 2020
quotequote all
mtrehy said:
You have a 20 year old automatic daewoo matiz? living the dream!
Yes, such a cheap economical car....as long as the repair/maintenance costs stay low, this car
is a huge money saver! I bought it for $900 bucks 2 years ago. Still running aside from the minor
issues. Insurance is only like $220 for the whole year.

Funny thing is, I had the transmission replaced FREE just a month ago as it was part of a recall I didn't know
about. The transmission died or something was slipping/popping and car wouldn't go far anymore....took it
in and they told me it was part of a recall and they replaced the transmission!

I do hear what sounds to be like a helicopter inside the engine bay recently when I drive faster....not sure what that sound
is or where it's coming from.

E-bmw

12,278 posts

175 months

Thursday 9th April 2020
quotequote all
cornflakes2 said:
E-bmw said:
There is no seal on a distributor, they are normally sited in such a position that water can't get up into it.

If water is getting inside it can only be through a crack.

It is equally likely to be an HT lead shorting down when wet through deteriorated insulation.

A good way to help find what it is is to park the car up somewhere completely dark & use a water spray to spray locally onto the area as in the dark the sparks will be very obvious.
Sounds good. Does the car have to be on and running while doing that dark test or does it work also with the car off?
How do you expect to see sparks from the ignition with the engine off?

stevieturbo

17,965 posts

270 months

Thursday 9th April 2020
quotequote all
cornflakes2 said:
That will not fit inside the engine bay duh
It will very easily if you try