I may be missing something obvious, but my 98 2.3cl w/ 150k miles won't start after heavy prolonged rain. It turns and turns, then I let it sit a minute, turns and turns, sit another minute, etc., etc. It starts after 8-10 minutes, but only after significant shaking and struggling. I have no problems in dry or mildly wet weather. No exposed wires apparent. Plugs, plug wires are secure. Any help much appreciated.

 

sounds like it is condensation in your fuel line and your car is struggling to get fuel. High humidity and heating and cooling of the environment will cause your fuel tank to "sweat" just like a cold bottle of water. So it is important to keep your fuel tank above 1/2. Sometimes, way up north the car just wont start due to this phenomenon. This is my best guess . Cheers

 

It may be different up North, but these symptoms would suggest spark plug wires or distributor cap/rotor is leaking ignition spark when dampness is present. You can confirm by spraying the wires w/ water at night and watching for sparks jumping.

It could be water in fuel, but this never happens "down South".

good luck

 

Thanks. I'm sure it's not the moisture issue since it seems to happen regardless of how much fuel is in the tank. The plugs and wires were replaced less than 20,000 miles ago and the wires seem to be securely fastened to the plugs and the cap. Any fixes to this problem? The only other cause I could think of was that water was getting into the space where the air filter for my AEM CAI sits. But I also think that would probably have more dramatic consequences.

 

Would spraying WD-40 on the plug wires be a good (or a bad) idea?

 

A crack in a distributor cap could also be sensitive to moisture. A good test of the system is to spray water mist on the wires and distributor cap while the engine is running. Sparks from the wires or distributor indicate a problem.

good luck

 

Could also be your starter, does it click when you try to fire it up?