No start after rainy night ...

[CMF_Alex_B]

Long time since i have been on the forums, good to see their still acive! Moved house recently and now car is parked on driveway, was previously kept in garage. Twice i've come out after a rainy night to start the car and it wont start, i check the relaventfuses, remove and replace the loom plugs going into the dizzy and still no good. It finally starts after 15-20min of mucking around though. Eg. today i noticed it fired a few times when you turn the key off to acc, so i did this a few times and then it fired up on less than four cylinders and after 10seconds was back to normal. Its perfectly fine in all driving conditions. Fuel concumption is good, not stalling ect... just after a rainy night it wont start.

Anyone help?

Regards,

Alex

 

[CMF_fred]

that's weird..... stuff like that used to happen to my first car (morris 1100) but it had the dizzy right at the front grill....used to stop whilst driving through the slightest rain... not the fuel pump dying?

 

[CMF_Alex_B]

Hmmm, what makes you think that? isn't it inside the fuel tank, or ...?

Alex

 

[CMF_sportsclassic]

there must be condensation or corrosion, some where in the elctrical system, take your dizzy cap off see if any sign of bad connection or something..

 

[CMF_Alex_B]

I will have an investigation tonight if i find time, you sound on the money sportsclassic. As it drives perfectly through pouring rain.

Alex

 

[CMF_makes]

Hey Alex, i hope both you and your micra are going well (apart from this problem !). I had exactly the same issue a couple of years ago when i also had to park my micra outside every night.

In the end it was totally fixed by replacing the distributor cap and spark plug leads... Never had the problem again. Apparently as they age they can develop hairline cracks that can let moisture in....

Of course I can't guarantee it will help in this case but it worked for me...

 

[CMF_challenger]

a litlle bit of expensive repair!it surely is about electricity.moisture can cause that kind of mess.take it at a nissan diagnostic,if distributor damaged is written in the ecu so it can be fount by the diagnostic.

 

[CMF_Alex_B]

Thanks for the further advice makes, i hope its that simple! Went out last night so will have a look tonight, started okay this-morning. I have multimeter to test the ignition leads resistance with haynes spec, so i'll do that tonight also.

Alex

 

[CMF_darkfibre]

If the car is running ok except in damp conditions, your multimeter test will probably show the leads as ok. The problem with old leads is also insulation breakdown. As the high tension system is the most affected by moisture, its a safe bet that new cap and leads willl fix the problem.
And no the computer diagnostic has no parameters for reporting high tension problems on this model.

 

[CMF_maat]

i had this same problem when i had my first engine, so i removed the distributor cap and cleaned it out and sealed it back up with a small bead of silicone to ensure it sealed properly

from then on in it worked fine so im guessing your problem is moisture in your dizzy