won't start when wet

[lonestar]

My wife's 95 3.0 ranger won't start after it has been raining and is wet, usually in the morning, after work, or after it has sat awhile in the rain. After about 10 tries, it will start and no probs after it warms up.

I'm not sure if it's spark or fuel. I had a problem with it running rough, jerky before under load, replaced spark plugs and symptoms went away.

 

[TheRepairMan]

Check the spark plug wires.

 

[Crankcase]

Check to see that rain isnt getting into the electrical ares undert the hood somewhere..

 

[lonestar]

Wires? Thats what I was thinking, I believe they are the original's, w/ 120K on them. It's about time.

Although I did pop the hood and look for leaky wires, but I didn't see anything. The funny thing is it will turn over like it is not getting any spark at all, like a bad coil, and then it will start up and run perfectly.

 

[TheRepairMan]

when it's wet something is grounding out. The hard part is finding what is grounding out.

 

[lonestar]

That's what I was thinking, but what would ground out the entire ignition system. That's why i don't totally suspect the plug wires, it should atleast start, unless all 6 wires are getting grounded simultaneously.

 

[jimbo74]

maybe the coil pack is grounding out? the whole coil pack is directly connected and grounded to the intake....

 

[lonestar]

not exactly sure what your saying. If it is grounded to the intake isn't it suppose to be grounded.

I was thinking along the lines of a coil pack supply wire (ie.. coil wire) getting grounded that shouldn't be grounded. But I'm not sure how these new coil packs work.

 

[jimbo74]

my truck used to get wet and run really bad when i didnt have a hood and it rained...... i think the actual coil unit itself may have been slightly grounded out... also, my truck ran poorly when it sucked up more water through the intake and the moisture toyed with my maf sensor....

 

[Howard]

It could just be that the damp air is causing the coil pack to short to earth. Look closely at the top where the wires go in and see if you can see any thin black lines. These are left by the high voltage tracking to earth. Give the top a good clean. It could also just be that the wires are old and, given the damp atmosphere, just allow the voltage to go to earth before it gets to the plugs. Electricity will always find the quickest way to earth.

 

[lonestar]

I just had the same problem again. It wouldn't start, tried 3-4 times. Then I turned the key several times to listen for the fuel pump, then it started right up.

I friend said his son's ranger had the same problem and someone told them about a bad o-ring on the distributor. They just pulled off the distributor, sprayed it with a seal/drying agent and never had a prob since.

 

[lonestar]

Yesterday it wouldn't start, turns over strong but no fire. Turn key several times to listen for fuel pump, try again. So I begin looking at plug wires, look good, try again. Then I think crankshaft postion sensor. For some reason I leave ignition on while I start crawling underneath to tap CPS and notice the fuel pump is running continiuously this time, I can hear fuel being circulated through the regulator. It stops before I can get ignition turned back off. Turn ignition off and back on to listen for pump again, shuts off and it sounds fine. Then it starts????

Could this be a bad Regulator? If so, I'm not sure why it wouldn't start the first 20 times I turned the key and the pump shut-off fine. Maybe some selonoid? I didn't really do anything to fix the problem, just turned ignition on/off a couple of times and pulled a couple of plug wires.

 

[whiteknightx]

This may or may not be related, but my 93 ranger once in a while just refuses to start if it's been raining a lot. It turns over and over but not a rumble. If I spray WD40 all around the distributer area, she fires right up. Since then, I've changed out my plug wires, and cap, so I hope it's solved.