Car SOMETIMES doesn't start.

[DRock9]

I have noticed that in the past few days my car sometimes will not start up, it will crank and sometimes fire but then it will die. Usually I just crank it up again and it will start, I haven't yet been stranded anywhere but I am trying to keep that from happening.

I have checked the Crank but no start checklist but since the problem doesn't happen all the time it is very hard to diagnose.

Have any of you had similar problems before? What could it be?

Thank you.

 

[HISSIN50]

If you haven't, pull codes.

You will have to jump on it when it won't start and make observations. Note things like if depressing the gas pedal a little helps, or if it only happens when hot or cold, etc.

Good luck.

 

[DRock9]

It seemed to only happen when it was wet out.

I just got a new rotor and cap, i noticed the old one wiggled a little bit.

Is there supposed to be some sort of rubber o-ring type thing that goes on the cap?

 

[HISSIN50]

The caps do tend to wiggle a hair. They're not screwed down like some 4 banger caps. No o-ring or gasket.

Do you think the cap is getting moisture inside it? Some Wire Drier can help if this is the case.

I kinda wonder if you dont have a bad electrical connection (10 pins, etc) and the moisture is causing resistance in a signal reading.

The forced induction creates a big variable too........

 

[DRock9]

Where can I get wire drier?

I do think it is the moisture, it hasn't happened to me in the dry weather yet...maybe I haven't given it enough time.

I am having a miss when I romp on it really hard, I think it is because I am running stock heat range plugs with 12psi, I need to get the meth working.

 

[HISSIN50]

Wire Drier is made by Snap as I recall. Better parts stores should have it on their shelves, though I havent bought it in about 10 years (one can lasts forever).

Some guys use WD-40, though I havent tried that before.

If the car has a miss only at higher RPM's, I'd be less inclined to think it was a moisture issue.

You might want to mist the plug wires with a spray bottle of water and see if you note leakage (you have to do this in the dark so be careful of moving parts!) .

 

[DRock9]

Plug wires are fairly new, less than a year old, but then again so was the cap and rotor and I found out the rotor was rusty.

What kind of leakage am I looking for?

Thanks.

 

[HISSIN50]

Plug wires are fairly new, less than a year old, but then again so was the cap and rotor and I found out the rotor was rusty.

What kind of leakage am I looking for?

Thanks.

When water is sprayed on the wires, it illuminates the leaking spark. It looks like pixie dust (you'll see bluish light scattering around the point of the leak).

There was even a TSB some time back for plug wire leakage (it was actually for crossfiring but the same principle allows for leakage).