Engine problems after going through water on the road

[merlyn]

Last week I drove through I flood that I regularly drive through, however on this occasion the engine started to sputter and eventually stopped (not in the water thankfully) I started it but it wouldn't accelerate, then it started and just died immediately and then it just died completely, it would turn over but just not catch. After many phone calls a couple of guys stopped and managed to get a guy from a local garage to come out to me, after a bit of an inspection he started it up first time and it ran fine.
This evening I've had the same thing happen after going through a big puddle (not a full blown flood by any means). I waited for about 20 minutes and it started and ran just fine the rest of the way home.
Any ideas what is happening? I can't realistically drive around avoiding all puddles, especially with the amount of rain we're experiencing at the moment.


Thanks, Jane

[Mothman]

Sounds like its an electrical problem to me but ime no expert.
WD40 all over everywhere around plugs, distributor cap and anything else electrical. Probably a good idea to replace all the HT leads, points etc too. Water is getting into everything.
As long as it dosnt get into the engine as that would ruin it.
This ime sure is fixeable.

Andy

[MULLEY]

I'd check the air filter to see if its got water in it, fingers crossed it hasn't.

It does sound like water is getting into something electrical which is then causing the engine to cut out, not sure what it might be though

How deep are these puddles? I personally either slow down or avoid them as best i can, i do this to ensure that it doesnt rip the strut return pipes off, but seeing as mine is a diesel i've not had any issues with going through puddles on the few times i've either not seen it, or just couldn't avoid it because of oncoming traffic.

[Dollywobbler]

HT leads would be my first thought. How long since they were replaced? You might want to get one of those plant sprayers. Open the bonnet up at night, give the leads a squirt and see if things get pretty. You might see sparks going all over the place.

[mat_fenwick]

Dirt on the HT leads/distributor cap/coil can attract moisture as it condenses from the air, so I'd makes sure all is clean (WD40 with a cloth is handy for this too). I don't think moisture condensing is your problem in this case if it coincides with floods, but it can only help.

It's possible the coil or distributor cap has a crack, but if this is the case hopefully the sparks will be visible at night.

[merlyn]

Do I need to turn the engine on to do the water spray test?

[Tim Leech]

The spark plugs are recessed on the 1.6 and water can get in side and play havoc, i find a hoover is useful for sucking it out!

[mat_fenwick]

Do I need to turn the engine on to do the water spray test?

Yes, when running spray each part of the ignition system in turn, to see if you can pinpoint what causes a problem. You may see sparks leaking to earth if you're lucky.

[Way2go]

Do I need to turn the engine on to do the water spray test?

Yes, when running spray each part of the ignition system in turn, to see if you can pinpoint what causes a problem. You may see sparks leaking to earth if you're lucky.

Better use a non-metalic sprayer that is totally dry on the outside or you may find several thousand volts passing through you to ground!

[citronut]

first thing i would do after this happening would be dry the inside of the distributor cap out, and as Tim says dry the spark plug ports,

that W stuff is ok out of desperation, it will reoccur as the W stuff attracts dirt which in turn attracts moisture, so you end up in an endless loop, it will cause the same problem that it seems to have fixed

the best fix is make sure all the ignition side of things is in good health, and clean and dry,

regards malcolm

[BX-pert]

And don't spray WD40 onto anything that's arcing, unless you want a flamethrower!