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Won't start ONLY when it's Raining

BostonJeepDriver

NAXJA Forum User
'96 XJ 106 K Miles won't start/starts with much cranking ONLY when it's wet outside. Today it's raining lightly out at 50 degrees F and it won't start at all.
Just cranks and cranks.

Starts and runs great the rest of the time.

OBD shows no codes. New Distributor cap and wires 20,000 miles ago

Any Ideas?
 
Go to Autozone have them pull your codes for free ASAP when it's running. (Again)

Could be TPS, Crank sensor, bad grounds, wet distributor, all pretty cheap / easy to fix yourself.

Does it have spark when it doesn't start?

Does fuel pump turn on?

Any fuel pressure?
 
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do you have hood vents? if so, is the engine getting wet? some sensors like the TPS do not like to get wet
 
You say cap and wires 20K miles ago. What about spark plugs? (Rotor too?) When the gap gets big, and the air is very humid, it can let the spark jump to places it normally wouldn't instead of firing the spark plug. Check it in the dark for arcing, and even mist it with some water to check it out.
 
Had a Fiat X19 when I was just out of high school (long time ago) and it did exactly the same thing; wouldn't start when it was raining. Turned out to be a hairline crack in the distributor cap. Not at all visible to the naked eye, fairly new cap also. I'd replace it just to make sure.

Jeff
 
Had a Fiat X19 when I was just out of high school (long time ago) and it did exactly the same thing; wouldn't start when it was raining. Turned out to be a hairline crack in the distributor cap. Not at all visible to the naked eye, fairly new cap also. I'd replace it just to make sure.

Jeff

Same with a number of vehicles, check for moisture under the cap.
 
also, i had temp starting problems, it wasnt with rain or anything, but my relay/fuse box was capless because the snaps were broken, turned out to be my starter relay had rust on the terminal.
 
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