98 Suburban K1500 5.7L cranking.

I have issues with engine starting when cold outside or after rain. This only happens when engine is cold and has not been started for a day or 2. Distributor cap does not have any condensation inside but does seem to corrode on contact points. Engine turns over fine, has fuel and spark. When this happens engine will not fire and after awhile it will start to fire and lock up when it fires then continue cranking. After repeated attempts it will start and run fine, can be shut off and start right back up with out any issues. It could take a few tries to a few hours of trying before running though. I'm leaning toward a distributor or timing issue. Am I on the right track or has anyone else had this same problem?

I've seen it twice- on a 2000 astro and a 98 C/K 2500 truck-- if you change rotor and cap, you will be fine for about 6 months- then it will start doing it again - when wet especially- it will show spark, but will not fire- I went through about 4 distributor caps (over 2 yrs- lifetime guarantee) from Autozone- then finally changed the whole distributor to get out of the problem- cap show no visible problem, except some powder/corrosion on tabs...been there-- done that...

Makes sense, have changed cap and rotor more often then believe should have too. As far as a distributor would it be best to go thru Summit rather than a local auto parts store? Meaning go with an aftermarket "high performance" instead of an OEM knock off.

Happened on my company truck every 6 months like brcidd says. White powder corrosion on posts and rotor. Scrape em or replace em... ok for a few months... less in the rainy season. The cap isn't sealing up properly. Replace the rubber gasket at the of the cap. Where it sits on the dist body.

Makes sense, have changed cap and rotor more often then believe should have too. As far as a distributor would it be best to go thru Summit rather than a local auto parts store? Meaning go with an aftermarket "high performance" instead of an OEM knock off.

Summit sells OEM A/C Delco. If it was me, I'd get the OEM.

the distributor cap is supposed to have a gasket. I would give the gasket a coating of silicone dielectric grease . also on the plug wire boot ends I would place some of the grease inside the boot..


I have a boat with a distributor cap. I place the grease on the cap base to keep out the mositure. works good.

most likely the cap contacts are jumping to each other with the mositure this will cause the engine to miss fire etc on cold crank.

the distributor cap is supposed to have a gasket. I would give the gasket a coating of silicone dielectric grease . also on the plug wire boot ends I would place some of the grease inside the boot..


I have a boat with a distributor cap. I place the grease on the cap base to keep out the mositure. works good.

most likely the cap contacts are jumping to each other with the mositure this will cause the engine to miss fire etc on cold crank.