1997 Honda Accord starting problem when wet/snowy/damp SOLVED (4-cylinder B22F2)

[CheeseHead1]

I was having intermittent problems with my 1997 Honda Accord not starting when snowy/ raining/wet/damp/humid. When dry, the car seemed to be running great. The first time it didn’t start was in a huge snowstorm (not great timing to be stranded :-). Then later it was OK. Then when raining/wet it wouldn’t start. But then when the car dried out it would start OK again. The car probably had about 130,000 miles on it when the problem started, and 170,000 miles on it when solved.

When the car cranked I could hear the fuel pump engaging and also smell fuel when I tried to start it, so I was guessing that it wasn’t a fuel problem, so it was a problem with spark. Also jump starting it (to add more battery power) did not help either.

In hindsight, I can’t say I approached this as well as I should have.

My first thought was, the car is running great most of the time, right? So it must not be getting spark correctly for some reason when wet. So, I changed the wire between the coil and the distributor cap. I also changed the distributor cap. I would have changed the distributor rotor as well, but I couldn’t get the darn Phillips screw loose (see this post for more info on removing that screw).
http://honda-tech.com/tech-misc-15/need-help-removing-stubborn-distributor-rotor-screw-281723/#post50121942

I also thought maybe the coil needed to be replaced. I figured it was old, so why bother to test it. I could replace it cheaper than a shop could test it. I bought a replacement coil at Auto Zone, and unfortunately it didn’t fit exactly right. So I don’t recommend the Auto Zone coil if you are planning to replace your coil.

Now, the parts manager at Auto Zone did ask me early on if I had changed the spark plug wires. They looked fine to me, so what did she know?

My son also asked me early on if I had changed the spark plugs. Again, it ran great most of the time, so what did he know?

So after changing the coil-to-distributor wire and the distributor cap, the car started reliably for a while, maybe 6 to 12 months. Then the problem reappeared again in damp/wet weather, and got worse until we knew the vehicle would not start when wet, and probably not when it was damp out. I was still wondering if I had some type of weird problem, like water was getting into the wrong place in the wiring, maybe I was having an ECU problem, etc. It still ran great when dry (maybe it would need a good sunny day to dry out first).

So I finally changed the distributor rotor, I knew it was a wear item and should be replaced if I was having a problem with spark. I was able to get the stubborn screw out. But then the darn car still would not start when wet/damp.

I did some more reading online and for troubleshooting, people recommended spraying misty water onto the car ignition system while it was running in the dark. The spark plug wires looked OK and were not arcing. However, when I sprayed around the distributor cap I saw some flashing inside and the car started hesitating.

The reading online had also recommended changing the spark plugs. I had been driving the car for around 53,000 miles and hadn’t changed the spark plugs yet. Primarily because it seemed to run great when it was dry. However, in hindsight I should have done that way earlier.

When I was at Auto Zone, I talked with the staff and they recommended changing the spark plug wires as well. I inspected the old ones and they did look pretty good to me, but they also did look kind of old. I am guessing they may have been original. I already had new spark plug wires from Auto Zone (having previously purchased them as a set with the coil wire), so decided to go ahead and change them as well.

In hindsight, changing the spark plug wires and spark plugs is such an easy job, I should have done it a long time ago.

When I removed the old plugs, just for fun I measured the gap on them and the gap was around .080 to .082 !!! Considering the initial gap is supposed to be in the range .039 to .044 or so, the spark plugs had probably worn down around .040 inches. NGK says spark plugs usually wear .00063 to .00126 inches/1000 miles (source http://www.ngksparkplugs.ca/tech-info-spark-plug-faq.cfm), so based on wear I’m guessing the spark plugs may have been in the car for as many as 70,000 miles. So they were probably long overdue for replacement.

Changing the spark plugs and spark plug wires was relatively easy. For more info see this other post. It also discusses changing the distributor cap and distributor rotor.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul....php?t=1140248

As part of that project, I decided the Auto Zone spark plug wires didn’t fit too well. I went ahead and purchased OEM NGK spark plug wires from Advance Auto Parts instead. The NGK spark plug wires were a perfect fit and I recommend them.

Based on advice from Auto Zone, I put some silicon sealant around a tiny gap around the edge of the distributor cap. I wanted to try to keep water out of the distributor cap, at least out of the top part.

Also, because the problem seemed related to moisture or humidity, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t having a moisture problem related to the coil wire. When I replaced the spark plug wires with the NGK wire set, it also included the wire between the coil and the distributor cap. I had some dielectric grease, which allows good electrical connections but will seal out water and moisture. I went ahead and used a generous amount of dielectric grease on both ends of the coil wire (to the distributor cap).

After changing the spark plugs, spark plug wire, coil-distributor wire, sealing the distributor cap better, and using the dielectric grease in the coil-distributor wire connections, the car began to start reliably again in wet and raining conditions again! Hooray!

In hindsight, what I think what was happening is that although the car appeared to be running well while dry, it was barely getting a good spark. So in wet/snowy/damp conditions, the spark condition deteriorated a little and therefore it would not start due to no spark. Later when dry, the spark would be adequate again. Maybe the spark plug wires, maybe the spark plugs, or probably a combination of the two.

So, my recommendation to anyone who is having problems with your Accord not starting in wet/damp/rainy/snowy weather, is first start with a tune-up if you have any doubt about how long those components have been in there. Change the spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, distributor rotor, and the coil-distributor wire. Put a generous amount of dialectric grease on both ends of the coil-distributor wire. That might or might not fix the problem, but at least it will eliminate a lot of variables. Plus, it’s probably overdue anyway right?

Second, I would start the vehicle on a dark dry night (or in a dark garage) and spray the spark plug wires, distributor cap, coil-distributor wire and coil with misty water from a spray bottle. You might not find anything, but it might point you in the right direction.

If those steps don’t work, there are some very good articles and YouTube videos available about diagnosing “Crank no spark” starting problems. Here is an article and a video. I thought this video was good. Good luck!

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-no-start-problems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K78XIhhjAQ