89 Lesabre won't start when damp

[tharrison57]

First of all, thank you for allowing me to keep my 89 Lesabre with 177,000 on life support ! Just reading the posts has been a tremendous help.

Now the problem. My '89 with 177,000 on the 3.8 purrs like a kitten ... if I drive it every day. If it doesn't get driven for a couple of days & it sets out in the rain, it must get aggitated & won't start. Spins fine, just acts like there is no fire. I've done plugs, wires, a coil pack & module within the last 3 months, but it didn't seem to help this problem. Never have ANY kind of check engine light, so I don't think there would be any codes to retrieve.

Any help would be appreciated as the leaves are falling from the "shadetree" fast ! Thanks in advance.

[yogi_123rd]

Spark and timing are controlled by the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensor. Suspect that the moisture may be shorting out the signal.

When your problem happens, you should check for spark then. You could also throw a bucket of water onto those sensors (front of engine) while the engine is running to see if you can stall the engine out.

[avatar307]

A bucket of water. That's classic. I love it.

That is literally the best way to confirm the cause of the problem, but it just sounds so wrong.