95 cavalier 2.2L running rough

[beach89]

A few days ago my 1995 cavalier was buried in snow. After I dug it out, I started it and tried to drive around. The car runs very rough, backfires whenever I accelerate, and accelerates very slow. I tried leaving the car in a heated garage to melt the snow off the engine and air intake. I also replaced the air cleaner, just in case it was frozen and blocking the air flow to the engine. It was running fine before it was buried in snow, and it had a full tank of gas so no water could have gotten in. What could be wrong with it?


Thanks for any help.

[beach89]

Bump.
I just replaced the spark plugs and it still runs the same. I think it may be a problem with the spark plug wires. It runs worst in the morning, after it has been covered in snow/dew. After sitting in the sun for most of a day, it runs a lot better. It still accelerates horribly, but occasionally it'll jerk forward and accelerate normally for a few seconds. I think water may have gotten inside the wires. Any ideas on what else it could be?

[4caster]

I think that you're on track suspecting moisture with the plug wires. You might try drying the ends with a hair drier. I would also dry off where the plug wires attach to the coil.

[beach89]

Originally Posted by 4caster

I think that you're on track suspecting moisture with the plug wires. You might try drying the ends with a hair drier. I would also dry off where the plug wires attach to the coil.

I just checked every wire. All of them are fine. I'm going to try the hair dryer in a few minutes. I think snow may have gotten in around the coil. My car was covered in snow, and had snow packed in under it around where the coil is located. The car is getting better day by day, and now it can run for about ten minutes before the problems start up again. But the longer the car runs, the rougher it accelerates. It starts accelerating roughly, occasionally jerking forward with normal acceleration.

[beach89]

I thought I'd bump this incase anyone ever had the same problem. I finally solved it. All of the ignition coils were shot. As the car would warm up, the ignition coils would expand and lose contect with the wires. Problem solved.