moisture

[wesschar]

My husband has a 2000 Astro Van AWD that will not start if it rains or gets any moisture. Everything has been changed on the van. We just had new oxygen sensors replaced 2 days ago...He was told that was the problem...Not so cuz it is not starting now.....
This is all new to me so I need some help - Please...Thank you
as per him! new distrinutor cap, new wires, new plugs

[jwjoerugby]

I had the same problem, as you can read if you check a number of posts back, i replaced the distributor cap, rotor, ignition wires and plugs and it seemed to take care of the rain prob (but i had more after that).
But since you have already done that i was told that it could also be the ignition coil, or the distributor itself. Good luck anyways.

[wesschar]

thank you I will tell my husband and check the past posts

[rgmc]

Hi
Had my 98 die about 50 miles into a 400 mile trip
Then it started fine.
Then it wouldn't start the next time it rained
Pull the engine cover and look for a light show when starting in the dark
ignition coils tend to short out to the engine
good luck
rgmc

[wesschar]

thank you rgmc
i'll give him this info

[brohamed]

i have had several astro/safari they all get moisture in the distibutor cap check the vent hole inside distributor cap make sure it is clear later models come with a screen inside the hole remove it per: chevrolet update doesnt allow proper air flow even if cap is new first rain will do it

[harryevan]

I also had (I hope its gone) a problem with moisture - my 2000 wouldn't start for 3 days after the last storm. So I swapped out the Accell cap and rotor for the AC/DELCO parts (still have a NAPA cap, but the pros on the list nixxed that, so I went to AC/DELCO). I'm waiting for the next storm (today or tomorrow). In the meantime, There's a few things:

The Accell cap and rotor have a fine light green powder in the areas above the rotor cap.

Looking down into the cap, all the posts have quite a bit of arc residue on the right-hand side of each post, not in the center. Is that indication of a timing problem - firing adavanced?

I found no indication of Brohamed's vent hole on the Accell cap, and I didn't really notice one on the AC/DELCO.

Should I expect problems after he next storm?

harryevan
2000 Astro AWD LT
162000
had it two years

[Leeann94astro]

The vent hole isn't in the distributor cap; it's in the distributor itself. GM put a screen in it to keep out debris, but the screen holes were too small to allow moisture to escape. They put out a TSB saying to remove the screen.

[brohamed]

as leeann94astro stated the vent hole is in the distibutor itself and not the cap