no start when it rains

[jean]

hi everyone 97 c1500 4.3l cranks has fuel but no start when it rained .
sprayed ignition coil with water bottle on a sunny day truck stall and wound not restart.
Change the coil or ignition module?
I think it the coil.
for all I know its the original.

 

[SUBURBAN5]

Did you check the distributor?

 

[Nad_Yvalhosert]

Its VERY common for humidity/condensation to get inside the cap, especially on a rainy day. Change the cap and rotor.
If the coil is arcing or dying when sprayed with water, chuck it in the garbage too.

 

[frito-bandito]

Distributor cap is where your problem is, I fought this for longer than I’d care to admit on my 98

 

[jean]

thanks ,I did water down the cap nothing happened. I will take your advise and change it .
will update.

 

[kenh]

Dust and dirt get inside the distributor cap. Add a little high humidity like a rainy day and the spark will a trail of dirt to ground or another terminal. After this happens a few times a carbon track forms. Now even when dry you will start to have issues.

Ken

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Everything they've said! Cap and rotor get carbon tracking and general grunge inside, from humidity. Eventually this will get bad enough to make it fire 2 cylinders at once when it's trying to start and fire up. This will blow the end off the starter and bust up the teeth on the flywheel. I had this happen on my 99 5.7 vortec Burb. Probably part of why the previous owner sold it, because it had intermittent starting problems. Replaced starter twice and finally got had the flywheel done on it. Replaced cap and rotor with an Accel cap and Blue Streak rotor, both with brass contacts. Stock configuration has aluminum contacts in both cap and rotor because they're cheaper. But they get nasty quick if humidity gets in the distributor. These trucks are supposed to have vent holes in the distributor housing to rectify this, but some distributors don't. Some that do, the holes get grungy and clogged. My Burb is a gulf coast truck so I understand humidity and how it affects the truck very well. Once I got the good cap and rotor on it, no more problems with this. Starts up first time every time. The cheaper white rotors would only last me 6 months. Blue Streak rotor has been doing its job for almost two years now. Blue Streak apparently makes the vortec cap now too. They didn't when I bought my cap so that's why I bought the Accel.
Good luck and please post updates.

 

[stutaeng]

I've been though just about everything on my '99 4.3 Vortec, except injectors, but they test okay. I do have a small leak I think on the FPR. It leaks down kinda slow.

I think on my case it's actually fuel related because when it's done it lately I've been able to start it after pressing the gas pedal all the way down, but it takes like "forever" cranking, maybe 2 minutes. Enough to be on the verge of smoking the starter.

My '00 K3500 5.7 does not have this problem. I replaced the injectors because one was faulty and realized the distributor cap was cracked, and it looked original! I was going to immediately replace it, but was too afraid if I was going to start having these problems on it too.

I was going to respond on the other thread and the guy constantly asking if SBC is more "reliable" than his wife's LS-based 5.3...but got sidetracked.

Um, well most engines seem to have common issues, and this is definitely one of them on these engines. However, I thought it was just the 4.3s.

I had to go to Rockport to look at some building with Hurricane Harvey damage a few years back. The morning I was supposed to leave damn truck didn't want to start. Humid morning. Finally got it started. Can't drive across the state with that uncertainty.

 

[Pinger]

I think on my case it's actually fuel related because when it's done it lately I've been able to start it after pressing the gas pedal all the way down, but it takes like "forever" cranking, maybe 2 minutes. Enough to be on the verge of smoking the starter.
.

It'll flood without spark - or with weak spark....

 

[SuperTramp]

hi everyone 97 c1500 4.3l cranks has fuel but no start when it rained .
sprayed ignition coil with water bottle on a sunny day truck stall and wound not restart.
Change the coil or ignition module?
I think it the coil.
for all I know its the original.

Check out the thread entitled,
98 K1500 doesn’t start during rain