Aber

Hey guys,

I'm trying to get my old del Sol up and running well again. I quit driving it about a year ago as it has problems in the rain. It is a 1995 Honda del Sol with a B18B1 engine/GSR transmission. It has the stock air intake system and NOT a cold air intake. The problem has me stumped.

It all started when I went through a large puddle in the road one morning. After I hit the puddle, the engine did not stall out, but would not go above approximately 1,500 RPM (I don't remember the exact RPM, but it consistently won't go above the same RPM of approximately 1,500 whenever the problem occurs). I was right by work and let it coast in. It stopped raining and I came out after work and it was fine.

Since then, when I am driving in the rain, it will have this problem. It will bog down to 1,500 RPM and is unresponsive to throttle trying to take it over 1,500 (I never tried to take it far over, for the fear of potentially sucking water into the engine). I would pull over for 5 minutes and let it idle and I'm back on the road and it's okay. It has happened just about every time it rained. Obviously, the more water in the road, the more likely it is to happen. Some times it is immediately as soon as I get on a wet road or after going 15 miles. It hasn't been consistent to how long I've been in the rain. Only that I've been in the rain and it bogs down. Whenever the problem occurs, it seems like it wants to stall out, but it never has. Idling in a parking lot for 5 minutes has always allowed me to continue on my course. I can't recall if it ever re-occurs on the same drive.

Also, I should mention this doesn't happen when I go through puddles or massive amounts of water. It's just a wet road. Puddles just make it even more likely to happen, close to 100 percent. It simply got to the point that I quit driving the car because of this.

I've tried making sure water isn't getting in the intake by sealing it off as best I could, but it kept happening. I'm guessing it's something electrical, but have no idea which is why I'm here. If anybody can offer any tips or advice, it'd be greatly appreciated. Let me know if there is any additional information I can provide to help. Thanks in advance.

Dave

EDIT: Also, for the past year to year and a half (I wish I could be more precise), it often won't start on the first try. It will take multiple tries and will always eventually fire up. When it doesn't start, you hear one single click from the starter. Don't know if this is related to this issue or not, but thought I would mention it in case it would be another symptom of the problem.

civic_driver

Are you sure there is no water inside the cylinders?

Also, check the MAP and TP sensors.

real_slow_EM1

check ignition wires and distributor cap. the water could be shorting em out. pretty common on higher mileage cars

Aber

I will check the MAP and TPS. I should mention, I don't throw any codes when this occurs. The distributor and ignition wires came with my swap years...and years ago. So, they are both high mileage parts, while the engine still has less than 30k miles. Even if they aren't the culprits, I'll pick up new wires and cap/rotor, unless something else inside the dizzy could be causing the problem. Thanks for the tips, guys.

Edit: I never checked for water in the cylinders. At the time, I always figured if there was any in there, something would have shot out of the block or bent badly enough it wouldn't run. I probably should have checked.

D16SiHatch

probably a stupid question but just in case, is the inner fender liner in there and intact?

Aber

Actually, the first one was damaged with a cut in it. However, I replaced it with one that is intact. I was also a bit concerned because the resonator chamber for the air intake appears to have a crack that was sealed with some sealant by the previous owner. Additionally, the connections between the A air tube and the air cleaner housing don't seem to be snug enough to my liking. Whenever I was able to temporarily seal off the area in the engine bay where the A air tube connects to the air housing cleaner, I could usually get through the rain without trouble. However, all of these temporary fixes would quickly fail and water would get back through.

thi3v3z

I used to have a similar problem on an old chevy blazer. It would misfire and bog down when it would rain. In my case, the distributor cap was bad causing shorts.

Aber

That's what I'm hoping it is. I'm going to order a new cap/rotor and OEM ignition wires as I need to do them for routine maintenance anyhow.

I also made an edit to my post regarding a starting issue that may or may not be related to this issue.

civic_driver

You can see if the dizzy cap is the problem by turning the car after dark and observing if you can see any sparks around the cap area. If you see any, it means there are cracks in the cap and it needs to be replaced. Or you can replace it anyway just to make sure that the cap is good.

Aber

I think I discovered my intermittent starting issue. The wiring for the ground from the valve cover to the engine bay had become uncrimped from the connector and was loose. Will hopefully button down the rain/water issue when the cap/rotor/wires come in on Tuesday.

Aber

Replaced the cap and ignition wires this evening. The threads on the bottom bolt of the cap were rusted, while the upper two were fine. Obviously, moisture was in there at some point. Will find out during the next rain if that was the problem. Thanks for the help thus far all.

Aber

I was looking at the old cap a bit more. Forgive my lack of knowledge, but the "vent" (if you will) between #2 and #4 lets water into the inside of the cap quickly and in large amounts. What is this part for? The new cap seems to have less of an opening. Like I said earlier, the bottom bolt to the cap has a large amount of rust. Does it seem likely this could be the culprit? I am speculating because this is the first time all year we have gone much time without rain...

Any thoughts?