Damp

Arnold

Arnold

www.alanarnold.co.uk
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Hi guys

Well my car hates damp, and after the three or four rain sessions we've had down here recently, my car struggles to run the morning afterwards! I've sprayed WD40 over the leads & dizzy cap & inside the cap too, but that only works for so long.

I cant be dealing with my car not starting, misfiring or cutting out when im at junctions etc!! its dangerous, and we've still got plenty crap weather days ahead im sure!! Has anyone got a permanent solution? Should i change all the electrics for new ones? including new nissan leads? etc

Advice or suggestions appreciated
 
Dont have a garage! She lives on double yellow's at the best of times!!

Could do leads, they're a year old - but i didnt think they'd need replacing so soon? I used to get through dizzy caps, rotor arms, halfrauds leads and plugs like its fuel but all that stopped once i found the nissan leads and everything seemed fine.. I may just go for another full swap of everything.

How long should leads last before they need changing?
 
i'd say a good few years. I mean the ones I replaced were the OEM nissan ones so I wouldn't have thought you'd need to replace them (unless they've failed). What about your battery? how old is that and how well does it hold it's charge.
 
To be honest I think the crapness in the damp is normal lol... shame you dont have a manual choke because that really helps...

We're talking about your 1.0 car here? Mine was the same, but ok when warmed up.
 
Yeah its fine when it gets going but my drive to work is fairly short. When i accellerate in a high gear, it loses all power and almost stalls, or does cut out completely. I have to keep it in second, and even that struggles at times!

it sounds extremely unhealthy and also, my car stinks of fuel - like its going in fine but just doesnt ignite.

If Nissan leads shouldnt be changed after a year, does anyone have any further suggestions of things to check or change?
 
get that car we were talking about rimmer that will solve all problems, the ecc k10 is great in mornings, this has to be the k10's only vice really. although mine used to start everytime with the webber and manual choke but had to be left to sit for 10 mins before it was driveable lol
 
im not getting rid of this car now mate! Im sure not every k10 suffers with this problem, so there must be a simple solution to it to make mine work like the rest of them!
 
Arnold - are your leads nissan ones of some ####e from a motor factors? if they're nissan, then they'll be fine. if not, change them.

its also worthwhile putting as new nissan dizzy cap and rotor arm on, and a new dizzy cap seal. This should hopefully solve your problems.

However, on the other hand, it could be a carb related problem.
 
The carb was replaced not long ago and had only done 20000 miles. It seems to have solved my fueling issues i was having at the time (24mpg)! and probably only changed a few months back. I was having these issues with wet conditions on my last carb over the past 2 years too.

Anyway, the leads were nissan ones, from nissan themselves. I assumed they were ok, but i guess things can always go wrong before they're meant to be.

With regards to the dizzy cap seal, i dont believe i have one! Any ideas where i can get that from?

Also, i've just checked my car over and given it the wd40 treatment. I left the engine running whilst putting the dizzy cap cover's rubber cover back on and i was getting electric shocks off all the HT leads and the igniton coil lead. You can hold your finger about 1cm away from each lead, and see a purple electricity line going from the lead (through the rubber) to my finger! What's that all about? Is that normal? Dodgey? does it mean the leads are crap & i need thicker ones?
 
check the gaps on ur spark plugs and is it set to winter mode on ur intake?

u might have a weak spark from the gap beein too small or big
 
This may sound silly but my dads old escort used get damp and not start, so when he parked up at night while the engine was warn, he put a quilt over the engine and closed the bonnet, funnily enough it worked :S
 
It may sound stupid but a trick I learned in my Mini days was to cable tie a rubber glove over the dizzy, with a lead coming out of each finger end, cable tied tight, change the plug caps for motor bike ones (watertight) and bobs your uncle, no more damp. Ok it's not pretty but it works.
 
I already have a nissan rubber cover on the dizzy cap to prevent damp etc effecting it, but im not sure how effective it is. it sounds like it does the same as your rubber glove method though!

What should the spark plug gap be? I dont have my haynes to hand.

Any comments on the leads giving off sparks? surely that isnt normal
 
I havent actually set the gap of the plugs since i bought them! I just wacked em straight in and they worked. It's something i'l look at later, and maybe change them anyway as im sure a change is due.

Also, still not sure about the dizzy cap seal so may use gasket paper as an alternative.. any comments on that?
 
I've treated myself to some performance leads & i'l gradually change the rest of it over soon. It's probably due a change anyway
 
shoukdnt be tracking alan - sounds like the insulations gone on the leads

also - you dont need da rubber boot for your dizzy, it probably does more haem than good.

the seal i was on about is like a black rubber seal that goes to the face that the dizzy cap sits on.
 
paul_k10_Lx said:
hes gettin a shock from just touchin the leads it prob is ignition
mind u he didnt say that lol
Click to expand...

yeah thats what i meant above but must have worded it wrong! It ran absolutly perfect today, but thats because its dry. I'l wait until the crap weather comes back, shouldnt be long, and start working on her - preferably without getting electricuted (Sp?)

Also slim, i dont have that seal you are referring to! Just the plastic cap going against the dizzy but nothing inbetween.
 
the seal is pushed into the cap around the edge arnold tbh i still dont think its ignition related but with out the car being in front of me i cant tell and neither can anyone else
 
Fordy said:
i cant tell and neither can anyone else
Click to expand...

Well, you guys havent let me down before, and you never know, someone could come up with a fix for it! Seems ok tonight, just gave it another burn to tesco but we'l see what happens.

I sprayed more WD40 inside the dizzy cap and around the edge, also all over the plugs, so dunno what else to do apart from that. New leads on the way anyway.
 
Mine started cutting out and running crap, turned out to be the fuel pump...

sounds like yours is ignition related though, check the low tension (voltage) wires to the coil and there connections too, Is the dizzy cap cracked?

If you are unsure about the dizzy to dizzycap seal a thin smear of sillicone sealent should help along with the new leads and re-gapped plugs.
 
well Arn, found out 2day how annoying damp can be. drove through a puddle and where my open bumper n grille offer the engine little protection. i soaked the dizzy. car died instantly in the middle of the road. put my foot down and the engine done nothing. gave the dizzy a wipe with my hand and it started 3rd/4tn time. think it's a new dizzy cap 4 me 2moz!!

Not as annoying as ur problem though. Just thought i'd post this 2 try cheer u up n give u a laugh. lol.

Oz
 
In my highly un-professional opinion if your getting shocked off of the leads then its got to be something to do with the wiring, somewhere. If its damp then your probably getting a short, have you changed everything yet? If not, i'd recommend you do.

I had a slight problem with the dizzy cap on my car where it would occasionally run on just two or three cylinders for a few seconds in the wet. I picked up a couple of rubber o rings from an electrical supply warehouse, and fitted it to the dizzy, made it pretty watertight and I didnt get any more probs.
 
Hmm, I used to have problems with damp and a bad running car at times.
I changed the distributor to the electronic one. The one without the points.
Also put on a rubber O ring just to be sure.
(don't forget to also change the coil when changing the dizzy to the electronic one)

Haven't had a single problem with the dizzy every since and also no problems with ignition problems too.
Not quite sure from what car that dizzy came, think it's from those facelift 1.2 models with ecc crap engines :D (<- not intended as flamebait, so dont take it hehe)

However, if you already have the electronic one without the points then I guess you should just check the wiring, from coil to plugs. Things like this are quite annoying unfortunately :(
 
Ok i think we can rule damp out because i took it for a burn earlier in the dry and it still suffered. We removed the dizzy cap again and noticed the metal bits inside were covered in something, looked burnt / dirty, so that was scraped off. Did 15 miles since without a hitch so fingers crossed she's sorted!
 
the burned stuff is the wd40....dont use it on electrical comecttions..


use some magical stuff called "Holts Damp start" its a water dispersant that has no lubricant properties whatsoever.... so it works....

change your plugs, leads dizzy cap and rotor arm....

seal the distributor cap with duck tape or the correct o-ring...

find out how the water is getting into the system in the first place and block it off... (ie a sheild)

and you should never ever get a spark from the ht leads....

and saying that nissan ones are the best is a load of poo...... they are cheap at best. try Bosch or magnecor..... they offer an 8.5mm silicone outer and offer much better insulation...which is what you want..

then....check that the plug gaps are correct.....that your battery is fully charged....and you should be absolutely fine..
 
damp start is the same as WD40 - a water dispacement fluid. However, WD40 also helps to lubricate things inside the dizzy, like your vacuum advance mechanism etc
 
antony_aiken said:
magnecor..... they offer an 8.5mm silicone outer and offer much better insulation...which is what you want..
Click to expand...

I ordered some of these the middle of last week, but they didnt have the correct colour boots for the leads so there's a small delay. They should be with me soon though.

I did 90 miles on it yesterday evening, and it was perfect. Also this morning it rained over night and i drove it to work without any major issues, so things are looking good!
 
things were looking good, but shes gone back to being crap. Took 5 mins to start this morning! My new leads are here, and il get round to doing a full service once its dry. Getting fed up with this gremlin my car seems to have.
 
Have you tried a different coil, they do start to break down after a while, it is possible for it to cause an intermittant fault like this, especially in the colder, damper weather we're having lately.
 
The coil was changed around a year ago. If it was faulty though, wouldnt it be a permanent fault? I mean the other night i drove it 90 miles without a hitch, and now its crap again!!
 
I thought that until the coil packed in on one of my bikes, it wouldnt start in the cold morning, but once it had warmed up in the sun it would, it turned out to be a break in the lt side of the coil that must have been connecting when warmed up, possibly through heat expansion.
 
You should try new plugs as they are cheap and its an easy swap, you never know they may solve the problem. I think from the bay they are about £7 delivered.

Just a thought.

Also Ive never had much success with that Holts Damp start or similar products, it just seemed to make my car reluctant to start. Maybe I didnt apply it right or something.
 
Ok cheers, well i guess looking at the age of all the parts, nothing should be going wrong, so i guess i have to rule everything out as being good until i know what it is!

Something i'l check :)
 
it really is coz of the way u treat it. I'm suprised it's taken this long to get it's own back on u!! My car's 21, and never has any problems starting, or anything else for that matter!!!! :p
 
As a suggestion, try going over the entire ignition electrics with a multimeter whilst getting someone to try and start it, with the new leads you can strip back the insulation from the old ones and see if the probs there. That way you might be able to isolate the problem a bit more, and see whats happening with everything.
 
Wat a long post, excuse me for not reading all of it...

Forget WD40!!!

I had the same problem with damp condition, and tried WD40 over the leads, but made no noticable differance. It may dispurse water, but leaves an oily film behind, which the electrical properties are not know, i.e break down voltage/resistance?

Clean it off with a rag and some methylated spirit. This alone almost cured the problem in my case. The ultimate cure being a new set of leads (Bosch) and a new dizzy cap.

I know you are saying it does it in the dry now, but I'd still get that WD40 off of everything...

Also if you got an old points type dizzy, a dying capacitor (condensor for the oldies:) will cause this effect too!!

Good luck anyways ;-)
 
mrmaz said:
Also if you got an old points type dizzy, a dying capacitor (condensor for the oldies:) will cause this effect too!!
Click to expand...

It started giving me jip going towards the portsmouth meet. Was absolutly fine for 40 miles or so then gradually got worse and worse. Even more so when we hit stationary traffic and queues, i was told the dizzy would be the problem.

I have the new magnecor leads to be fitted, but i may go grab another dizzy from a scrappy and see what happens.

Cheers for the reply though! :)
 
Took it for a spin yesterday with Ems and cut out on numerous occasions.. Would stall when approaching junctions, and wouldnt start again either for ages. In the end, her dad had a look and replaced his ignition components for mine and it seemed to run fine. In the end, he said the dizzy cap looked dodgey, something about a spring being broken or damaged on the metal point.

My car now seems perfect! - even started after bad rain last night :)
 
i thought i told you what to do rimmer :p how many times :p you would have fixed the problem ages ago if you had done what i said
 
Speedle said:
i thought i told you what to do rimmer :p how many times :p you would have fixed the problem ages ago if you had done what i said
Click to expand...

Haha! we went to the scrappy in oxford but there werent any dizzies available. Anyway, this seems to have fixed everything, so maybe replacing the whole thing is no longer necessary
 
trust me it will be mate the electronic dizzy only lasts so long unlike points which you can just change when they wear out... still we will see ;)

ill be expecting a "you were right phone call" ;) lol
 

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