1Cerberus4u

Hey all;

Baseline. restored 65 convert Big block with Edlebrock Pro Flow FI.

After it rains, the car will not start and I am looking for advice as I have check myself and when I could not find anything, brought the car to John's Corvette in Laconia NH (btw, great guy) and he too was unable to determine why the car was not starting..

When I had it towed in, the car did not start, then next morning, started fine and never falted..

Brought the car home, sat out in a rain strong and it did not start for me again.

I can say that water is leaking into the cockpit hard (coming down by the front of the dash), but the fuse panel was not wet

In fact I could not find any wiring that was wet (floor was soaked but..)

Now, in speaking to one, they said that I should replace the coil, as the coil is mounted horizontally and after time not only will the coil go bad from the lack of oil, but that in his experience his old horizontal coil would also not start after the car go wet.

I'm guess the coil issue is not related, but overall, I'm kinda stuck and hope someone might lead me to a solution.

Also,l I did pour water into the vent grates and the drain holes seem to be working fine.....

Thoughts?

R66

Pull the distributor cap and look for moisture. Also look for carbon tracking and cracks. Just a thought.

Frankie the Fink

You haven't said once what "won't start" means...
Does it do nothing ? Does it click ? Does it crank slowly ? Does it crank fine but won't fire up ?

1Cerberus4u

R66, sorry, yea, did that and even used air to make sure everything under the cap was dry... btw, electronic dizzy

1Cerberus4u

Frankie - Again, sorry I did not complete my thought.

Motor turns over fine and you can smell gas so I know its not a starter or fuel issue.

Funny, thought, when I let go of the key, the car coughs

capevettes

Try changing out the plug wires (if you haven't already). I can remember some of my older cars years ago that sat outside would have trouble starting after it rained. Changing the wires helped.

65GGvert

If it tries to start when you release the key, check for 12v on the wire coming up from the starter when in start position. Jump 12v from the battery to that coil connection and see if it starts. Not the one from the ignition, the one from the starter solenoid.

kellsdad

I agree with capevettes. In the old days, that was the classic symptom for old plug wires. As this is an old car, I'd replace the plug wires if they are more than three years old.

FINWOLF

had a old chevy truck had same problem carried a can of crc sprayed the dizzy and the plugs at the wirers the water would and the crc would separate and would start right up.

Gary's '66

As to your other issue of water around the dash. Since you've already checked the drain holes, it's basically going to be one (or all three) of these things.

1. Since it's a convertible, water may be coming in at the top of the seal where the roof meets the windshield.

2. There's cracks in the cowl vents. Remove your wipers and grills then, check for cracks where the firewall bonds to the cabin. Some may be quite wide and, easily detected however, look CLOSELY, as some may be only hairlines. You can also use a hose to help detect leaks in that area.

3. You have separation issues at the windshield and birdcage, with the possibility of, I hate to use this word,....cancer.

Hopefully, it's due to the two former issues!

Gary

BlackbirdZ07

You're not listening to your Corvette. It's trying to tell you that it doesn't like being left outside in the rain.

Frankie the Fink

Try the jumper in post #7, if the car starts and runs then you have problems in the wiring, or, ignition switch area...

Sky65

I had a MG Midget back years ago. It refused to start even on just a foggy day. I cleaned the outside of all the plugs and coated all the plug wires and cap with spray silicone. Never had the issue again. I bet new wires would ha e fixed it as well.

Tom

DSR

I've had cars that don't start on damp days. Tune Up Time! cap, wires, rotor, check for cracks (they are hard to see) in the cap, on the coil tower, spark plug porcelain, ballast resistor, replace the ballast if it looks like it has heated up on the back side or cracked.
Dave

1Cerberus4u

Thanks Everyone.... Some great comments here.

As some of you know, I have only owned the car for a month, so I don' know its entire history, but it is represented to be restored 7 years ago and the car looks like it was, so I'm hopeful that there is no rust in the Birdcage.

I did not buy new wires as they look brand new, but I will do so (plus new cap), and I will try the jumper and see where it takes me.

My big concern is that this is happening when the car just sits in the rain, so it's not like the rain is driving in somewhere. and getting something wet (although the car has the 66 big block hood and the side vents do open the engine compartment to the out side>) and this is similar to why the inside of the car is so wet. Its no driving in, its just falling in....


A

kellsdad

It takes very high voltage electricity to properly fire spark plugs. The insulation on each spark plug wire has to keep that electricity from taking a shortcut to the block rather going to the plug. When the insulation gets old, just the moisture in the air that can condense on the wires on a very damp day can allow enough electricity to escape to prevent the engine from firing. You may not even see the water that is causing the problem.

DSR

I have had 1 year old GM Delco wires fail. I use the Taylor 8mm wires.

Nowhere Man

You should install the factory rain gutters in that BB hood if your going to drive in foul weather

Bill Pilon

Start it on a dry night and spritz the cap and wires at a fast idle and watch for the light show, if it doesn't falter and you don't see any arcing your problem is inside the distributor or the wiring to the ignition.

Bill

MikeM

Best advice I've seen here yet.