Pops borrowed my 98 stratus 2.0 and it stalled on him when he tried to drive through a pretty good sized puddle (knee high) during some heavy rain. It wouldn't start after we got it out so I figured it was just because of the water. It's been about two days now and still nothing. Sounds like it wants to turn over but then quits. Whats the deal??? Thanks in advance for the advice.
rkfsm
12-30-2004, 08:45 AM
The first thing to do whenever a car gets "flooded" is to take off the distributor cap and rotor and spray out the distributor with WD-40. DON'T flood it with the WD-40! Just a light coating will do. Dry the cap and rotor with a rag and replace. (Side note: WD-40 was originally designed by the Rocket Chemical Company in 1953 as a water dispersal for electronics that would niether conduct nor insulate electricity. The oils that make up WD-40 was the 40th formula they tried, thus WD-40 is derived from "Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try". WD-40 was used to protect Atlas Missiles from rust and corrosion during the 50's and was only sold to the government in pump spray form. In 1961, when Hurricane Carla hit the Gulf Coast, the federal government sent a truck load of WD-40 in its brand new areosol formulation down to help the victims get their cars started again and WD-40 became known nation-wide.)
Knee deep water is pretty deep. Did the car stall out in the puddle? If so, did it stay there long? If so, do you have an automatic transmission? If so, you could be looking at replacing the trans. Automatic transmissions are ruined by water contamination. Not that this is something that will keep you engine from starting. It's just something else to worry about.
Did he slam into the puddle? If so, there could be torn wires in the wiring harness that runs in front of the radiator.
If the car was in the drink for a while, the crankshaft position sensor is lower than knee high and is needed to run the engine. (Hint, hint) The CPS combined with the Camshaft Position Sensor (The CMP is located inside the distributor in your car) tells the computer when to pulse which injector and when to fire the ignition coil (and which coil if a D.I. system).
Hope this helps
RK
erik613
12-31-2004, 01:32 AM
The car did stall out in the puddle and no I don't have an automatic tranny...(whew!).
As for the other questions I know he didn't slammed into the puddle because it was a good stretch of water (20-30 ft.) and he was close to the other end when it stopped. It was there for about 20 minutes before we pulled it out. Some guys at work also mentioned the distributor cap so I'm thinking that might be the culprit. I'm working overtime this week so I'll let you know if that was the problem in a couple of days. If it wasn't I'll give those other suggestions a try. Thanks again for the great advice.
KIP311
12-31-2004, 01:41 AM
Welcome to the board.
Defidently check the distibutor, like was said eirlier.
Side note - A guy I know from work once drove his sebring through a big puddle like this, and his motor cut out. Reason - he has a CAI and the cone is low, right near the front tire. It sucked in alot of water, killing 3 of his 6 cylinders. He had to do a complete motor swap!! Hope this isn't happening to you, and no way should anyone try to run through a puddle that deep with a CAI that is so close to the ground. I still bust his balls about it all the time :nutkick:
