Has anybody ever had an issue with morning dew + a cowl hood?

[haggarSHO]

This morning was crazy humid and everything was soaked from the dew.

Immediately on my drive to work it felt like I was running on 5 cylinders, as my power wasn't all there and there was a bit of a vibration. Towards the end of my trip to work, cruising in 5th gear I could feel it missing.

At lunch time I'll be able to go check my plug wells to verify that's what is causing the miss.

I generally have covered parking so this will rarely be an issue, but the girlfriend stole my parking spot and I didn't think much of it.

But I'm curious to see if anybody else has run into this issue? This car has sat in the rain and hasn't had enough water dumped on the engine to cause a miss, but a couple of nights outside and enough dew has gotten into the wells?

 

[jimtash]

Your car, is its name Christine by any chance? Maybe got mad for being kicked out of its spot.

Doubt it's water in the plug wells.

 

[SHOdded]

I'd check the grounds, specifically the DIS - to - firewall one.

 

[Art5]

I had that problem a lot of times in few different SHOs.sometimes had to push wires harder. Tried to adjust rubber boots. Sometimes helped.

 

[haggarSHO]

I had that problem a lot of times in few different SHOs.sometimes had to push wires harder. Tried to adjust rubber boots. Sometimes helped.

Hmm, I went out there and ran the codes and let it do a cylinder balance test.

519 (O) PSP switch/circuit open - PSP
116 (O,R) Engine Coolant (ECT) sensor out of range - ECT

Cylinder balance test actually OK'd, no problems.. and right after the test it idled out smooth, seemed to be running fine. So I cut the engine off, turned it back on, and immediately it ran rough, drove it down the road and it was the same, seemingly running 1 cylinder down.

 

[jimtash]

Did you let it warm up prior to running the test? Cold engines will toss the ECT code.

Bad plug, wire or even a coil pack not producing enough juice on one of the terminals could be something to look into.

 

[haggarSHO]

Did you let it warm up prior to running the test? Cold engines will toss the ECT code.

Bad plug, wire or even a coil pack not producing enough juice on one of the terminals could be something to look into.

It did run for a few minutes prior, but a cold engine is more likely the culprit of that code.

Also, why would the cylinder run fine during the test, but not while driving?

EDIT: If that's even what the issue is. I have no definite proof that I'm running 1 cylinder down, just basing it off the rough vibration and lack of power.

 

[jimtash]

It's not under load and the PCM raises the idle during the test. Next thing to do is drive it and then pull the plugs afterward and look at each insulator for signs of misfire. Light tan is what you want them to look like. If any are bright white or a sooty black, it could indicate the plug, wire, coil, or fuel injector are not functioning for that cylinder.

 

[kevinspann]

Rain recently? Or just dew? Water can and wil get into the rear plug wells.

 

[sperold]

Water definately makes a difference with a cowl hood. When you go to an automated car wash, try to remember to stuff something in the cowl opening, otherwise, it will run badly for awhile.

 

[haggarSHO]

Rain recently? Or just dew? Water can and wil get into the rear plug wells.

Hmm, actually I think it did rain sometime Sunday, my car sat from late Saturday night till this morning. Though I did start the car yesterday morning, then realized I didn't need to leave, and turned it right back off. I didn't notice a miss then, but also wasn't paying much attention.

Driving it home today, there was a definite miss. This morning it just seemed like one of the cylinders was dead.

 

[kevinspann]

Mine was similar to that when there was a little water in the rear plug wells. Idled okay, drove like shit, until all of the water boiled out. Been fine since.

 

[SHOspazz92]

Happened more then a few times in my track car with the cowl hood. Carried a turkey baster in the car for this exact reason on trips where I knew I was going to hit some weather.

 

[SHOtime2511]

You can buy cowl plugs.
That should take care of most issues.

 

[haggarSHO]

Mine was similar to that when there was a little water in the rear plug wells. Idled okay, drove like shit, until all of the water boiled out. Been fine since.

Yeah, hopefully it boils out soon, I already miss my merging power

You can buy cowl plugs.
That should take care of most issues.

Any suggestions on where to order some?

 

[haggarSHO]

Hmm, I went out there today while I didn't have much at work to do and looked at it some more. Still a bit of a miss fire. I pulled each wire out while it was running and they all sparked consistently it seemed. But what concerns me is I heard what seemed to be a very subtle sporadic knock.

The idle did seem a tiny bit more stable, but could still tell there was a miss, also I can see the motor vibrating as if a miss fire was occurring.

Am I overreacting?

 

[jimtash]

What plugs are you running? For some reason new Autolites like to come loose around the insulator allowing compression to escape and causing a lean misfire condition. Touch each plug boot at the top and if you feel a slight pulse, more than likely compression is escaping out of it. Don't have the problem with Denso plugs.

 

[haggarSHO]

What plugs are you running? For some reason new Autolites like to come loose around the insulator allowing compression to escape and causing a lean misfire condition. Touch each plug boot at the top and if you feel a slight pulse, more than likely compression is escaping out of it. Don't have the problem with Denso plugs.

Not sure actually, Toolman put new plugs in before I picked it up from him in April '12, but he does not remember what kind they were.

 

[jimtash]

Just put your finger on each boot. The pulse is noticeable if the plug is leaking. You should feel a slight vibration too as the cylinder fires that plug.

If you take them out, look at the base of the insulator right above the hex part. If there's a brownish ring around them, it indicates a leak.

Never had this problem with Autolites until recently. And had an one NGK plug do the same in another car. Some just leak and some get to the point where the insulator can easily be rotated in the housing and there's an audible swoosh sound because of air escaping through the gap. I imagine any water getting around them would make the problem worse so keep that in mind.

 

[Toolman]

Pretty sue they were autolites Haggar.