1989 Camry; Hard to start after it rains.

[Aquadisiac]

Hello folks: I have a 1989 Camry 4 cyl. When the vehicle has been parked and the motor is cool then it starts to rain (like overnight) then when I get in it the next morning to go to work, It is very difficult to get started. When it finally does start, it runs fine for a few minutes, then for about ten minutes it is very hard to keep it running, once I get past this it runs like a Brand New one. No Check Engine light comes on and it has new plugs and wires (twice with each, Plugs and wires). Just frustrating for a few minutes then it is fine and all this only after a rain.

[Mike Gerber]

First of all, how old are the new wires. I ask because I have seen some cheap aftermarket wires fail in as little as 1 year or 20,000 miles.

When cars have problems with wet weather you think first of plugs, wires, distributor cap and distributor rotor. The OEM wires come with the distributor cap. If you didn't replace the cap with the wires, I would do that along with the distributor rotor. If that doesn't solve the problem the next most likely culprit is the coil inside the distributor. They have a tendency to develop hairline cracks and short themselves to any metal ground inside the distributor, when the weather is wet/damp. Remove it and inspect it for cracks in the plastic portion.

"once I get past this it runs like a Brand New one." The heat of the engine as it warms up is probably drying out the wet components causing the car to run normally.

Mike

[CRXJSPEC]

Check the battery. I've seen in some cases where the battery is defective (maybe a crack somewhere on the casing/ leaking battery acid) and when it gets wet prevents the car from starting. I had this actually happen to me a few times a couple years ago. Happened to me when I washed the car one day popped the hood and noticed that it wasn't just water on top of the battery. Switched it out and everything was fine. Would be worth checking out.

[Aquadisiac]

Thanks Mike: The Wires, both sets have been purchased within this past year. The plugs as well. The distributor cap and rotor button and first wires are all the same age and I replaced them all at the same time.(one year ago).. The newest ones are from Toyota. The distributor cap and wires are made together, and the rotor button is the NAPA one. Now the coil inside the distributor is a possible culprit and I had not checked that. It makes sense that it could be it. But then it has to be a 'humidity' thing at this point. (which it may very well be). I am just saying that it has never been wet under the hood. No noticeable moisture or condensation under the hood that I have ever noticed. But humidity could play a part with a crack in the coil housing and I had not thought of that. Great idea. I will look at that next. I have, personally, owned this car just over three years. It was my mothers Camry and she bought it when it was one year old in 1990. I got it from her estate. This car is in great condition and only has 130,000 miles on it. I have only put 14,000 miles on it in three years and four months. I cannot work on it right now. this will have to wait about a month until I have time to check into this. I appreciate these good ideas. Thanks.

[Aquadisiac]

CRXJSPEC: The battery idea is a good one. The thing is, it was doing this before with the older battery. I had to purchase a new one and it is still doing that. I suppose it still could be the battery, but it did this with two completely different batteries. So I tend to lean towards, ...it isn't the battery. With me just saying that, It probably is the battery now!!! Thanks. I appreciate your ideas and thoughts.

[Eugee]

Could be a crack in the coil housing. You might try testing the coil.

[Aquadisiac]

Eugee: Thanks for tha good idea. Someone else had just mentioned it to me. I thank you for your idea and input. :-)

[87Camry5Speed]

Originally Posted by Aquadisiac

Eugee: Thanks for tha good idea. Someone else had just mentioned it to me. I thank you for your idea and input. :-)

Former Gen2'er chiming in to agree with the cracked coil housing (distributor cap) idea. Extremely common on 3SFE's until the car warms up and the moisture burns off. Some have been known to have this issue on humid days.

[Aquadisiac]

to: 87Camry5Speed; Thanks for the heads up. I will get on that as soon as the weather warms some.

[srs507]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I'm having the same issue on my 89 Camry station wagon, LE version. When there's a torrential downpour the engine will stall when you idle or try to make a turn at a slow speed; at highway speeds there's no problem. I'm terribly afraid to drive this car after it rains, but my mechanic's replaced the distributor caps + wires when they went bad a while ago, checked for any leaks, etc. Last time this issue happened he said it was a soaked air filter, but I don't know whether that's true. Battery is not an issue, we just had that replaced actually because the last one was defective (yay for free replacements!). Thanks all!

Also, proud to have the station wagon still on the road. Parents bought it new in 89, passed down to my brother when he was in high school and now I use it as the youngest in the family, commuting to work while I'm in college.

[Aquadisiac]

srs507; I am not certain that your problem and mine are the same. (But it could be). The reason for me thinking this is: On mine, if the engine was cold, or hadn't been running for longer than 10 hours and it was raining or had rained SINCE having been last shut off, then it was a Bear to get it started the next time. IF it started raining WHILE I was driving it and the engine warmed up, it could rain hard as it wanted to and it wouldn't phase the way mine runs.
It turned out that my problem WAS my coil. The coil is mounted inside / under the distributor cap and it is mounted TO the distributor housing. The disributor has to come out to replace it. (because the screws that attach it to the housing are started from the underneath side upwards!! ) I bought a coil from NAPA Auto Parts and replaced it in about 45 minutes!! Start to finish.
Yours MAY have the same problem with only different symptoms. I have no way of making that determination from here, but if everything has else has failed to correct this issue, then it is time to check on a coil replacement!! BE SURE to get the O-Ring gasket that seals the distributor shaft in the block when replacing the coil. It will stop the leak that is going to happen later. It goes on the shaft itself. GOOD LUCK!!

[Aquadisiac]

Originally Posted by 87Camry5Speed

Former Gen2'er chiming in to agree with the cracked coil housing (distributor cap) idea. Extremely common on 3SFE's until the car warms up and the moisture burns off. Some have been known to have this issue on humid days.

87Camry5Speed: I finally did put a NEW Coil from NAPA Auto Parts on / in my 89 Camry. It fixed my issues. When I read what you said, it made perfect sense and I can not believe that I didn't realize that.
At any rate, the car runs like it did when it was new again and THANK YOU for the idea!!!

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by srs507

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I'm having the same issue on my 89 Camry station wagon, LE version. When there's a torrential downpour the engine will stall when you idle or try to make a turn at a slow speed; at highway speeds there's no problem. I'm terribly afraid to drive this car after it rains, but my mechanic's replaced the distributor caps + wires when they went bad a while ago, checked for any leaks, etc. Last time this issue happened he said it was a soaked air filter, but I don't know whether that's true. Battery is not an issue, we just had that replaced actually because the last one was defective (yay for free replacements!). Thanks all!

It is almost guaranteed to be the same issue. Replace the coil (any brand). Also, if you haven't recently (>30k miles), replace the plugs (Denso or NGK standard copper), wires/cap (OEM Toyota) and rotor (OEM Toyota).

-Charlie

[srs507]

Thanks all. Will have this checked out when I run into this issue again; I've been quite lucky in terms of it raining and the car working fine so far.