95 Camry wont start when wet outside - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Admiral · 11-20-2007, 06:39 AM

my dad's 95 4cyl. won't start when it is wet or there is moisture in the air. I should say that the car had a bit of a fender bender a year or two ago and the hood does not completely flush with the fenders anymore. It has been fine all this time and now it is giving trouble. I thought the battery was getting wet but now i dont think thats it. any suggestions???

***eyeball96*** · 11-20-2007, 07:08 AM

This is a long shot Admiral but my 1st 96 started doing the same, and it ended up being the corroded battery terminals! The (+) terminal was cracked too! So then once I replaced it, the problem never reoccurred!

1996camry · 11-20-2007, 08:33 AM

can the car start in warn weather? battery is OK...then you could have bad distrubutor wires set and rototor buttons...

normaly if a car can't start when cold...your distrubotor buttons and wire doesn't have less conductive when it's cool... might explain why you have problems

Admiral · 11-20-2007, 08:54 AM

Eyeball, I thought the same and I did check on the terminal. i took it off and made sure it was clean and solid. It looks good to me.
It does start when warm so I will look in to the distributor wires. but i am not 100% sure yet if the car is not starting when its cold or if not starting when wet. Lately both come at the same time so its hard to tell.

Mike Gerber · 11-20-2007, 01:53 PM

If the cap and rotor and spark plug wires don't cure the wet starting issue, then the next most likely cause is a bad coil inside the distributor.

Mike

1996camry · 11-20-2007, 04:21 PM

I agree Mike...Normaly a coil inside a distrubutor cause the problem...i have seeing car can't start in hot but ok in cold....if i were you, before spent $ on distrubutor wires...get a meter check resistance on the wire...download a manual for your car and check the resistance for each wires... then if the wires are oK then go distrubutor....

another question? i want to make sure if i get you right...can your car start in HOT at all? if you can start in hot...then check the distrubutor wires and next distrubutor coil inside distrubutor...

osha7677 · 11-20-2007, 04:21 PM

Sounds like a distributor problem, perhaps a cracked cap from the wreck? If water gets in there it causes all sorts of problems.

Is it turning over at all?

If not, another potential problem could be the actual starter. I had a starter once that would give me trouble when it got wet out. To check for this, next time it won't start, get a hammer and hit the starter, then try starting the car again. What happens is that the starter develops "bald" spots and if the car is turned off when one of these bald spots lands in the wrong spot... no start. Hitting the starter causes the bald spot to shift. Water seems to agravate the problem.

1996camry · 11-20-2007, 04:25 PM

or you can bring a start to any auto zone or advance have them check the starter out .......i go for spark plugs wire first check resistance then go coil distrubutor....