96 1500 Doesn't Start in The Rain
 

I have a 96 1500 sport with the 5.2L that will not start when it rains. Any other time regardless of temperature it will start with no problems 1 or 2 cranks and it fires right up.

I found out that my door Drip seal is ripped and leaking badly, usually the floor on the drivers side is completely soaked when it rains. So I obviously ordered the seal to replace it.

My question is what else under the dash on the drivers side should i check to help fix the issue. My fuses all look good no signs of corrosion and I don't notice any wires that are noticeably wet. I am at a loss for what else to check out under there that would cause the issue.

Not sure if it helps anyone but when it cranks it cranks strong doesn't sound weak or just click and normally after a bit of cranking I can smell gas. When my dad had the truck he said after cranking long enough it would eventually fire and run fine after that. I also plan to do a tune up replace plugs wires te usual stuff when the weather warms up a bit but i dont think anything under the hood is causing an issue since it should all be water proof and it doesnt shut off if I run through a puddle.

Any input is appreciated. Sorry for the wall of text just trying to cover everything.

Check the weather seal where the hood and cowl meet. It's probably allowing your distributor to get wet.

Welcome to the forum!

when you do the tune up do the plug wires....i had a problem like that ...and it was the spark plug wires the high humidity and their worn out insulation made the truck not start or run poorly

i dont know if this will help but the seal between the hood and the cowl was bad and it was leaking in to the computer and it would get wet and just turn over for lie 2 to 3 min before it would start getting a spark

Yea it sounds like about the same thing thats happening with mine...popped the hood today looks like a piece of the cowl weather strip is missing so i ordered that today as well. Hopefully that will fix it.

Def planning on doing the wires when it warms up a bit... gotta long list of stuff that needs done once its warm enough for the bike and i can tear this thing down for a few days.

Also maybe someone can answer this as well. The engine bay on this truck is what about 15 foot long... so why the hell is 3/4 of the engine under the cab making the distributer damn near impossible to get too? :icon_goofygrin:

They put V10's in these trucks too, have to have room for 2 extra cylinders up front.

Dave

im having the same problem. next time it rains spray some wd-40 on the plug wires and distributor, should fire right up. im having the same problem. when you replace them get some decent ones. dont go cheap or you will still have the same problem!

Right on forgot all about the v10s.

Mostly joking with that question tho they need a sarcasm font or something...


Have to give this a try if it happens again before I get a chance to replace the wires and cap thats a good idea