I have a 93 Dodge Stealth, base model, 5spd, 159K miles.

Its had some problems for awhile about not wanting to start after a rain, but after turning it over a couple times it would start. However now it wont start following a rain. After the weather clears up and dries out a bit, it starts just fine. And at all other times it runs fine.

The engine turns over fine, and the sparks fire good too. I have cracked a fuel line and it is getting fuel just fine. However, I havent checked to see if the injectors are working right after a rain, mainly because Im not sure how to.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Rain may be causing an electrical short... only thing i can think of as of right now..

 

i agree about the short, though i have no idea where to start looking.

ive heard that the wires to the crankshaft sensor can become worn after a few years. if those wires are shorting out could it cause my car not to run?

 

If the CAS is disconnected or malfunctioning, it will not send the signal to the ECU which in turn will not allow the PTU to fire to coils or the fuel pump to run. Next time this happens, see if you are getting spark and fuel at that time, then you will know for sure if it is the CAS.

 

Well just got new plugs and new plug wires. No change, still wont crank.

However I did check for spark and I am getting a good strong spark.

As for checking the fuel situation....well I have opened a fuel line up and turned the car over, this results in plenty of gas. Not certain if injectors are working or not...however the exhaust pipe smells like gas after I turn it over.

Theoretically this would mean that I have gas and spark.

Any ideas as to what to check on next?

 

Is it still only occurring after a rain? Does it do it after every rain? Sorry about the ??, but it is hard to armchair troubleshoot.

If water is getting on your CAS, it will ground it out and possibly cause the symptoms you describe, once it dries out it would be back to normal.

 

Yeah its been having trouble after any rain at all. Even if I havent driven the car in the rain...

However, a couple months back it would start up after turning the engine over a couple times, it just took a couple tries to start it.

Now it wont crank at all.

Ive heard that the wires to the CAS can possibly rub on the timing belt and get progressively worse...don't know how likely of a possibility that is.

Tomorrow I will try to get under the car and check out the CAS....I don't suppose you could give me a couple pointers as to roughly where its located/what I have to take off to get to it? At this point all that I know is that I'm looking for something with wires near the crankshaft [:-]

And thanks for your help

 

That could happen (t-belt rubbing the wires), seems unlikely, but you never know. The CAS is on top of the crank, behind the pulley, near the timing marks. It is kind of hard to see with out removing the t belt cover(s). I'll check in the manual and see what it says tomorrow, if I get the chance.

 

[:-] Manual....thats what I need more then anything else. Do you know if there is a source online?

Ive checked at every auto-parts place in town and no one has a manual for the 3000GT or the Stealth.

This site has instructions for removing the CAS, but thats for DOHC 91-92 models, and mine is only SOHC and 1993, so apparently there have been some changes.

 

Ohhh, SOHC, that does change things abit. I have never worked on a SOHC motor before so I only have rudimentary knowledge of it. Does it have a distributor cap on it. If it does, replace it as it could have a crack in it. You man not be able to see it with the naked eye either. If it is a fairly new cap, run a very (very) thin layer of silicon lubricant around the edge of the cap and install it.
Does it have the "rotor bug" in the cap, if so replace it also.

Let me know. Manual at 3sx performance

It cost 89$, but believe me, it is worth every penny and then some. It is an official Stealership service manual that has everything in it.

I had a ford T-bird from the 70's that stalled out everytime it rained (the dist. is on the front of the motor of Fords). I sealed up the cap and had no more problems.

*edit, where the hell is Rolla at??. I am close to the KC metro area.