97 cavalier intermitent start

[CrawlinTBSS]

friend has a 97 cavalier 2.2L.

she said when it rains/snows and its wet/humidy the car has VERY hard trouble starting or will not start at all. then sometimes when it does it chugs and misfires likes its trying to stay alive, and then it throws a CEL. i dont have a scanner to see. any possible ideas to look at? sounds like water is getting in the electrical somewhere... moisture in the ignition coil? any help is great. thanks guys

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[Zpan01]

I know I had an issue similar to this on my old '97 Cavalier. The plug wires were pretty old and were collecting moisture. I changed the wires and the plugs and that did the trick.

It might be helpful to start there. If the insulation on the wires is cracked, then she won't be getting any spark in the cylinder.

EDIT: also found this... "If you find any damage, it's time to buy a new set. They can be as little as $20 or as much as $100+ for a set depending on your application. It's worth the cost, though. A bad plug wire can be a little monster, it can even trigger your Check Engine Light."

 

[hellraiser319]

x2 on plugs and wires, especially on the older LN2's since the coil packs are on the back bottom of the engine, a lot easier for moisture to wreak havoc down there. You might even want to pull the 2 coils to make sure the housings aren't cracked either. Had a 94 with a split and 1 and 4 wouldn't fire at all.

 

[CrawlinTBSS]

yeah she wants me to do a plug/wire/coil tune up and i searched online for awhile and that seems to be the main problem. so since im going to do that anyway, it sounds like it may be the issues. i hope. any other ideas is great! thanks yal!

 

[HILROD]

There is almost no other tune up parts than plugs and wires on those things. Stay away from the cheap wires, they will turn bad like the current ones real fast.

 

[BillyBru]

my bro just did a tune up on my car. it ran super smooth for a couple weeks and now its gone back to hard cold starts. it doesnt misfire though anymore.

i know on the 2.4 it was finished in about 45 minutes. super easy.
good luck.

 

[CrawlinTBSS]

damn coil is under the intake manifold in the back... looks like a pain in the ass to change?

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

at the subframe inboard of the RF wheel is the Tq link/dogbone its only a couple 15mm bolts to remove it and you can rock the motor forward a couple inches and use a 2x4 to space the intake from the firewall.

cav computers like to split and let saltwater/shit inside...its located forward of the RF wheel...most split along the seam due to aluminum corrosion splitting em
buncha odd issues with eric's 97 went away and have never returned after we swapped in a good junkyard computer.

even if its not split ive heard of guys splitting the pcm case and sealing it with rtv to delay it happening again

 

[BillyBru]

i need to reset my computer. ever since the tune up I've had weird ass shift points.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

thats just disconnecting the battery or pulling the pcm fuse's out for a few

 

[BillyBru]

 

[hellraiser319]

Use dielectric on the connections as well, especially at the coils, that will help hold off the moisture from creeping in a little longer too. CP's aren't terrible, I did 2 LN2's reaching down, I also changed them from underneath. Just a matter of getting your hand in there right.