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Wet dist. hard to start
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lboos
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:54 am    Post subject: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

On my 1971 bug, all stock, had a heavy rain last night, car was left out side,
this morning hard to start, back fire etc. took a long time very rough running, but when engine did warm up everything went OK, and still is.
I suspect rain water on dist. and coil ???? is there a spray you can spray on the dist. and coil to water proof them from the rain and when washing the car to prevent this ?

Anyone else ever have this prob.? Thanks
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glutamodo Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 10:26 am    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Well, there is WD40, which stands for Water Displacement Formula 40, and its intended purpose is actually what you are talking about here, NOT a lubricant.

1971, does that not still have the rain tray on the decklid, or did that end with 1970?

Do you have the sealing disc inside the distributor?
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Last edited by glutamodo on Sun Nov 27, 2022 10:30 am; edited 1 time in total
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Zundfolge1432 Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 10:28 am    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Yes it’s called hairspray. Aqua net or equivalent. This is an old trick used by people running exposed engines, think Baja 1000.
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vwoldbug
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 1:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Did you pop the distributor cap off and dry it out.
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67rustavenger Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 3:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

You could reach out to Nextgen (Joe Cali) and order a set of these magnetic vent covers.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I bought the complete set for something like $45 shipped.
They cover the rear window vent, decklid vents, and front hood vent on later cars.
My 67 will have a vert decklid later this year. So that's why I bought the complete magnetic cover set.

All the other wet ignition fixes has been covered above.
Although, I have never heard of the hair spray trick. It makes sense!
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lboos
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 3:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

vwoldbug wrote:
Did you pop the distributor cap off and dry it out.


No, I did not, I don't see how any water could get inside the dist. ???
Maybe I should have tried that, it did finely start, but ran really rough until it built up enough heat to dry everything out, ran well after that.

67rustavenger,
I would prob. forget to remove them and do more damage to the engine.[overheat etc]
Maybe if they were painted bright yellow or had a remove before flight tag on them, I don't use check list anymore. Wink
But that might work for some. Thanks.
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goober
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 5:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

"Anyone else ever have this prob.?"

Sure.

Forget the spray and keep the water out.
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vwoldbug
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:06 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Next time it happens pop the distributor cap and check That's how you learn.
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heimlich Premium Member
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 10:42 am    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

This happens to me when it rains a lot. The bigger problem is when you run it and the go somewhere. When you come back out it is harder to start. You can pop the cap and dry the inside out. This should help.

If you do nothing it will eventually go away.
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Pruneman99
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 10:51 am    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Are you using the stock air cleaner? I had that problem with an aftermarket paper filter on a later car with decklid vents. Rain would soak the filter. When you would try to start the car, it would suck water into the engine.
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Cusser
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 11:22 am    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

I've had lid standoffs on my 1970 sedan since 1976, and I removed the rain tray of the inside of the engine lid decades ago. Sure, I live in Arizona, but we do get some heavy rainstorms here.

Yes, everything like spark wires, distributor, coil would get soaked. Just ONCE did my VW fail to start/run during/after such rain, and of course was fine the next day.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 11:36 am    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Some outfits used to sell rubber "distributor condoms" that sealed the cap on baja bugs. I can't seem to find them now.

Use some dielectric grease on SP lead ends to help them seal better. If your wires are more than a few years old, replace them.
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vwoldbug
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 12:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Listen to KTPhil . There is also boots you can put on the spark plug resistors .VW came out with the boots in 1972 to cure the moisture problems on the cars with rear deck lid vents.
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Kumiko
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 2:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

The backfiring means that spark is jumping from one wire to another.
Make sure that you don’t have any wires making a cross “+”. They shouldn’t cross at a 90° angle.

With the engine running, use a spray bottle with water and lightly mist your spark plug wires. Mist individual wires and you should be able to quickly find where the suspect is. If it starts to stumble you have a problem with the wire insulation and it/they need to be replaced.

It’s likely, IMHO, that you have spark jumping due to humidity and poor insulation.
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lboos
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 3:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Wet dist. hard to start Reply with quote

Thank you all, great information. Wink
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