1988 2.5 Won’t Start After Washing (Page 1/1)
enicho1 MAY 28, 01:30 PM
Hello,

Wanted to hopefully get a little help on where to start looking …,
My 1988 Fiero 2.5 iron duke has trouble starting and running after it is washed.
I have 19,000 original miles and am the 2nd owner and it’s rarely driven.
I am in the process of rebuilding the brake calipers and the car is up on jack stands.
Anyway, I have been occupied with other house projects and just getting back to finishing my brake caliper rebuilds and putting it all back together.

I have been starting the car about once per month and let it run 30-40 minutes and also run the A/C… all good there.

However, I decided to wash the Fiero while it was running.
It died out and I tried starting it and it just cranked and cranked.
After about an hour or so, I got it to start, but barely and it ran like garbage.
It seemed like a timing problem as it was missing and sputtering bad.
I had to keep my foot on the gas pedal to keep it running or it would just die out.


This happened once before about a year ago when I took it to an automatic car wash and barely made it home. It really seemed like a timing problem with the way it was running.
It was sputtering and popping… like it was missing.

This problem resolves itself after about a day or so when everything dries out.


I know something is getting wet and causing the problem, but I am at a loss on where to begin.


The Fiero has good gas, and after looking around the engine compartment, I don’t see anything wet…..but moisture got in somewhere and caused this issue again.

The way it ran yesterday (barely)… if I would have been away from home, I would have been stranded until it dried out.

Any help would be very greatly appreciated on where I could start looking at and focus on?


I am stumped.

Thanks
Boozeman MAY 28, 02:02 PM
First thing I'd check is your distributor. Sounds like it could have a crack in it, allowing a small amount of water to get inside, which would cause your issue.

Good luck!

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Patrick MAY 28, 02:49 PM

quote
Originally posted by Boozeman:

First thing I'd check is your distributor.



Trying to confuse the OP? There's no distributor on an '87-'88 duke.

I suspect moisture got into the DIS ignition brick. Someone more familiar with it will hopefully add further comment.
olejoedad MAY 28, 03:20 PM
It does sound like an ignition problem.

Did you wash the engine, or were you just washing the car with the rear decklid down?
theogre MAY 28, 05:53 PM
W/o more info, I'll say he sprayed "water" in engine bay & hosed the DIS Brick. Then "water" got into the coils &/or the ICM/PIM that shorts out the ignition.

If "water" got in the Brick parts can take days to never work again. Because many time these parts are installed wrong & "water" easily gets in where coils contact the ICM. Or Pressure Washer just force "water" in them.

Or has other electrical problem(s) & just happen that "water" pushes the problem(s) over the edge.

See https://web.archive.org/web...~fierocave/gmdis.htm

Take apart all "grounds" bolted/screwed to whatever in the engine bay, clean/fix them, then coat w/ silicone or permatex green label brake grease.
1 ground is direct ground from the Brick if even a little iffy can behave as "dead" brick.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

enicho1 MAY 28, 09:50 PM
I washed the car with the deck lid down.
Did not wash or spray water into the engine compartment.
It looked dry in the engine compartment, but since it did this running it through an automatic car wash, something is definitely getting wet.


quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:

It does sound like an ignition problem.

Did you wash the engine, or were you just washing the car with the rear decklid down?
Patrick MAY 28, 10:03 PM

quote
Originally posted by enicho1:

Did not wash or spray water into the engine compartment.



Water will definitely enter the engine bay during an automatic car wash through the grills on each side... and through the leading edge of the decklid (below the rear window). Did you check the "pockets" that the four spark plugs sit in? Make sure it's dry in there, otherwise it's possible the ignition spark is simply shorting to ground outside of the plugs as opposed to reaching the spark plug tips. Might be a good time to pull the spark plug leads off the plugs and off the coils and apply a healthy coat of dielectric grease on the inside of the boots.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-28-2024).]

enicho1 MAY 28, 11:07 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Water will definitely enter the engine bay during an automatic car wash through the grills on each side... and through the leading edge of the decklid (below the rear window). Did you check the "pockets" that the four spark plugs sit in? Make sure it's dry in there, otherwise it's possible the ignition spark is simply shorting to ground outside of the plugs as opposed to reaching the spark plug tips. Might be a good time to pull the spark plug leads off the plugs and off the coils and apply a healthy coat of dielectric grease on the inside of the boots.





Thank you very much for the information.
I never thought about the edge along the back window. I did figure the water was getting in through the deck lid vents on both sides, but I didn’t see anything that was wet or stuck out to be the problem.
I’m also going to try Ogre’s suggestion.

Thanks again and to everyone that helped with the information.
At least I have a starting point and things to troubleshoot.

I really appreciate everyone helping me out on this.