Hard start

[Silverfc88]

I have a 98 Chevy Astro van. Sometimes after it rains or while its raining it won't start. It turns over and over and nothing. Sometimes I have to crank it a few times leave it alone for a few minutes and try it again then it will start. It only does it after/during rain or sometimes in extreme humid conditions like foggy mornings or something.



I'm not sure what it could be. Any suggestions?


It has the 4.3l Vortech.

[SpendOne]

My guess would be loss of ignition spark somewhere. My blazer does almost the same thing time to time. I havent had a chance to look at it. What I was planning on doing was takinga psray bottle and wetting my spark plug wires and such to see if there was any arching.

[koho2731]

I had the same problem with my Prelude it ended up that the cap and rotor weren't sealing up enough to keep water out. I'd start there cause it sound like a water penitration problem

[Silverfc88]

From reading around I have to agree with you both.

Some forums say on the Astro the spark likes to jump from the coil wire to the trans tube grounding out and water has alot to do with.

So I went ahead and got some new sparkplug wires, rotor, and cap. I only replaced the coil wire for now along with the rotor and cap. I taped up the coil wire with some electrical tape and also the transmission fill tube. Also used some electrical grease on the coil wire, boot and cap to help keep moisture out. I also greased the electrical connectors to the dstributor and coil.


If I still have a problem then I'll replace the coil itself.

It started fine this morning, but the real test will be tomorow morning with tonights rain.



I didn't do the plugs and the rest of the wires yet. I'm going to have to take more time for that. Astro van= pain in the ass.