98RS sputters, dies, only in the rain.
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98RS sputters, dies, only in the rain.
I have a 98RS that I owned since new in `97. At about 3,000 miles. I bought the only performance part available. A Turn1 Cold air intake. The car ran beautifully. Never even so much as a hiccup. Well, 110,000 miles later. Its hard to start when it rains. Everything still original(even the clutch), so I go to the dealer and get some OEM wires. They tried their best to screw that up. And I purchased some denso iridum NGK plugs off the internet. All my pickup came back and the car ran and accelerated like new. Well today, we got rain. Not much, but just a drizzle well the car seems fine for 10 miles(expressway), then it starts lurching and surging and bucking. The car starts going slower and slower till I have no choice but to pull off(by this time the CEL came on). I come off the gas and the car just dies. I bring it to a stop and it fires right up, but dies right after. I started it again and again until I was able to get the rpms up to like 3500. It sounded like a really bad miss but it started smoothing out after 20 seconds. Then I could take my foot off the gas and it would idle without dipping or dying. I got bacdk on the e-way, accelerating to 70mph. It pulls hard. But about 4.5miles later, it started sputtering again. It didn't die this time, and I made it home doing 63mph.
It seems to only happen in rain. Its never been a problem before and that car has definitely seen its fair share of bad storms throughout the midwest and southeast. Like I said, it ran beautifully for about 10 days after I put in the plug and wires. I've never had any problems with this car. Would appreciate any help given.
fighterpilot
It seems to only happen in rain. Its never been a problem before and that car has definitely seen its fair share of bad storms throughout the midwest and southeast. Like I said, it ran beautifully for about 10 days after I put in the plug and wires. I've never had any problems with this car. Would appreciate any help given.
fighterpilot
Last edited by fighterpilot; Jun 10, 2004 at 12:52 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 27
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Car Info: 1999 Impreza 2.5 RS - MTS
Sounds like your intake took a nice gulp of H2O! 
Do you have a short-ram type intake or does it actually go into the fender?
Just to share an experience, I used to own a short-ram type intake on my RS. On dry days I liked to open the hood vents. Well, this one time I was in a hurry and stopped by a preassure wash car wash. I completely forgot I had the vents opened
To make the story short, as soon as I drove off the car wash, my car started to bogg and hesitate. Similar to your description
After a couple of restarts, it drove fine.
Do you have a short-ram type intake or does it actually go into the fender?
Just to share an experience, I used to own a short-ram type intake on my RS. On dry days I liked to open the hood vents. Well, this one time I was in a hurry and stopped by a preassure wash car wash. I completely forgot I had the vents opened
To make the story short, as soon as I drove off the car wash, my car started to bogg and hesitate. Similar to your description
After a couple of restarts, it drove fine.
Registered User
iTrader: (1)
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 73
From: the rollin hills of N.J.
Car Info: 95 awd impreza
after i swiched to aftermarket spark plug wires if i swamp it or hose off the engine water gets into the spark plug holes and it spits and spuders bad. Just a little water in one hole can really make it run bad. I just take a paper towel flatten it out small and stick it in there to soak it up.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 720
From: The Hunted Forest
Car Info: Mazda Protege '02 (Wishing protege has AWD and a H6 twin turbo)
If water would be the case of the plugs not being able to conduct properly may i suguest going to a local hardware store and purchasing some dielectric grease. See if you can find one that is not conductive
This grease is used to prevent corrosion on electrical wiring in heavy loaded circuts, but since its grease it should keep the water off the plugs
This grease is used to prevent corrosion on electrical wiring in heavy loaded circuts, but since its grease it should keep the water off the plugs
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