usmarine0905

Hello...here we go..ugh. 98 c2500 5.7 Votec

My truck was always a quick starter in all weather, till appx 1.5 years ago. When ever it was raining or very damp outside it would not start, what I would do is remove the plugs dry them off and put them back and it would start up. Well not today, it tries to fire up and will catch on maybe a couple cylinders and then die. Then it will just crank and not start, there is fuel present on the plugs when I removed them again, so it getting fuel....I replaced the wires and still no joy. The cap was dry and clean... But the rotor has a lot of black soot under neath it. I cleaned it and replaced and still no joy. Battery is strong and fully charged. Any ideas of where to next check... It's my only ride to and from work, I'm on the bus now.... Please help if you can

Thanks. Darryl

retired wrench

If rotor shows signs of arcing I would replace both cap and rotor. Ive seen them look good and the least moisture short them out.

oldchevy

Just having fuel is not enough. Check the fuel pressure and make sure it is high enough.

usmarine0905

Is there anything I can also do to check the module in the distributor..? I will check fuel pressure tonight, what should the pressure be during cranking? Can I still check the spark from the coil by putting a gap between the coil wire and a ground? or is all that controlled in combination with fuel pump run...
Also I forgot when I removed the cap last time the rotor was loose, screws were still in place but loose. Could that be were all the soot was coming from under the rotor?

usmarine0905

Well I did the old skool trick with the truck... I sprayed "Starting Fluild" into the thottle body and turned the key and Nothing..... So I am going with the problem is Spark and not fuel...... unless Im told otherwise on here.... please advise. Have not checked fuel pressure yet...got to dark. is there a way to check the coil and ignition module? those parts are almost 100 dollars each, I would really like to make sure that is the problem. Thanks in advance

usmarine0905

Update...... The fuel pressure is fine 55-60 psi. Went to crank it up this morning, and started right up as it always did. So the coil tested fine, I guess what ever it was must have dry out over the past couple of days. I noticed that the distributed base, where the cap screws into, one of the holes are cracked and will not tighten. Possible cause for moisture into cap.... Remember it was always hard to start when rains..is the base replaceable?