trouble starting the truck after a night of rain.

[reinhard1]

i have a 2001 dodge ram 1500 off road 4x4. engine runs great and no other problems with starting the truck unless it rains during the night. next morning it takes awhile to start it. lately to hurry the proccess i have steped on the gas pedal a couple of times. the truck has a new fuel pump just put in recently. i have added a container of isoprophyl [sp] and filled up the tank [thinking moiture in the gas line]. one guy said to spray wd-40 on the distributer wires. didn't try that yet, does that work or would it be a mistake. thanks. good luck.

[Macgyver55]

RH, often hard starting in damp weather is due to old plug wires and/or cracked distributor cap. If you haven't put on a distributor cap, rotor, plugs & wires lately that would likely take care of the problem.

[reinhard1]

yes i haven't gotten all that done in some time. the enging runs good so i didn't think i needed what your saying. but that's why i'm on here asking questions with excelent advice from guys like you on here. it's on the to do list now. thanks. good luck.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Older dodges are especially sensitive when they have worn out spark plugs and heavy dense moist air. We get them on the flat bed every spring with flooded engines. They will go all winter with worn put plugs but for some reason the moist air is where they draw the line. these will start buy holding the gas pedal to the floor an holding it there while cranking the engine.

Most of the time they get a fresh set of plugs and an oil change.

If you are pressing down on the pedal and releasing it you are not doing anything besides buying time. I would still be concerned with fuel pressure even though you had. New pump installed recently. If there was enough moisture in the distributor cap to cause the vehicle not to start it's not going to clear itself be cranking the engine over.

BTW, it is not necessary to add heat or isopropyl to your tank. The gas you put in already has 10% alcohol in it. Alcohol absorbs moister making it almost impossible for there to be any moisture in your tank.

[reinhard1]

since i had the fuel pump changed [ $600 ] the truck starts as soon as i turn the key. my mistake in not changing the plugs and wires. cant complain on how the engine is running but it's been awhile for plugs and wires. thanks. good luck.

[titelines]

RH, often hard starting in damp weather is due to old plug wires and/or cracked distributor cap. If you haven't put on a distributor cap, rotor, plugs & wires lately that would likely take care of the problem.

+1

Had the same problem with a previous vehicle and this fix solved it.

[reinhard1]

thanks again. getting er done soon. thanks. good luck.

[Mike_Top]

I'll add another vote for the distributor cap and rotor, for whatever its worth. I had this happen in my 96 silverado and that solved it. Distributor cap contacts were verrry corroded.

[LightningBG]

On a previous vehicle I had this problem. There was a crack in the distributor. Using a hairdryer on the distributor would solve the problem in short order, which is how we narrowed down the problem at the time. Once when I had to plug in a 100ft extension cord to a nearby pub, to get my car to start, that was the trigger for me to finally fix it. On the plus side, this was the morning after some heavy drinking, so no drinking and driving