Stalling In Wet

[Sam]

I've been having an issue with my 89 that keeps coming back to bite me. If the car gets wet, all hell breaks loose. It will stall and will not restart for about 10 minutes. Typically when it is able to start up again it stutters but manages to start, however it has major drivability issues and massive surging. To fix the problem I 1. replaced entire distributor assembly and retimed engine 2. Replaced idle air control valve and hoses 3. Replaced coil.

I think it must be in the ignition system with a remote possibility of a fault in the fuel injection wiring, however everything appears ok from the harness up to the injectors.

By spraying water on suspect areas I was able to reproduce the issue and i made this video - however I was not able to identify the cause. There is a loud clicking sound that seems to come from inside the distributor. I didn't capture it in the video, but when the clicking noise starts, the engine surges and almost stalls. As you see at the end of the video, the noise stops and things return to normal. Any Ideas. I'm about ready to hand it over to my saab mechanic this week.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29341303@N04/13523867583/

[Crazyswede]

When it happens try spraying your spatk plug wires with wd40. If that makes the problem go away its time for new plug wires.

[Crazyswede]

Just watched the video...plug wires is my guess.

[hutch]

When you say replaced the distributor assembly does that include a new rotor and cap? Thats where I would start but it sounds like you may have done that already. Other than that maybe check the ignition amplifier or spark plug wires. Or perhaps even the wiring on the distributor harness? Mine has cracked and needed to be JB welded to keep a good connection and I assume keep moisture out of there in the long haul.

I know its not quite that simple, but T5'ing the car is likely going to cost similar to taking it to the mechanic and having them throw parts at it. In the long run its probably going to be easier and cheaper to maintain a T5'ed c900 than a stock one with parts availability, not to mention the drivability upgrade.

[Sam]

Hi guys, thanks for all the responses. I replaced the rotor and cap together. I didn't replace the wires which seemed fresh, but i've just ordered some fresh ones. They are bougicords so they might just be junk.

I replaced the distributor itself because the connector was dangling by a thread, so i was pretty confident there was an issue with it.

[Crazyswede]

That snapping noise you hear could be a wire shorting and arcing to metal somewhere

[Jordan]

What kind of wires did you get?

[DeLorean]

bougicords are original equipment for the C-900's and really are the best choice on these cars. The APC is oddly sensitive to noise, and frequently replacement wires, like Bosch for example seem to cause the APC to taper more boost off erroneously.

Stalling / not running when wet is very likely some sort of ignition related issue.

[Crazyswede]

bougicords are original equipment for the C-900's and really are the best choice on these cars. The APC is oddly sensitive to noise, and frequently replacement wires, like Bosch for example seem to cause the APC to taper more boost off erroneously.

Stalling / not running when wet is very likely some sort of ignition related issue.

But even Bougicords get old and go bad. The insulation could be cracked and they could be shorting to ground when they are wet. That snapping noise sounds like a spark arcing to me. The sure fire way to test them is to put your hands on each of the wires while the car is running but this is also the painful dangerous way as you will get bitten if they are in fact arcing.

[DeLorean]

The bougicords are date coded, I think they started it around 05. If they don't have a date, they are older than that. If they are more than about 6 years old, they are trash now.

[Sam]

I ordered bosch along with a set of bcp6es plugs. I can't find bougies anywhere. Do i need to go hunt around for them?

[Crazyswede]

I ordered bosch along with a set of bcp6es plugs. I can't find bougies anywhere. Do i need to go hunt around for them?

try the bosch and see if the problem goes away

[DeLorean]

I would avoid using the Bosch wires. Also, those are non turbo "hard driving" or, turbo "easy driving" plugs. You want the BCP7ES plugs, the 6's are one more thing that can cause high RPM issues.

[Sam]

I just read a post over on saabcentral about the master wire arcing against the radiator hose. I'm running a master wire from a 99 which i swapped out during troubleshooting. Its a bit too long and i suspect its a problem. Still, that wire is brand new so its surprising. Looks like i need to make sure that i put the additional piece of insulation on that king wire.

[Jordan]

http://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/59223/I ... 8817520OE/