its raining...drove through a puddle, and my car starts to sputter....

[Puff]

so, its raining out here, and i decided to take the ix out for a spin. i end up driving through about a 6 inch puddle....i hear water splashing up underneath the car, and about 5 seconde later, the car starts to stumble and sputter. it finally dies, and i have a really hard time starting it up again. im finally able to start it up again gas it like crazy, its running like crap, and limp it back home. an hour later, i go back to try and start it up again and it runs fine!!!

the next time it rains, i do the same thing and try to diagnose the problem....same thing, except it doesnt start at all....i try to start it again after 20 minutes, and it starts up fine, and runs normal.

it seems like something is getting wet, shorting, and causing the computer to trip out or something!!...then when it dries, everything is fine.

Has anyone else had any problems like this?...any help or advice would be appreciated.

thanks,
Puff.

[mylai996]

Are there any check engine lights when this happens? Might want to check the wires for the oxygen sensor. there is another sensor at the crack just behind the pulley. Might want to check the sensor wire there too as it is pretty low. Btw, what year is your ix?

[devonjordan]

Did you suck up any water? ie CAI?

[nando]

you would have to drive an ix through ~2 feet of water to suck it into the intake. I've been up to the bumpers in mine..

[devonjordan]

you would have to drive an ix through ~2 feet of water to suck it into the intake. I've been up to the bumpers in mine..

But if he is running a cold air intake it could be less....

Sorry, dont know what I was thinking. LOL. Its just that I ran into this problem with my M3, and it was because of my intake...

[nando]

you'd still have to be above the bumper, unless he put it down by the foglights or something.

anyway it's definitely not hydrolock, or his engine would already be dead. Something electrical is getting wet or is damaged.

[Puff]

thanks for the advice. my ix is an 88 5 speed manual.

its definately not hydrolock. no water getting into the engine, and no steam coming out of the exhaust. it just seemed like the problem caused the fuel mixture to lean out. i also checked the c191, and it was clean.

anyways, i think i am going to get a new o2 sensor..it looks kind of old, and a bit of corrosion on it.

any other electrical items or componenets near the bottom of the car i should be aware of?

[nando]

an O2 sensor isn't going to make your car not want to start. I would be checking the ground on the front of the engine (oil pan to subframe) and alternator.

[Slick_iX]

The o2 sensor has nothing to do with starting, You may be getting enough moisture through the air filter to effect the MAF. That would have a big effect on starting.

[jrossowvue30]

I had almost the same situation yesterday. On a 2 hr trip in WV through the snow, about 10 mins from my house the radio dies, then the car starts sputtering and the exhaust starts popping when off the gas. Shortly after all this the car dies on the interstate. While I'm standing there I notice something dangling from under the pass. side. It is the connector that connects to the O2 sensor. Plug it back in and she starts right up and drives like normal the rest of my way home. Today I go out to start and it is doing the same thing it was doing after it dies on the side of the interstate except the connector is plugged in. I'm at a loss...

[zedfez]

If it's not the O2 sensor, you might have water getting into your crank position sensor.

[Nate325ic]

check the condition of your spark plug wires? I had a crack in the cable thats connected to the first cable (forget what the hell that cable is, been awhile since i peaked under the hood of an e30) and it would sputter and/or die if I drove through a puddle when it rained

[Rolla1990]

If it's not the O2 sensor, you might have water getting into your crank position sensor.

That's my vote.

[StereoInstaller1]

Pull your distributor cap and spray it with WD-40, then do the same with the 3 relays on your left fender (under the black cover) but pull them out and drench them on the bottom.

GL!

Luke

[turbo325i]

^ StereoInstaller1 knows.

Its your distributor that is getting wet. A little water gets in there and makes it missfire for a bit then flings it out and it dries off and runs great again.

I do this all the time in my ix.