Vented Hood & Rain

[21nemesis]

We've had a lot of rain these past couple of days here in SoCal. While driving back from work today my car was having issues. It was acting as if spark plugs were misfiring and not running on all 4 cylinders at times. This would go in and out. Whenever I would be at a complete stop, the car would shutter as if running on less fewer cylinders,but once I would press the gas it would be fine. I have a Seibon DV hood, which has 2 vents (1 above the intake main line, and 1 directly above the spark plugs). Could that be the issue? Maybe water getting into the plugs? Also, I have an Injen SR intake with the CAI extension, which the filter the is covered with their Hydroshield (which I don't think is the problem, since the engine hasn't died).

Anyone got any ideas?

[leesredgt]

Water getting on the spark plugs cold be the issue. I know when i had my 3000gt with an after market vented hood; it let water drain right into the spark plug valley and the water sat there and eventually corroded the wires away.

[s13sickboi]

yes the water getting in the sparkplug holes will cause misfiring and extreme hestitation...

i remember when i was repairing an altima and had the whole front off, and it rained and snowed then finally i got the car done and went to test drive it was backfiring and hesitating and i was like, s*** wtf did i break! so i did the routine check, first thing was the spark plugs so i take off the wires, and the hole is filled with water! took a air compressor and blew the water out and no problems after that...

your going to have to figure something out to keep out the water in the future

[leesredgt]

yes the water getting in the sparkplug holes will cause misfiring and extreme hestitation...

i remember when i was repairing an altima and had the whole front off, and it rained and snowed then finally i got the car done and went to test drive it was backfiring and hesitating and i was like, s*** wtf did i break! so i did the routine check, first thing was the spark plugs so i take off the wires, and the hole is filled with water! took a air compressor and blew the water out and no problems after that...

your going to have to figure something out to keep out the water in the future

^^^^^^^
This is exactly what happened to me!

[costa_rican13]

try ssome silicone rtv? or even better this stuff called strip caulk made 3m is awesome stuff, i highly recommend it. it doesnt dry or get hard either so it reusable, but does get dirty from dust and such.

[AZhitman]

^ That won't help in this case.

One of the locals has a vented hood - He made an aluminum shield that attaches to the underside of the hood with velcro. Slaps it on for rainy days, it diverts the water away from the engine.

[21nemesis]

^ That won't help in this case.

One of the locals has a vented hood - He made an aluminum shield that attaches to the underside of the hood with velcro. Slaps it on for rainy days, it diverts the water away from the engine.

I was thinking of doing the same thing today. However, I won't be able to do something til Thursday, as I work until then. However, it's supposed to clear up late Wednesday night, so at least that'll be done for the next round of rain. I just hope the car doesn't stall out on me on the freeway on the way to/from work these next 2 days .

[AZhitman]

It's actually strange that it'd be a problem at all... I drove for months with NO hood, and it rained several times - no issues.

Hit your distributor cap with WD-40 (inside), as well as your plug boots (better yet, use dielectric grease - I use it on ALL electrical connections).

[wingFeather]

Reminds me of my DeLoreans. The engine cover was mesh, and water would constantly get into the spark plug wells and short them. Build a shield out of aluminum to defer the water away.

[21nemesis]

Well, the worst happened on my way to work this morning. The car stalled out on me after about 10 mins. of driving. Had a tow truck push, yes push me off the freeway (it was either that or have them mess up my JDM front with the lift). I was able to get underneath a bridge to check under the hood. To my surprise, the top of the engine was dry and so were the spark plug chambers. I also expected the distributor cap to be soaking wet, and it wasn't. However, the connecting ring to the intake, where the MAF is located was soaked. Could that have been the cause of the problems? Inside the socket was dry, but because the bigger vent opening is directly above the intake, it takes on the most water.

Anyway, I dried off the MAF as best I could and let it air out for about 30 mins. I was then able to get the car started again, and drove it home, which pretty much died on me as soon as I hit the driveway. I put a tarp over the hood, so that the components could stay dry for the rest of the day. Borrowed my best friend's car and got to/from work. Needless to say, I will be making some kind of panel cover starting tomorrow.

[rsmithdrift]

Yes that could have been the cause of the problems... The maf is the main engine control component and if it's wet it wont work properly and when it doesn't work properly neither does your engine.

Your ECU figures its a/f ratio by it's MAF voltage reading. If it shorts out it'll read less voltage and tell the car to give less fuel. Less fuel means lean and that causes very bad hesitation and stalling.

I would make a flange to keep the water from draining. If it's that kind of vented hood. I REALLY need a picture to be able to best advise you how to make a permanent solution that requires no maintenance and retains the funtionallity of the vents...

[21nemesis]

Yes that could have been the cause of the problems... The maf is the main engine control component and if it's wet it wont work properly and when it doesn't work properly neither does your engine.

Your ECU figures its a/f ratio by it's MAF voltage reading. If it shorts out it'll read less voltage and tell the car to give less fuel. Less fuel means lean and that causes very bad hesitation and stalling.

I would make a flange to keep the water from draining. If it's that kind of vented hood. I REALLY need a picture to be able to best advise you how to make a permanent solution that requires no maintenance and retains the funtionallity of the vents...

Here you go:



It's the forward most vent. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[rsmithdrift]

Yes that could have been the cause of the problems... The maf is the main engine control component and if it's wet it wont work properly and when it doesn't work properly neither does your engine.

Your ECU figures its a/f ratio by it's MAF voltage reading. If it shorts out it'll read less voltage and tell the car to give less fuel. Less fuel means lean and that causes very bad hesitation and stalling.

I would make a flange to keep the water from draining. If it's that kind of vented hood. I REALLY need a picture to be able to best advise you how to make a permanent solution that requires no maintenance and retains the funtionallity of the vents...

Here you go:



It's the forward most vent. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

That's simple. My idea of a flange was intended assuming this design.

Ok. All you need to do is get a strip of metal, paint it black if you wish. And 3m double sided body work tape (exterior molding tape) The strip of metal needs to be thin and easily bendable and cutable and the same length as the hole. And about the same hight as the hole is. Bend it at a 90* angle length wise. This should bisect the strip perfectly so it is now only half as tall as the hole when the flange you've now created is under the hood. Now here's the critical part. FIND A SPOT UNDER THE VENT HOLE WHERE THIS WATER CAN DRAIN SAFELY. Once you've found that spot, cut a small square notch in that part of the flange that will stick up to create a lip on the lower edge of the hole, you need to make the notch go down all the way to the bend so that water can be captured by the lip and drained through the notch you created. Depending on the size of this lip you've created you may need two holes spaced far apart. Once you've got it ready to install, apply the 3m tape to the top side of the flange that will be under the hood and apply preassure to it to attach it to the underside of the hood. Use a heat gun (hair dryer) to activate the tape properly and permanently. You now will have a lip on the lower edge of the vent that will catch the water running down your hood and drain it in the spot you chose safely and allows you to still retain your hood vent while only loosing a small portion of its total size. A little moisture may still come in during a dounpour due to water splash/wind etc but it wont be enough to add up to anything. The main problem here is clearly the water running down the slope of the hood and draining across the entire length of the vent and on important electronics so you are doing this to make it drain in only one (or two if needed) spots where it is safe for it to do so and wont damage anything.

This is the simplest and most effective way I can think of to keep the vent functional and remove the water issue that wouldn't involve a removable cover.

Any questions let me know.

[LoserCard]

Wow, I have a DVII Hood and my car has been having this exact problem, hesitation, dying idle, and completely randomly when it is raining out. I thought it was my IAC but I just cleaned it and my car runs fine in dry weather. Water getting into my spark plug wires didn't even cross my mind. Also randomly, I have getting the vague smells of an electrical fire. Better check it out quick.

BTW, I will probably fab something up tonight or tomorrow and submit pictures so you other guys with vented hoods can use it or what not.

[21nemesis]

That's simple. My idea of a flange was intended assuming this design.

Ok. All you need to do is get a strip of metal, paint it black if you wish. And 3m double sided body work tape (exterior molding tape) The strip of metal needs to be thin and easily bendable and cutable and the same length as the hole. And about the same hight as the hole is. Bend it at a 90* angle length wise. This should bisect the strip perfectly so it is now only half as tall as the hole when the flange you've now created is under the hood. Now here's the critical part. FIND A SPOT UNDER THE VENT HOLE WHERE THIS WATER CAN DRAIN SAFELY. Once you've found that spot, cut a small square notch in that part of the flange that will stick up to create a lip on the lower edge of the hole, you need to make the notch go down all the way to the bend so that water can be captured by the lip and drained through the notch you created. Depending on the size of this lip you've created you may need two holes spaced far apart. Once you've got it ready to install, apply the 3m tape to the top side of the flange that will be under the hood and apply preassure to it to attach it to the underside of the hood. Use a heat gun (hair dryer) to activate the tape properly and permanently. You now will have a lip on the lower edge of the vent that will catch the water running down your hood and drain it in the spot you chose safely and allows you to still retain your hood vent while only loosing a small portion of its total size. A little moisture may still come in during a dounpour due to water splash/wind etc but it wont be enough to add up to anything. The main problem here is clearly the water running down the slope of the hood and draining across the entire length of the vent and on important electronics so you are doing this to make it drain in only one (or two if needed) spots where it is safe for it to do so and wont damage anything.

This is the simplest and most effective way I can think of to keep the vent functional and remove the water issue that wouldn't involve a removable cover.

Any questions let me know.

Thanks for your insight. I'm on my way outside now, to see if the car will start up first of all. I tried it last night after the rain stopped; the car turned on for about 10 seconds, then sputtered and died. I'm hoping it doesn't do the same today. And I will be getting on that flange ASAP.

[21nemesis]

Well, went out and tried to get the car to stay on, but NO LUCK. It the car will start every time and idle at 1.5K RPM for about 10 seconds and then sputter and turn off. Even when I try to give it gas, it won't do anything but sputter out and die.

On a brighter note. I was able to make a cover using a plastic under panel that I had lying around from an Altima. So, now the MAF is covered.

Any ideas?

[rsmithdrift]

unplug your MAF then start the car and run/drive it and tell us what happens. I bet that MAF is no good. Like totally shorted out from water in the circuit board... Maybe you should take it out of the car and let it dry off for a while before you try putting electricity through it again.

If your lucky water is in the terminal shorting it out and when it dries completely it'll be fine. But it could have fried a wire or a connection inside of it and in that case you'd be out an MAF.

BTW what you just described in your last post is a malfunctioning MAF problem. My z did this as well as my 240. My 240 also had an MAF failure in a different way but that isn't relavent here.

[21nemesis]

unplug your MAF then start the car and run/drive it and tell us what happens. I bet that MAF is no good. Like totally shorted out from water in the circuit board... Maybe you should take it out of the car and let it dry off for a while before you try putting electricity through it again.

If your lucky water is in the terminal shorting it out and when it dries completely it'll be fine. But it could have fried a wire or a connection inside of it and in that case you'd be out an MAF.

BTW what you just described in your last post is a malfunctioning MAF problem. My z did this as well as my 240. My 240 also had an MAF failure in a different way but that isn't relavent here.

On the MONEY! Unplugged the MAF and, sure enough, the car stayed on. As soon as I plugged it in again, the car died. Disconnected the MAF unit and even better, the circuit board was filled with water. I doubt letting it dry out will do any good. Guess, I'll be making a run to the junk yard on Sunday/Monday.

Thanks a million, Smith. I owe U a drink!