96 jimmy --- no go after rain

Well it's like the title says!

My wife parked her 96 Jimmy on Friday night, it sat all weekend and rained all weekend and this morning it wouldn't start for her. I tried it when I got home tonight and it rolls really good but doesn't try to fire at all. It seems electrical to me.

Last month it sat for a full day in the rain and I got in it to go to the store and it rolled alot longer than usual before it finally started.

Any suggestions???

For starters, pull a plug wire off of a spark plug and ground it with a screwdriver. See If you are getting a spark. If no spark look into ignition system.

I pulled a few plug wires off and got spark every time that cylinder was supposed to fire. I even tried a very tiny little bit of ether, didn't help. Now what? I haven't worked on a 4.3 in a long time as I drive a diesel and it takes most of my time. My wife needs to go to work on Friday so I need to at least get it running!

I should also note that the distributor cap and wires look fairly new. We have only owned this thing for the last 3 months.

I pulled a few plug wires off and got spark every time that cylinder was supposed to fire. I even tried a very tiny little bit of ether, didn't help. Now what? I haven't worked on a 4.3 in a long time as I drive a diesel and it takes most of my time. My wife needs to go to work on Friday so I need to at least get it running!

I should also note that the distributor cap and wires look fairly new. We have only owned this thing for the last 3 months.
You tested for spark while the truck was inoperable I'll assume. If you have a good spark when the truck isn't working then you sound like you are in the same boat as me. I lent my fuel pressure tester out and never got it back. Now I gotta pick up a new one. My Jimmy dies and the ignition system checks out . Now I'm looking into fuel delivery problems.

I haven't checked for fuel pressure yet for the main reason that when I'm trying to start this damn thing you can definetly smell the fuel! But I will go out to the shop at work tonight and see if I can find our pressure tester.
This only happens when it rains, so I think it's electrical. This is also the only time it has ever "not" started. It has hesitated before but always went!

I hate spark plugs and wires and caps and rotors---I'm gonna convince her to drive a diesel like me, lol!

OK I've been away all week so today is the first time I was able to fix this thing.
Last night when I got home, I plugged the Jimmy in. This morning I took the cap and rotor out, looked good, put it back on and sprayed some wd-40 around it and the pcm to see if it would displace any moisture.
Before trying to start it, I hooked up the booster cables to my diesel with the 2 new batteries. Got in the Jimmy and "varooom" away she went.
So maybe the wd-40 did the trick, maybe the extra boost or maybe the Jimmy being plugged in overnight helped dry her out. Don't know, don't care cuz its running!!!
Thanx for your help antxxny, you were the only one that cared! lol

Ha ha, thanks! My questions do not normally elicit a response so I try to at least help others. I may have found my Jimmy problem but I'm dubiuos. I found one of my electrical wires for my plow wrapped around my steering shaft. The wire was cable tied to some vacuum lines. I released the tension on the vacuum lines and the thing started right up. (I feel my problem was too intermitent to be caused by this but...it runs at the moment)

I've had a problem like this, although it wasn't with a Jimmy. Turned out to be the cap & wires. Easiest way I have seen to see if they are a problem is when it does start, at night, look under the hood (unplug the hood lamp), in as much darkness as possible, look for a light show under the hood. Last time I had it happen, I saw a bunch of arcing from a couple of wires as well as arcing from the rotor. New rotor & wires & the problem was gone!

Just a thought....

I had the same problem with my 96 jimmy. The distributor cap looked good but it had a hirline crack in it i couldnt see. After i replaced the cap i have had no more problems. I had the same problem with a ford faimount years ago so that was the first thing i checked but it looked good so i looked everywhere else and wasted money.:loser:

This thread is almost 2 years old. Please refrain from bringing back old threads.