'89 Toyota PU, won't run when wet?

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cam.man67

cam.man67

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My buddy is storing his '89 Toyota Pickup at my farm because his HOA won't let him anymore. The agreement is that we can use it for whatever we need, so I've been driving it around; honestly, it's not a bad little pickup.

EXCEPT: for some reason, whenever the truck gets wet, it won't run. Last weekend with the tropical storm that dumped all that rain on us, I got the truck to started, only to have it die on me halfway out in the field. This happened once before when I hit a pretty good-sized puddle on the way to my rental farm a few months back, too.

I know ignition is the culprit, but I'll be danged as to where. The distributor I've got covered in grease, it's dry on the inside. I just replaced the ignition coil last year and greased it up good, too...where else would water be causing the running issues?
 
It has an "ignitor" somewhere. Usually on a fenderwell. It's a little metal box with a heat sink and usually silver green writin on it. You'll know it when you see it. There's no way to test it. In the factory service manual, the flow chart tells you to test everything else and if all that checks out "replace the ignitor". We always thought that was a hoot when I worked at the toyotee place. That's probably what it is.
 
Sorta like this.
 

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Another thing to look for (just like Dodges), the distributor cap draws a lot of moisture.

My grandfather's 86 Toyota 4-Dumber (4-Runner) with the fabulous gutless wonder 22RE engine won't run right if it rains hard or is really damp. The fix? Pull the Distributor Cap off every 6 months or so and spray Silicone inside it to keep the moisture away.

My D50 would do the same thing (back when I had a 2.6L in it), even though the distributor cap looked dry inside, the truck would spit and sputter on rainy days, until I started spraying silicone inside it every couple months.



Like Rob mentioned, The Ignitor is also known to be an issue. Could even be something simple like moisture & corrosion gathering in the plug/connector
 
WD40 also works well for moisture in the distributor, since that's why it was invented.
 
In addition to the a above, you may have something causing MARGINAL spark in the first place.

Examine the cap and rotor CAREFULLY or better yet just replace them. Many "ferighn" cars don't have a metal bar on the rotor---they have a built in suppression resistor

This thing:

316C2GG07XL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


has a resistor in that trough in the end

Also, take an ohmeter and check the plug wires AND THE coil wire.

And of course the first thing you should do / have done is to take a good eye at the plugs.

I have no idea how Toyota goes about obtaining cranking / start voltage. Nearly all older systems use a ballast resistor which is bypassed on starting. If this circuit fails, and the thing gets low cranking voltage to the ignition, you will get a weak starting spark.
 
Awesome. Thanks for the help guys. I'll def. check out the ignitor and spray some wd-40 in the cap. The plugs I did check and they're fine, as are the plug wire connections so I don;t think the cause is that far forward in the system.

@74dusted: Yeah, this thing has a 22re as well with 139k on it. It does not make much power, you are right about that. ;)
 
The ignitor is mounted on top of the coil. It is black and does not have a heat sink. I think I have one for a 91 22re pickup around here somewhere. Also there is a rubber boot that some cars/trucks came with that goes around the distributor.

The air flow meter box by the air filter could take on water if someone broke the seal around the plastic cover. rtv would be fine to fix that. Another thing is the tps on the throttle body might be causing problems, try unplugging it when you have issues and see if it runs.

Did you pop the coil wire out and check for spark? is that how you know it is ignition related?
 
SirDan said:
The ignitor is mounted on top of the coil. It is black and does not have a heat sink. I think I have one for a 91 22re pickup around here somewhere. Also there is a rubber boot that some cars/trucks came with that goes around the distributor.

The air flow meter box by the air filter could take on water if someone broke the seal around the plastic cover. rtv would be fine to fix that. Another thing is the tps on the throttle body might be causing problems, try unplugging it when you have issues and see if it runs.

Did you pop the coil wire out and check for spark? is that how you know it is ignition related?
Click to expand...

I have seen coils/ignitors set up like that, however only after 1989. The 1990s switched from the traditional canister-type coil that I have, so far as I know. In mine, the ignitor is as described above.

I'll have to check both of those, thanks for the thoughts. :)
 
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