Car sputter stall in heavy rain

[Charizard]

HELP!
No one seems to known the cause of my problem.

My ep3 sputters and stalls when it rains heavily. You can feel the vibrations through the exhaust.

All stock , lowKs, engine bay is all dry when checking after driving in rain

Any Clue ?

[Daveho1]

Will it start up again after stalling

[Charizard]

Yes starts up again fine. Only stalls in very heavy rain otherwise it just continues to sputter. No issue in dry conditions.

[beeza]

Damn,cant help there.

Subscribed.

[Daveho1]

User error.
















Personally I'm not 100% on the rain being a factor but rather more a coincidence.
how is your fuel economy?

[Charizard]

User error.
















Personally I'm not 100% on the rain being a factor but rather more a coincidence.
how is your fuel economy?
About 450-500 klms a tank. It only happens in rain and vibration felt through entire exhaust. Rumbles under my seat

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[Daveho1]

Check your air filter and intake

[beeza]

Catalytic converter??

[Charizard]

Check your air filter and intake
Done all that. No spark leak either. It's on 60K. Engine is all good nick. Just has exhaust set up

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[Daveho1]

Obviously engine isn't all good if you can't drive in the rain.. Also didn't you say it was all stock? What exhaust do you have

[Daveho1]

Catalytic converter??

Maybe.. Dosnt explain the rain factor though.. TBH I think it's gonna be a vac or God aweful exhaust leak still don't know how te rain factors in though... Maybe a crack that's closed due to heat in the dry but the cool of the water keeps it open... Really need more info

[Charizard]

Obviously engine isn't all good if you can't drive in the rain.. Also didn't you say it was all stock? What exhaust do you have
Not sure what exhaust but I'm pretty sure it's.not stock

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[Charizard]

Maybe.. Dosnt explain the rain factor though.. TBH I think it's gonna be a vac or God aweful exhaust leak still don't know how te rain factors in though... Maybe a crack that's closed due to heat in the dry but the cool of the water keeps it open... Really need more info
Maybe. Taken it to many mechanics and the engine has been tested all perfect. Will have a closer look at exhaust. Only happens in heavy rain or splash in big puddle and only after driving for about 10 mins. Cool Water is obviously reacting to a hot surface

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[beeza]

Tricky,probably need the car at hand to check things..hard to diagnose over the net.

[beeza]

Updates?

[PJT]

Dismiss if stupid. But I would try looking around where water could touch, especially from underneath. Maybe turn it only in your driveway and spray around with the hose. Kinda like vacuum leak diagnosis.

[RenzokukenJ]

Have you tried driving in the dry?

[Daveho1]

Have you tried driving in the dry?

What? Drive in the dry? Fuk up Renzo, no one can do that.

[beeza]

If you're concerned about electrcal shorts/problems in the engine bay,u can go somewhere where it's really dark,at night,no moonlight and check for any electrical sparkage . running a couple of extra grounding leads is always good on an aging engine. File/sand the paint off where it cinnects to the chassis.

[dtrang]

looks like a common issue with catbacks?

[dtrang]

Ok guys I found the issue. Its the flex pipe in yhe stock headers. When it gets wet it loosens up and makes the cat back vibrate against the chassis. BTW my car doesnt stall just vibration and noise when theres heavy rain/standing water.

Got the car on a hoist and sprayed the flex pipe which made subtle symptoms as driving on the road with heavy rain. Mechanic also got in the car and revd the engine whilst another pushed the catback against the chassis and replicated the vibration and noise.

Catback has enough clearance however there is a slight dent in the chassis where the exhaust has been hit at the bottom.


Solution: get aftermarket headers. Dan at Garage 91 in SA said most of the dc5/ep3 they service has headers already and one guy who put headers on which had springs opted to take them out and weld it.

Hope that helps guys :D

Highly recommend garage 91 for anyone in SA.

[EKVTIR-T]

Nice update and inpho

[beeza]

You must have got a bit excited when you said your car stalls?

Because you now said your car didn't stall??

Well done dtrang.

[dtrang]

nah just similar issue in the rain, vibration sounds fkd lol... looks like i need to get headers.

such a common issue people have asked about on the net but no real answer so glad my mechanics found it.

[beeza]

Ya learn something new everyday :)