Engine died during rain....

[Black_Knight]

Two weeks ago, I drove my 99 Mazda Protege in a heavy rainy day and drove into a puddle of water and then the car die moment after I drove pass it. I tried to restart the engine but it just chugged like it was going to start but didn’t. I had the car towed home, and waited for a few days but it still didn’t start. I have replaced the plug wires, spark plugs and checked that all 4 plugs have spark (blur mixed with orange). However, I did find that the first three cylinders (under spark plug) were moist but the fourth cylinder was flooded with about 1/8” deep of fuel. I did dry the fourth cylinder and restarted the engine but observed the same condition after trying to restart the engine. I took the battery to Auto shop for checking but it was fine too. Battery terminal connectors also in good condition. I also checked the fuel pump relay with ohmmeter and it was fine.

My 99 Protege had similar problem before. It would not start after heavy rain but would start again as normal after been dried for a few days.

Can you provide any advice on what could go wrong? Thank you.

[zoomzoom chick]

First check compression. You should be able to get specs from dealer or local auto parts store. If you have none or its really low, Im afraid the motor is most likely shot. If u sucked up some of that puddle into ur intake and water got into the throttle body the cold water on hot metal would have cracked the head or snapped a valve. If u do have normal compression check the MAF (mass air flow) sensor and the IAC (idle air control sensor) That was probably the issue before but like u said those would have dried out by now. It definatly has something to do with the intake system suckin up some of that water, I'll keep my fingers crossed for u, hopefully the sensors caught the water before any major damage. Good Luck!

[1Mazda323Fan]

Do you have an open element filter on your car? You could definitely get water ingress that way. If you got enough in to stall the car, well, nothing good usually comes from that. Cracked/warped head and/or block, broken pistons, bent valves (remember, water doesn't compress), ruined sensors, etc. That doesn't mean you've ruined your engine necessarily, but generally if your engine sucks up that much water you've likely broken something important. However, if you've gotten the thing going again and it seems to be running alright, you probably got water on something electric that doesn't like water. Does your car have a distributor? Those especially don't like water. I got the distributor on my old BG 323 wet a couple times, and it wasn't happy with me in the least. Once it dried, though, it ran fine.

After you aired the cylinders out, did it finally start? I'm not sure if you said it did or not.

[sethro_GT]

Flooded with fuel sounds like a fuel injector stuck open. Flooded with water sounds like water sucked up intake. If it needs to dry out there is a electrical connection that needs better coverage and/or dielectric grease. Check all sensor connections, fuse block, etc for exposed or looseness.

[Black_Knight]

Thanks for all your inputs. I have checked everything within my ability, including the ignition and fuel and some electrical but still couldn't find the problem. Finally I had my car towed to a Mazda Service Center. They told me within an hour of checking that I need a new timing Belt Tensioner, drive belt and valve gasket. According to them, Timeing Belt Tensioner was the one that caused the engine wouldn't start and causing low compression (if I heard it tight). While they take the engine apart, they will also replace the drive belt and valve gasket because they are in bad condition. I really don't understand why a timing belt tensioner would be the cause of not to be able to start the engine. Does anyone know why?

Thank you.

[sethro_GT]

If the tensioner was seized it would put an awful lot of drag on the engine via the timing belt, if not kill it.

[MazdaNoob]

crank position sensor . buddy in an mx6 hit a medium / small puddle and knocked his loose

[Black_Knight]

i did check the CKP sensor, it was good. Thanks