drying out damp electrics?

[hachiroku]

My Berlingo has been parked up outside at the rear of our house on the gravel drive for the past week or so, went to start it today and although it turns over fine it won't fire up. When I parked it up last it was running fine.
I've connected my Bluetooth OBD2 dongle and used the Torque app on my android phone to check for any fault codes, nothing showing.

I can only assume that moisture has got into the electrics/ a connection somewhere, when I opened the bonnet it was rather damp/condensation in the engine bay, and it has been rather damp and rainy of late. I think the car engine is getting fuel, it's an electrical/ ignition issue I believe.

A similar thing has happened before, that time I left it a few hours and tried it again, and it started. And let's not mention the time that I parked up in a supermarket one wet day and it wouldn't start again, after lots of attempts I called the AA, who promptly turned up, turned the key, and the damn thing started first time!   .   

So, assuming it's just a case of the French electrics being a bit temperamental in the damp, how can I dry things out? And where should I start looking for the offending electrical part that doesn't like the damp?

[hachiroku]

Just carried out the BSI reset procedure, just in case that was an issue. Everything is working just fine, still turns over but not firing up though....

[CourierJim]

Hold a spark plug (attached to it's lead) against metal, while someone else cranks the motor to see if you are getting a good spark. If so, it may be a blockage in the fuel system. Some old advice was to spray the entire ignition electrical system with WD40. The idea being, that the WD40 which contains the water repellant silicon, would displace any water hiding in the electrical connections.

I've cured problems myself in the past, by simply changing the distributor cap, and I found that a new cap for my car was cheaper when bought from a main dealer, than from Halfords.

[bikergraham]

If its a diesel then have a check on the glow plugs,i bet 2 or 3 of them have failed !

[bikergraham]

Hold a spark plug (attached to it's lead) against metal, while someone else cranks the motor to see if you are getting a good spark. If so, it may be a blockage in the fuel system. Some old advice was to spray the entire ignition electrical system with WD40. The idea being, that the WD40 which contains the water repellant silicon, would displace any water hiding in the electrical connections.

I've cured problems myself in the past, by simply changing the distributor cap, and I found that a new cap for my car was cheaper when bought from a main dealer, than from Halfords.

Hi Jim ,you actually bought from Halfords, Ha Ha Ha Ha ,

[Tomcat3]

Check under the scuttle area where the windscreen motor is they fill up with leaves and dirt then the drain off pipes block and water then runs down the loom into the BSI fuse box under the dash causing all sorts of problems. Look at the bottom of the wings and you probably have a load of crap blocking the drain offs to, clear out with a bent coat hanger. If the BSI has got wet you need to dry it out you don't want it corroding in the future.

[CourierJim]

Hold a spark plug (attached to it's lead) against metal, while someone else cranks the motor to see if you are getting a good spark. If so, it may be a blockage in the fuel system. Some old advice was to spray the entire ignition electrical system with WD40. The idea being, that the WD40 which contains the water repellant silicon, would displace any water hiding in the electrical connections.

I've cured problems myself in the past, by simply changing the distributor cap, and I found that a new cap for my car was cheaper when bought from a main dealer, than from Halfords.

Hi Jim ,you actually bought from Halfords, Ha Ha Ha Ha ,

READ what I actually wrote, as I'm the one laughing at you now! Ha Ha

[hachiroku]

Hi, yes it's a 2.0hdi diesel, do no spark plugs I'm afraid.

Good idea about the drain offs, the car was covered in leaves so I'll check that out tomorrow.

Oh, and I've already had the WD40 out and doused the obvious connectors.

[bikergraham]

Hold a spark plug (attached to it's lead) against metal, while someone else cranks the motor to see if you are getting a good spark. If so, it may be a blockage in the fuel system. Some old advice was to spray the entire ignition electrical system with WD40. The idea being, that the WD40 which contains the water repellant silicon, would displace any water hiding in the electrical connections.

I've cured problems myself in the past, by simply changing the distributor cap, and I found that a new cap for my car was cheaper when bought from a main dealer, than from Halfords.

Hi Jim ,you actually bought from Halfords, Ha Ha Ha Ha ,

READ what I actually wrote, as I'm the one laughing at you now! Ha Ha

Sorry Jim.The way i read that was that you had bought one from Halfords then bought one from the main dealer.Just having a bit of fun,no offence .

[bikergraham]

Just a thought but have you checked the fuel filter for water ?