# 2001 Mitsubishi Galant won't start in wet conditions

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** galant, mitsubishi\
**Created:** [April 16, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760 "2018-04-16T14:14:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kelci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@Kelci](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Kelci)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760/1 "2018-04-16T14:14:56Z")

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My car has a brand new batter, and alternator. It never starts when its wet outside/raining. It usually starts with a jump but today it didn’t. Help! Why does my car do this?

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**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760/2 "2018-04-16T15:17:53Z")

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Your ignition system has to be gone over. Typically these no starts in wet weather point to cracked wires or other leakages.

A new battery and alternator can’t help you there.

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**Author:** ![COROLLAGUY1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/corollaguy1/32/7575_2.png) [@COROLLAGUY1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/COROLLAGUY1)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760/3 "2018-04-16T19:52:55Z")

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Spray the spark plug wires with water. If the car stalls or misses,you found your problem. Better to do this when its dark outside because you will probably see some arcing.

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**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760/4 "2018-04-16T20:11:20Z")

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If it has a distributor cap, look inside. Moisture can get in there and condense; especially if the thin rubber ring between the cap and the dist body is missing or dislodged, or if the o-ring on the dist shaft is compromised, letting crankcase vapors into the cap.

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**Author:** ![SteveCBT](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/stevecbt/32/3192_2.png) [@SteveCBT](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveCBT)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760/5 "2018-04-16T21:18:51Z")

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Please explain your no start problem. On a wet day does the engine try to turn over but not catch or is there no sound from the engine? If the engine tries to turn over the folks above are spot on.

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**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-mitsubishi-galant-wont-start-in-wet-conditions/115760/6 "2018-04-17T04:18:17Z")

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Shanoia is correct about moisture getting inside the distributor cap. Dry it out and spray it all down with WD-40.

Another option is to blast the distributor cap with a hair dryer for a while. That’s a short term solution.