88 5kq Will not start on damp January day, temp in 50's

[SJ]

Car wouldnt start today. Tried to catch once . .then it just cranks.

Sprayed starting fluid into one of the bonnet hose inlets. No reaction, it
just cranks.
Took off Distributor cap, looked for carbon arc traces . .didnt notice any.
. cleaned the cap insides. Tried starting - nope, it just cranks.
Weather condition - rather warm for January, 50+F. Humid, damp .

Over the last 2 weeks or so, I have noticed a bit of a miss under load when
the engine was not fully warmed up. One plug maybe misfiring .. it was a
subtle sympton.

Put the battery on a charger. Came back after about 2 hours or so. Weather
dried up a bit. Tried starting the engine . .vrooooom!

I wrote about a similar problem before which happened to my other audi > 90
100Q. No start on rainy damp day, temp around 50 F.
http://www.audifans.com/pipermail/quattro/2003-December/085586.html
Subject was: "Odd engine problem on a rainy day . . chug, chug, chug, chug"

Looks like I'm having the same problem. Last time it was a no spark/bad
spark/crossed spark that was causing the symptom due to carbon tracks inside
the distrubutor cap.

I ordered a new cap, rotor, and plugs. Will put them in tomorrow.
I will write an update post in a couple of days after I test out the new
parts.

SJ
85 Dodge PU, D-250, 318, auto
85 Audi 4k - - sold but still on the road
88 Audi 5kq
90 Audi 100q




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