Hey guys! Here is the issue.

Me and my GF went on a trip for a month and her car sat for that time outside and was getting rained on. After we got back and I tried to start it up it would crank but would not fire. Figured out it was not getting spark due to process of elimination and discovered the coil went bad, perhaps to the excess build up of moisture? Anyways once I replaced the coil and fired it up it was shooting out bellows of steam for about 2 min or more. Now the steam is gone and it cranks over and dries without a problem but when its in park or N and idling it idles between 1100 and 1800 rpm back and forth.

It sat through a heavy rainstorm and the entire engine compartment was filled with moisture. But before we left everything was fine and there was no idle issue.

What could possibly be the problem? I did a little research and found a lot of things that could be the issue but a lot of them dont seem like they would happen from just sitting. I think is possible the PCV valve might be the issue due to the excess moisture it had to deal with maybe?

Any help would be great! She is bugging me to fix the car and until I do I wont be able to get any peace.

Thanks in advance and happy holidays!

-Mike

 

I forgot to mention its a 1999 Civic EX stock engine

 

Cars get rained on all the time, they're built to withstand it. Or are you saying it was in a flood?

Where was this steam coming from? If it came out the tailpipe, the head gasket may be bad. In any case you should check the coolant level-- with the engine cold, look in the radiator, not just the plastic tank. The radiator should be completely full. If there is a bubble of air in the engine you will get inconsistent idling.

 

Not a flood but where it was sitting the grass grew up a little under it and didn't give it a chance to really dry out. I have not checked the coolant yet, I will do that first thing tomorrow. Now that you mention it I did read that somewhere but I only checked in the overflow and not the radiator.

Yeah there was moisture coming out of the tail pipe but since the first steam show every time I have started it up I have not seen any major steam just the normal amount that you see when you start it on a cold day.

Thanks and I'll put the results of the coolant exam.