Why does my Tracker run so poorly in the rain?  It HATES water!  But I love flying through puddles....so I need help.   

First things first....here's the scoop....

When I run it through some water, or while driving around in heavy rain.....the engine will cut out under hard throttle.  If I'm out wheeling and drive through lots of water....it will idle ok...but any more than 5% throttle it will just cut out and die.   Then it takes FOREVER to get started again.    Tonight, 2 of my friends and I literally pushed the Tracker about half a mile in the rain, through the woods in all kinds of mud and water, just so I could get it closer to the pavement.    We pushed it to a hill, where I could coast, and caught it in gear and the motor cranked hard enough to start....which we all thanked god for.....after 2 grueling hours of pushing.

What the H could be causing it to do that?  Why does it hate water so much?  This is very aggravating.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

Just off the top of my head I have to wonder what condition the spark plugs, spark plug wires and coil wires are in.

My guess is since it does it in the rain it is just allowing moisture to get in there and foul things up.
Unless your air filter/intake is so messed up it allows water in.



I wouldnt be pushing my ride I'd be wrenching on it right where it died.

I say do a tune up and some serious water proofing then hit the puddles  .

I'd have to agree with YellowZR2, go over your complete ignition system, wiring, and intake. And carry some tools and wd40.

Planning on doing a tune up, and replacing the wires and stuff.  I'll let you know how it works out!

Of course, this means I'll have to test it out...but I'll have some recovery gear with me next time.

Go out at night and take a plant sprayer and mist under the hood with the vehicle running. Rev the engine a bit. I'll bet you see some sparks shooting around the plug wires.

Then you'll know it's the wires.

When you replace them get the heavy gauge wires - they're worth the extra green.

If your running a cone air filter you might want to swap it back for the box.  Either that or build a splash shield to keep the water from being able to hit it directly.