my '91 323, 1.6l, manual, has a periodic starting problem. it coincides with raini weather/extreme humidity.

what happens is, it will crank quite freely, but not start. it will sometimes almost kick over (like an abortive ignition?), but not start. other times, it will be cranking and then suddenly stop, like it's locking up or something.

also, the car has a problem where, after runnig for a couple minutes, it stalls at a stop unless i keep rpms at 1300-1500 or so (don't have a tach so i'm guesstimating this). and if i'm rolling down the road and give it gas, it sputters and coughs. from reading other posts, it looks like this second problem is possibly the bac valve, or the coolant temp sensor?

finally, the spark plugs get fouled really quickly, like after two tankfuls. could that be related to the above?

thanks in advance for any help.

 

replace your distributor cap and distributor rotor, also possibly wires, and replace the plugs once again and see how that goes, i would recommend making sure the timing, distributor, and idle adjust are all in order also

 

I've similar problem starting my 93 323 w/auto tranny.
Only occurs when humidity is high, replaced wires, distributor cap, rotor & plugs.. no difference... starter crank healthy, engine turns over nicely, just won't ignite.