1993 Protege
285k

My commute to work takes ~45 minutes. On dry days, which thankfully is most of the time in Colorado, no problem. However on wet days after driving for about 30 minutes my car starts "missing" and then about 5 more minutes of driving it's a struggle to keep it running and moving forward. I'll have to hold the rpm at about 4k to start moving. Even just sitting at a light in neutral it's a struggle to get the engine to "wind up" to a higher rpm. In rain it's more doable, but today with snow it's a particular challenge. I've always guessed the issue is with the plug wires, or maybe the distributor cap, getting moisture on them and grounding. Today when I finally limped into the parking lot I popped the hood and there was no obvious moisture on the wires or cap. There was snow/water around air box. Maybe the higher humidity is enough on it's own?

My plan is to just replace the wires and cap and see if that works. I'm pretty sure those are all original parts. I bought the car with 135k and I've never replaced them. I don't think anyway. Now I'm second guessing myself.

Barring wires and cap, does anyone have any other ideas?

Gary

 

Wires, cap, and rotor replaced. I'll need some snow/rain driving before I can report back with a success status.

Tip... I just spoke to my mechanic neighbor. He said to test my theory I could have misted the wires and cap while running.

 

I've now had three commutes under wet conditions without any issue. Problem must have been with the wires or cap/rotor.