Toyota Repair: Corolla 94 tries to start and dies, spark plug wires, fuse box

Question
Hello Ted,

I have a 1994 Corolla 128K miles. It's very well maitained, and runs great. The battery is new from Sears, and the electrical starter parts were replaced with new ones a year ago. I made sure to buy copper ones, so this car usually starts better than newer ones. I just turn the ignition key for a fraction of a second, and brrrooooommm it starts.

Yesterday it rained with a lot of wind, and after that, I started it, and drove it inside the parking lot for a few yards, and it stopped suddenly w/o shaking or any engine noise. I gave it gas, and tried to start it unsucessfully. The initial discharge is strong, and it starts, and dies after 3 seconds. Under the hood I noticed water over the closed fuse box, so I dried it and let it rest. Today I checked again and everything seemed dry, but still it starts strong, and dies in 2 or 3 seconds. Would you please tell me what you think might be causing this problem?

Thank you in advance,

Rick

Answer
Remove the distributor cap and check for any water that may have entered, if so dry it out, remove the spark plug wires and check for moisture there as well, while the distributor cap is off crank engine over and make sure the rotor is turning, let me know what you find.