Toyota Repair: 1994 toyota Corolla Dx question, toyota corolla dx, liquid electrical tape


Question
I'd like a little help with a problem with my daughter's 94 Toyota Corolla DX. It has a 1.8 engine (7A-FE) and 151,000 miles on it. The problem started after I did some recent work on it. She was home from college and I did some minor routine Maintenance on it. I changed the Distributor cap and Rotor and plugs, Oil and filter, PCV valve, and added some fuel injector
cleaner. The cap, I believe was possibly the original or pretty close to it. The rotor also needed to be changed, and the plugs. I also had the windshield reinstalled because it was leaking after a winter mobile installation which didn't
take well. The bottom third of the Drivers side of the windshield was leaking and possibly getting some of the wiring wet.  

The two of the three screws on the cap broke off, and I eventually pulled the distributor so I could drill and retap the holes. (I put it at TDC on the number 1 cylinder and marked the
position well before pulling it). Before I decided to pull it I apparently put a small cut in the insulation on the distributor wire while trying to get the broken front screw out.  

Since the work was completed three things have occurred. The engine check light comes on intermittently with codes 14 (no ignition signal) and 52 (knock sensor). Twice the car has died at highway speeds (65-70mph) when it was fully warmed up. Both times it restarted right away and the rest of the  400 mile trip.    

I thought the cut in the insulation and possible grounding may have been part of the problem so I coated the wire with liquid electrical tape. I reset the codes and code 14 went away and has not returned.

The check light still intermittently goes on for a while and then goes out even during the same ride. Code 52 shows up even after being reset.

I should mention the stalling occurred after the code 14 had already been eliminated.   

My questions are:

1.  Did disconnecting the 2 wire connectors on the distributor in any way contribute to
any of these problems? Ie. Bad connections.  What about the cut in the insulation on the Distributor wire.  Can the Distributor wire be purchased by itself from Toyota Parts and, installed on the distributor? The Haynes manual suggests it's possible. I've gotten parts kits  to rebuild starters from them.

2.  What about something simple like bad plugs or improper gapping? Could the injector cleaner have added to the problem?

3. Does the Knock sensor fail very often?

4. When I reinstalled the Distributor I put it I was as close as visually possible to the marks I made. Is it possible that it is slightly out of time, which could cause the Knock sensor code and retard the ignition enough to cause that intermittent stall condition.

5. Finally is it possible that some water from the leaking windshield could have affected
the wiring. My daughter said some of the wires under the dash appeared to be wet. The windshield problem is corrected.  

I'll be going to see her soon at school and would like to resolve this issue. Nothing is worse
than an intermittent problem. I don't want her hung up somewhere, some night on a dark road
with a stalled engine.   

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks George  

Answer
Here is what I think the problem is, the water leaking inside the passenger compartment was getting to the on board computer, on the '94 Corolla it's either located under the glove compartment or under the radio in the center console, either the connctors are corroded from the water entering or the water has entered the inside of the computer and that's what's causing the problem, check the computer connections and clean them if there is any corrosion found, if not it may become necessary to replace it.