[lx5091]

I had another post on this, but out of 14 replies, 9 were from me.

I have some hard evidence now!

OK, please help me fix my car. It is misty outside and it will not start right now. I bet later today, or tomorrow it will. This has been going on for weeks. It started when I left it buried under snow for a week and happens everytime it is wet or foggy or misty outside, it also happened when I went through a high pressure car wash with under carraige spray.

The symptoms:

#1. It only SEEMS to happen in moist or wet conditions.

#2. The car will stall when going through a car wash.

#3. When I turn the key to the accessory position (when all the
lights come on) the fuel pump primes, but DOES NOT stop. It
will keep priming until I turn the key off. When this occurs, if
I attempt to start it, the starter will engage and the motor
will crank, but not start.

The evidence:

#1. I have tested the fuel pressure at the shrader valve and it
reads 40PSI when the fuel is priming. And immediately after
turning the ignition off drops and holds at 37PSI
#2. If I crank it, the guage stays steady at 40PSI but the car will
not start.

New Developement:

after writing the first half of this I decided to try to start it again and it started! Immediately after starting, the pressure settled at 33PSI. After running for a few seconds, it almost stalled and when this happened the fuel pressure dropped significantly and then immediately went back up, then it dropped again and it did stall, but immediately after stalling I heard the fuel pump start to prime again and it brought the fuel pressure back up to 40PSI. When the fuel cuts out, the dash lights DO NOT come on, until it actually stalls.

Questions:

Is this the fuel pump cutting out on it's own?

Or is the computer cutting it out?

Facts:

I changed the fuel pump relay a few months ago, I bought a brand new one from Ford and it did not fix the problem.

The whole ignition system in the car is only a few months old and has worked flawlessly since it was installed.

The distributor cap is dry inside and out.

Here are some pictures of some damage to the cap, sorry they are not very clear, it's an autofocus camera.