Silly question #33: am I more likely to have car trouble in wet weather?

Wednesday, 13 June 2018

In an ideal world your car would only ever break down in dry weather. In this one, it is more likely to happen in the wet.

There is a very easy, short answer to this silly car question, and that is yes. Yes, you are more likely to have car trouble in wet weather, particularly if you have an older car or one that is poorly maintained.

But even if you have the newest or best maintained car on the road, you are still more likely to run into car trouble in the wet.

Older cars can have trouble in the wet, particularly if poorly maintained. These ones seem okay though.

The first, and most obvious place that could find trouble in the wet is your car's electrical system.

Electricity and water generally don't play nice together, so any water that finds its way into anything electrical in you car is almost certain to cause trouble.

Some cars are better than others at dealing with wet weather. Most aren't quite this good at it.

**READ MORE

* Wild weather batters north

You are more likely to get a puncture in wet weather, so make sure your tyres are in top condition for winter.

* Five ways to get your car ready for the cold weather

* What should be in your winter driving survival kit?

* How to clear your windscreen**

One of the more infamous examples of this would be with the original Mini that had its distributor positioned at the front of the engine, just behind the radiator, meaning that when it rained, water would get in the distributor and cause all sorts of rough running and stalling problems.

An easy fix was covering the distributor or installing a shield to protect it (which BMC later did from the factory), but it was a rather glaring mistake from a company that built cars in a country that gets quite a lot of rain. It was, however, far from the British car industry's worst mistake…

Spark plug leads, fuse boxes and battery connections are all vulnerable to the wet, particularly if poorly maintained, so checking them before winter and ensuring everything is properly covered and insulated is always a good idea.

Many car electrical connections that are vulnerable to short circuiting are protected by simple plastic caps that can be removed for inspection. Making sure they are all in their proper place will also reduce your changes of water-based disaster.

But it is not just electrical problems that can be caused by wet weather - a loose belt can slip when it gets wet, and, believe it or not, you are more likely to get a puncture in the rain as well.

As well as debris being washed onto the road by rain, the cooler temperatures in winter also cause tyres to lose pressure - making them more vulnerable to punctures - while extreme cold will cause rubber to get harder, making leaks more likely.

Checking your tyre pressures regularly - particularly in winter - is always a good safeguard (even if your car has a tyre pressure monitoring system built in), plus it gives you a chance to give your tyres a quick visual inspection while you are doing it.

You tyres are, after all, the things that keep you on the road, so making sure they are in top condition and have plenty of tread will go a long way to keeping wet weather trouble at bay.