Slather dielectric grease on the cap and wires.  Here's a shield installed, 2 screws on the cross member one screw on the brace strut.

#12 is the Mini water shield that comes to my mind. It seems like it screwed in behind the grill.            Mini Estate

//www.minimania.com/catPage/10-5/10/5/0/Coil-Vacuum-Control-Pipes-Ignition-Cables--Shields

Ignition troubles in the wet ar because the spark is leaking out. Simple as that.

When new, the high voltage wires have rubber caps that seal to the coil, the ditributor cap and the spark plugs. In between the rubber caps, the conductors are very well insulated. The trouble begins as the wires age. The rubber caps get stiff and worn. The wire insulation gets micro cracks that let the high voltage current leak out. On a dark night you can see a tiny lightning storm where the dspark gets out and seeks ground someplace. It seems OK until it gets damp - not even necessarily "wet". Condensation will do it.

WD40 is a "solution" - a temporary one. The "WD" stands for water-displacing, meaning it is supposd to get beween the water and the surface you are spraying it on. One problem is that it leaves a residue, which collects dirt (road dust, grime etc.) which in turn collects water. When you next have trouble, you spray on more WD40 and the cycle begins again. meanwhile underneath, the wires are continuing to deteriorate.

Another source of problem is a worn or cracked distributor cap. The terminals inside wear out. Cracks may leave openings for water or diirt that will drain spark away. If not spotlessly clean, spark can traavel along the inside or outside surface, forming carbonized trails - carbon is a very good conductor.

Cleanliness is the trick. First, make sure all your distriutor cap, wires, rubber caps and electrical connectionsare in good condition. Then keep them clean. No added sprays needed.

The rubber covers for dizzy caps and coils are OK except they will eventually leak and may hold water IN. They are also very hard to clean. I had these on my first 850 'way back when and they weren't much use.

The weird black shield, installed on later cars, seems to be on its side. (It dhold be roated 90 degrees to the left.) I think the long thinner piece on the left goes down in front of the dizzyand the wide part drapes over the motor and snaps onto clips on top of the valve cover. I think the useful part is in front of the dizzy, where it can deflect direct splash into the grille. But beyond that, I think highway mist will just blow through and around and under the top part, and when your car does quit, the shield will keep you out too.

My car has the stock black painted metal slat grill of the mid 1980's. On its inner face is a flat metal plate about 6" x 8" right in front of the dizzy. It works fine to deflect splash. I have never had rain problems with this Mini. When I bought it in Toronto, I drove it straight back to Ottawa , about 250 miles. I got to the end of the first block before it started raining. Before I got a mile, it was heavy downpour and my thoughts were divided between ignition trouble and hyroplaning. (The wipers were no hell either.) It rained about half-way home and the car did not sputter once.

Forget the add-ons and spray. Just keep your wires fresh and clean....and the points, timing and carb properly tuned too.

yes, dizzy cap cover , coil cover and also alternator cover is very important when riding in wet climates(seattle,where it rains 8days a week)., it may have shorted during the heavy rains and dried out the next day so it started right up.

and like me, always bring with you americas all time favorite, WD40 and duct tape, it come so handy in case of emergencies.

the sparks are leaking out when engine bay got wet specifically the dizzy system area, try this---> when the engine bay is wet and the engine is sputtering, get the car inside an enclosed garage ,turn off the lights inside the garage and with engine on, rev it a little, you'll see spark darting all over the place like lightning in the sky.(or heaven), thats the reason why the car stalls, the elec current that needs to go to the darn plugs goes somewhere else..

Don't fret too much...we got drowned out several times by severe side winds/rain storms on getting to Mid-Ohio and around via Indianapolis to Rockford on the way to MMEMW last summer.

The quick solution is WD40 sprayed into the distributor cap and over the coil wiring.  However we fashioned a dizzy seal from plastic and coil seal from a water bottle to end the issue.

Your description of getting drowned out on a multi-lane highway echos because of all the spray from adjacent/passing vehicles...happened to us in Regina, in Winnipeg until we protected the distributor and on I-71 in Ohio, after which we protected the coil.  On the run north to Rockford and facing another big prairie thunderstorm, we hid under an overpass with the engine ticking over until the storm abated a bit. 

It might be a good idea to change out the cap and wires. If they're old & compromised, moisture really does a number on 'em.

Spitz, I am in shock!  I would not have thought there is a product designed specifically for this.  Who would have thunk??  Apparently there is a water issue with Minis.  The distributor cap looks to be the ticket.  And just to be sure the coil cover is just awesome.  They are on my wish list.  Fathers day is coming up so i am sure there will be a sale, let's say 50% off for dad, sounds good to me; )

As for the shield; I don't think so.  I can not imagine how effective that would be.  At first look I would say not too effective.  Maybe someone has a picture of one installed.  Would not hurt to have a picture on the MM part page too.  Just a thought.

Thanks again.

Tim

Always keep, plastic bags, silicone spray and zip ties. I made a shield out of a thin piece of aluminum and zip tied it in front of the distributor. This has gotten me through many heavy storms.

A few options

Cap cover

Coil cover

Not sure how this fits.

MkIV ( and maybe III ) MINIS sent to CA had a plastic shield that screwed to the slam panel in front of the dizzy.  It was to help keep rain off it....not super effective.

Hello.
Well my mini, with the help of this forum, is finally running great, sometimes.  A big thank you to all. 

The other day I drove Yoda (as in small, green, powerful) about 30 plus miles to our car club, did some work on it, you know the odds and ends.  Later in the day I TRIED to drive it home.  It was raining quite hard.  Temp was a comfortable say 75 degrees F outside.  I traveled down the two lane road then down the 4 lane highway.  About a mile on the 4 lane; the Mini started to sputter, miss, cough etc until it died.  I could not get it started.  It turned over just fine, just would not fire.  I called a few of the shop cronies and they brought the usual stuff; gas, WD40, ether.  We did get it started.  I headed back to the shop.  I did not make it.  It died for good.  I called a tow truck.  The next day; I tried to start the Mini and presto it started right up! 

So my Mini from the rainy motherland England doesn't like water.  Is this normal?  What are some of the fixes?  There are fixes right?  I guess an obvious one is, 'DON'T GET YODA WET: )

Thanks for any help.

Regards

Tim