I mistakenly posted this in the new member (I AM a new member, hence the confusion). Here it is again:

Hello all. My Accord has 180,000 miles on it, and has recently developed an irritating problem. There is no CEL generated by this issue. It starts and runs just fine when it's cool, but then starts missing at low rpm after 5 or 10 minutes. It runs fine at cruising RPM, but sometimes it dies at idle. If I shut it down and try to start after a few minutes, it is very difficult to start, mainly because it seems to backfire just as it's about to get going. Removing the #3 spark plug wire actually enabled it to start recently. Starting fluid from a spray can didn't help when I tried it. Sometimes, when it won't start, it smells of fuel. If it sits for a long time (hours) it will start and run fine, until it warms up.

Now here's an interesting wrinkle. If the car runs for more than about 30 minutes, it begins running perfectly. No missing at idle, no problems starting back up after shutdown.

I have replaced plugs and wires recently, with no improvement. A couple of years ago I replaced the Main Relay when it failed and caused intermittent starting problems.

I was just about to begin replacing injectors and then maybe random ignition components when I thought it would be a good idea to solicit your help regarding diagnostic ideas.

Thanks,
Rick

 

I would call the dist cap and rotor regular maint items, so you might want to rule those out if you are unsure of their age.

You could also get a can of tb cleaner and give it a good cleaning - both sides of the butterfly.