Hey all! I bought a 1993 accord 2.2 and when I first looked at the car it ran and started great. Now when I went to pick the car up, crank no start. Today I replaced the plugs, coil, distributor cap and rotor, and the battery. Any ideas?? I want to get this car home asap

 

Hopefully you kept the original parts, because sometimes new parts will fail out of the box and complicate the diagnosis.

For crank no starts, you need to determine if you are missing spark or missing fuel. The quickest way to test for spark is to use a spark tester on one of the plug wires and set the gap to the scale on the back to measure the coil voltage output. A timing light can also work if you have one. Using an old spark plug will also work for an initial test where you ground the threads of the spark plug. You'll need an assistant to turn the key while you observe.

For simple initial tests for fuel, turn the key to the II position, but do not try to start the car. Around the time the check engine light does the 2 second bulb check, the fuel pump should turn on for about 2 seconds as well. The sound is a faint buzzing/whirling sound from the back seat, so turn off the radio, blower, etc and listen carefully. You can also pick up a can of starter fluid, remove the snorkel to the throttle body, spray starter fluid into the throttle body, and have an assistant try to crank the car. If the engine fires up an runs while spraying staring fluid (even if the engine runs poorly), then you have a fuel issue you need to address. No fuel can be a faulty main fuel relay, wiring, or the fuel pump, so don't blindly replace the fuel pump.

You also might want to bring a gallon of gasoline and add it to the fuel tank incase the car is just out of gas.

 

I forgot to mention, it’s getting fuel and compression but no spark at all. I have all the original parts as well. I haven’t changed the wires just yet. The car was running good before but had to be on a jump pack to start due to the battery. Now nothing

 

With verified no spark and with some of items you replaced, you should test some electrical stuff with a volt meter or a test light.

Does your 93 have an internal or external coil?

The large blk/yel wire going to the coil or into the distributor should have 12V with the key in the II position. I'd probably use a test light on the 12V source to make sure the wire can carry enough current.

I'd also use a test light to run through all the fuses to make sure none are blown. Search YouTube for how to quickly test fuses for good videos.

Try cranking the engine by hand with the battery disconnected and the distributor cap off. Make sure the rotor turns with the engine.

 

I believe it has the external ignition coil and then a ignition control module in the distributor, which I have a strong feeling that igniter might be the issue, I noticed oil in the cap and the seal was bad. I’ve read oil on that module could cause the no start issue.

 

A failed ignitor inside the distributor could be the culprit, but a no-spark can be caused by other items as well. My recommendation is to do some electrical testing to eliminate a problem.

For the ignitor, you can short the service connector behind the passenger kick panel and count the check engine light flashes to find ECU codes.

 

Thank you! You’ve been the most helpful out of the people I have talked to, they are just recommending I throw parts at it and hope it starts.
after some tinkering last night with my mechanic I have a question, is the cam and crank sensor really in the distributor? This is only the 2nd Honda I’ve owned so I’m really new to the mechanics of this car. I’m certified in heavy duty trucks but this car has me stumped. I ordered a new distributor. I also tested the main relay and it’s testing good.

 

The cam, crank, and tdc sensors are inside the distributor on 4-cylinder accords through the 95. In 96, the crank sensor was moved onto the block.

The external coil on that accord makes testing somewhat straight forward. You can try unplugging the coil and hook a test light across the blk/yel and wht/blu wire. Blk/yel is your 12V to the coil and wht/blu is switched to ground when the coil fires. You can unplug the coil and hook a test light to blk/yel to ground while cranking the engine to verify 12V. If that passes, then you can hook up the test light between blk/yel and wht/blu and see if the light flashes.

Here is a good video on how to test the system. This Honda has the internal coil, so testing is a little bit different. Same principals apply.

 

I’d like to pick your brain once more about my 1993 2.2 accord. I’ve been able to comb through the whole car to get it up to shape and in the now. I’m honestly considering throwing a turbo on it for the fun of it. I know it’s sohc they don’t make many kits for it. What’s your opinion?

 

My opinion is don't do it and enjoy driving it stock. I promise mods will create more headaches than it is worth.

If you are looking for more hp, then your best bet is an engine swap. The H22 engine from the Preludes or the F20 engine from the Sir from Japan are the best options.