The 1996 Accord LX I have was having trouble starting off/on until finally nothing at all happened when I turned the key. I took out the old battery and had it tested. It was needing replacement as a test result. Bought a new battery and installed, made sure the cable connections were clean and tight. Drove fine for a few weeks and then started to have an issue where after turning the key it kept trying to turn over but couldnt. Somedays it would be in the sun and the temp outside was 93 degrees. I remember before in 2015 I had similar issues and replaced the starter and the main relay and it fixed it but I never knew whether or not it was the starter or the relay. So as it is happening again now similar to 2015 I bought a new relay since sometimes it would start and sometimes not. I tried installing the new relay and Im getting the same result. Alot of churn, churn, churn and no turn over. Any recommendations? Remove the starter and have it tested?

 

The description of a no start can get confusing. The churn, churn part is when you turn the key to have the starter spin the engine. Does the starter spin the engine at the normal rate, or is is much slower? The turn over part is when the engine runs on its own and you release the key. Which is the problem, the starter or the engine will not run on its own? Hope this makes sense.

 

The churn, churn, churn sounds normal and speedy not sluggish at all just never firing up. I assume that since I hear churn, churn, churn at the normal rate that the starter is working. I havent bench tested the starter in fact I am planning if it will crank to take it to a local garage. It did fire up the other day early when it was very cool outside, as the day heated up it did not. I thought this was textbook relay issue but the relay is new.

 

Sounds like the starter is working properly, so no need to test it. The next step is to determine if you are missing spark or missing fuel to the engine.

Scan your car for codes if you have a code reader. The connection for the OBD2 scanner is behind the ash tray.

For fuel: Get a can of starter fluid. Pull the snorkel off the throttle body. Have an assistant spray starter fluid into the throttle body while you try to start the engine. See if the engine runs while spraying starter fluid.

For spark: Pull the fuel pump fuse. Pull a spark plug wire. Use a spark plug tester or a spare spark plugs where you ground the threads of the spark plug or clip the spark tester on something like a valve cover bolt. See if you see a consistent spark on the tester.

 

Thanks PA Honda for the troubleshooting steps. The day I saw this though I had already thrown in the towel and when I was able to get a crank in the cooler morning hours I drove it to a local shop to look it over. They did their "diagnostics" and found that my brand new Amazon purchased main relay was a dud. It would not consistently work. I asked how they tested to determine this and was told that the harness was able to get 12v from the battery just fine so the tech put his hand on the main relay housing when trying to start the engine. When it would work you would feel the click of the relay working. When it didnt crank there was no vibration from the relay switch activating.

I was told that for the work so far was $83 but to have an OEM relay installed would put the total at $230. I told them that I would return what I bought and buy an OEM Matsuba branded myself which I bought at the local Honda dealership and so far no issues. Lesson learned, OEM is expensive but more reliable. The relay I did get a price match from the dealer on Majestic Hondas price so that helped.

 

Follow up, the starting issue has been off/on around late November and gotten worse mid December. I took on on a good start day to the same garage and they said its the relay. I said it cant be its a brand new OEM relay please take another look. They kept it over the holidays and still nothing, a friend sent a link to a video on how the ECU or ECM i think its called can be the issue not signalling the fuel pump. I sent the shop the link and magically they said its the ECM and needs to be replaced for $325 for a used part. The tech described to me that the board looks like its singed up a bit and you can smell that its not functioning properly. Im unsure if they have this right and even so, Im also unsure if an ECM can just be popped in. Do they not require reprogramming?

 

The ECM doesn't need programmed on a 96 accord. It is just plug and play as long as you have the correct ECM.

 

Thanks PAhonda the unit # that is in the car now is 37820-P0J-L60 and that is the number of the one I just bought off of ebay. Great to know they do not have to be reprogrammed!