Hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm trying to get my neice's Accord running. Let me give some some background on it. While driving the car died, I went and looked at it and found the cam wasn't spinning when turning over...timing belt oh joy. I got it home and pulled the covers off only to find the cam disintegrated where the pulley attached. I ordered all new gaskets, belts and a rebuilt head and replaced them all. The only issue I had was getting the crank bolt off. After replacing, the car started right up and ran fine. I moved it from where it was into my driveway so I could top off the antifreeze. The next day I top it off and try to start the car, a quick fire then nothing. Same thing if I try another day after sitting, you here it burn the gas in the cylinder then nothing. I can hear the pump and smell gas after cranking. The plugs fire in a sequential order as they should. All the sensors that would matter (in the distributer and TDC sensor by the belt) all Ohm out correctly. Spraying starting fluid does nothing so I'm thinking one of the sensors isn't right. I tried putting my timing light on plug 1 to see if TDC looks right on the crank pulley but it's too bright outside to tell at the moment. So I'm at a loss as where to go from here. I'm thinking the TDC sensor may be the culprit but some things I've read say it shouldn't stop the car from starting. I hate to tear it down and replace only to find it's not the issue and at close to $200, ugh. One reason I'm thinking the TDC sensor is because I heated the crank bolt to get it off. Any ideas or guidance would be appreciated.

 

Check for error codes by shorting a blue two pin connector under your glovebox with a thin paperclip or a piece of wire. If you have a code reader, you can hook that up to the port behind your ashtray.

Post any codes you get on here and we can give you more details on what to do .

Here is a link with the procedure: dhost.info/accordinfo/howto/cel.html

Your 97 accord will only have the 2 pin connector under the glove box.

 

Thanks but I forgot to add that I did the code check, the light stays on so no code in there. This thing is really frustrating me and the PDF I have seems to cover only ODB1 which has the sensors all in the distributor. BTW, I have access to an oscilloscope if that would help testing the sensors.

 

Adding starting fluid and still getting a no-start could mean that you are getting no start. Verify that you have no spark by using the timing light when it gets dark.

Also, see if the blk/yel wire that goes to the distributor and/or coil has 12V when you have the key in the II position. Is the accord an LX, DX, or EX?

 

Like I mentioned, there is definitely good spark in sequence of the firing order. The only thing I don't know is if it's sparking at the correct time which is why I was trying the timing light on cylinder 1. I don't know what the timing is controlled by, the sensor in the distributor or the one by the crank pulley. The distributor has 12v, I didn't bother checking the coil seeing I was getting good spark. It is an LX with the 22b2 engine.

 

You can recheck the timing marks with the engine at TDC.

The timing light will tell you if you are getting good spark at each cylinder wire and will be able figure out the ignition timing as well. If you are close, then the timing belt is in correctly.

If there was a problem with a sensor, an error code would be stored.

This may be a dumb suggestion, but you might want to add a gallon of gas to the fuel tank to rule out an empty tank.

 

I thought about the timing belt but the car started right up after I replaced it. I triple checked it before I buttoned it up. The car ran for about 20 mins before I shut it off for the day and wouldn't start the next day which is why I think it may be electrical. No strange sounds during any of this time. The car has half a tank of gas and you can smell it strongly when turning over and the plugs are wet when removed. I think one thing I'll do is put it at TDC and check where the distributor is sitting.

 

Strong smell of gas? What is that? Be careful. Please let us know what you find, this is good information - Wish I could help. I have had times where I thought there was no future for me or the car, but kept working at it and eventually found the solution. I have a truck to drive, so I wasn't walking. Good Luck!

 

Along with everything else, check the vacuum hose on the FPR. Fuel in there would indicate a ruptured FPR and VERY rich mixture (causing the fuel smell). Sometimes the simple stuff will get ya after you take care of the difficult things.

 

I'll have to check the FPR. The gas smell only comes after cranking awhile, it's not there instantly. It's just getting dumped out the exhaust because it's not starting. At TDC the distributor rotor should be pointing to plug 1, right? I think that's the first thing I will look at next. I won't be able to check it with the timing light until the weekend. Thanks for the replies thus far.