1992 Honda Accord 2.2L 4 cyln 5 speed.
Battery is fine distributer is new and working.

Every morning when I leave for work, my honda has a very hard time starting. If the weather is warm it starts better but when its cold it has a hard time. When I start my car it turns over fine at normal speed but it no longer starts up on the first time. After about 7-8 attempts of cranking for about 5 seconds a piece it will start to get fuel and the carb seems flooded and I will have to hold the gas pedal down or it will die. After I burn the excess fuel out, which can be smelled heavily, the car will run fine. The rest of the day my car will pretty much start and run ok, just usually that first start up on cold mornings. I replaced the coolant temp sensor yesterday with no change. I've been reading forums for days with little or no help(a soulution is never confirmed). I've seen lots of suggestions with only ONE person claiming an answer. And it was taking off and cleaning the FICV...although his problem was a little diferent from mine. This seems to be one that no one can figure out so if anyone can help, it would be much appreciated. And I will post solution if found!

 

you can try replacing the fuel injectors and spark plugs. Other than that i would have to say there is a choke valve problem. I am not to sure if hondas have a choke though

 

Wait, the 92 accord didn't have a carburetor as an option.

 

ok yeah your right its fuels injected, i don't know a whole lot about cars but wherever its getting the fuel from seems to be flooding it. now the distributer is new and i said its working only because its new. i'll try cleaning the wires, updates from me will only be once a day when i get to work, seeing how this problem only happens in the morning.

btw i did just get done reading another thread from a different forum where a guy replaced his distributer and it fixed the problem...again his problem was slightly different but his car was having trouble starting in the morning. Does anyone happen to know what the Fast Idle Control Valve is and why this might cause a hard cold start? I've seen this solution but have no idea what it is or what it does. I'll do some research as well.

 

When you have a no-start, you need to determine if it is from a lack of spark or lack of fuel. No idle valve, etc will cause the car not to start.

Are the maintenance items up to date, like the spark plugs? Is the whole distributor new? Did you use any parts from the original distributor? Is your car an LX, DX, or EX?

The first thing I would do is check for engine codes. In the DIY section, I made a thread called how to check CEL codes. Post any codes you find or if you don't get any codes.

The easiest way to test for spark is to use a timing light. If enough spark is generated, the light will flash. You will need an assistant to do this. The next best option is to use a spark tester that you can pick up at most parts stores.

For fuel... Turn the key to the II position, but do not try to start the the car. When the check engine light turns on for the 2 second bulb check, the fuel pump should turn on for about two seconds. The sound a fuel pump makes is a faint buzzing/whirling sound coming from the back seat, so turn off the radio, blower, etc..., so you can hear it. Let us know if the fuel pump sound is missing.

 

@PAhonda,

The wires are not new, the entire distributer is new no old parts, LX.

After doing some reading I realized that instead of a TW sensor or(ECT sensor) i bought the sensor that connects to the thermostat housing. And from what I've read, the latter does not having anything to do with starting up..just fan control or something.

Another possible culprit that sounds legit is a leaking fuel injector. This would explain why the car is hard to start after sitting all night, the dripping injector is leaking into a cylinder and causing a hard start until the fuel burns out.

Im going to take your advice and take the spark plug wires off and clean them and see if they are firing..im guessing I could do this by seeing if they spark while out of the distributer?? After that im going to the part store after work and swapping out the TW(engine coolant temp sensor) with the one I got yesterday. If that doesnt work, I will buy fuel injector cleaner and run that through.

I will have and update for all of this except the fuel injector cleaner tomorrow morning. Thanks for the input and if you have any more suggestions, please keep them coming!

 

Oh and to answer your other question, yes the fuel pump does kick on.

And no it is not showing coeds...I think. I'll go read your thread and if my answer changes I will update. As of now, no codes.

 

I'm not sure about the air filter, I'll check when I get home and update tomorrow. As for turning the key on, I've did this and left the key on for like 10-20 seconds with no difference.

 

I would read code(s) before blindly swapping out the sensors.

If you read the sticky post at the top of the gen tech help forum, there is a link to the tegger site. That will show you how you can check for spark. Pulling a spark plug or using a screwdriver. There are a couple of options.

 

Well I have a friend at the parts store so if they don't work, I don't lose any money. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow morning and I'll read up on the codes as well. Thanks a lot!