My 97 accord will not start. It cranks but will not start. The fuel pump is working fine, there is spark, batery is good and there is no blown fuses. The weir thing about this problem is that as soon as I plug the code scanner the car start right away but as soon as I unplug the code scanner the car shuts off. There are only 2 codes that show up on the scaner they are for the TPS sensor and the O2 sensor. I switched the TPS but the car will not start with out the scanner plugged in. Could the ECU be bad? I am getting frustrated... don't know what could cause this problem. HELP PLZ!!!

 

Grounds for the ECU?
When things happen that are SUPPOSED to be completely unrelated, I usually think of open grounds.

I don't have a wiring drawing for '97, so I don't know exactly where the ECU grounds are located. I'd suspect a loose ground connection somewhere(?) under the dashboard.

 

thanks for the reply. I will check under the dash for a loose ground conection. I just don't understand how the car can start with out a problem only when the code scanner is plugged. It seems as if the scanner bypasses whatever problem I might be dealing with. It is just frustrating not being able to find out what is causing this problem to beging with. I am a student and I don't have the money to take it to a mechanic to tell me what is wrong with my car. I guess I have to keep trying to find the problem. Thanks for the help!!!

 

One thing the scanner does, is ground one of the pins on the ECU. Just a wild guess, but if one of the other ECU grounds (there are several) is open, that may allow it to work.