Guys,

I had been posting up with this issue about 2 months ago for a couple of weeks trying to get this issue ironed out on my fiances 96 Honda Accord LX 4 cyl automatic.

Issue is: ONLY WHEN COLD IN THE MORNING... Car will crank and crank and crank but just will not fire up.

What I've figured out since the last time we were trying to figure this out is...every morning, if I just crank the car for about a minute and half- 2 minutes. The battery won't die and it will start up, it runs very rough for a couple of seconds and then BAM it just kicks in and runs PERFECT. I swear, for the whole day..car runs freaking fine.

And it really does seem to be less than 2 minutes every single morning. What I mean by running rough is, running at maybe 2-300 RPM(at least this is how it feels).

The tach does not register while it's running funny for the first couple of seconds. The instant the car jumps out of it's little "limp mode" it runs great.


So far I have:

Replaced fuel pump
replaced distributor cap
replaced plugs
replaced valve cover gaskets/seals
replaced plug wires
replaced rotor
replaced ignition control module
replaced ignition switch
cleaned EGR valve
Cleaned FITV (fast idle thermo valve) thoroughly
Cleaned IACV
sprayed carb cleaner into throttle body while it is cranking but will not start(nothing)
cleaned throttle body
cleaned air filter

When the car cranks over, the timing light does fire off but it will not start. I will double check this again but I've done it before.

I've checked for 12 volts at the coil and even replaced with another coil from an accord that was running and had no luck.



Would it do me any good to take the main relay out and re solder the little connections that are in the DIY section?

What about a valve adjustment?


I will do the checks again tomorrow morning or the next for resistance on the coil and I'll try and get the back probing done again too.

I'm just at a total loss here and am running out of ideas.

Oh, I got the service manual too now

Thank you so much for any advice,

Donnie

 

Could it be that your engine just has a habit. It sounds like it likes heat. Have you tried it in a garage? Is it the original engine, I don't think your engine has climate feelings lol, but maybe it could be just that.

 

Any codes. There is a "cold start" sensor of sorts. I'm away from most of my documents/books so I'm working on memory, sorry. On the 4cyl it should be the multi pin connector almost right under the dist on the head. Not the single pin or on the upper hose housing. I would test that for proper function.

 

Thanks for the quick replies.

There are no codes stored or showing and it does seem to start fine if it's parked in the garage as our garage is insulated. But, it's about 105 where I live right now in the day time and it gets a lot colder in a couple of months...I don't think it will start even in the garage in the fall/winter...

 

Look up the testing and location of the ECT switch, tells the ECM what the the temp of the engine is. One last thing to you can try, if you haven't, when cold and not starting does starting fluid make it start?

 

I put in my first post, I have tried starting fluid and carb cleaner with no luck. And a new fuel pump.

Would the ECT prevent spark or air from getting in?

 

Sorry, read right over the fact you did that already. I'm now as lost as you, have spark by the timing light, fuel either from the pump or spray and still not starting. One thing I didn't see was the fuel filter but that doesn't answer the carb cleaner or starting fliud. So the last thing left is proper "proportions at the right time". Which leads me back to the ECT, it would/should be the thing that controls the proportions when the engine is cold or hot...choke on a carb. Test it and see, sorry I don't have anything else.

 

You really should have tried to diagnose the problem before throwing parts at it.

Just for the heck of it, stop by an autozone and have them scan for codes just to rule out a problem with a sensor.

If your timing light flashes, then the spark should be adequate.

The only things that I can think of are the fuel filter or possibly the Main Fuel Relay. There is a DIY writeup by hondadude about that. The main fuel relay also sends power to injectors. You can also try the resistance tests on the injector resistor box.

 

You could have a problem holding fuel pressure. A leaking injector would do that and take a lot of cranking to start. You would have one of more cylinders flooded and lapses in fuel pressure for proper injection of fuel. It would run rough at first. Have you ever tried cycling the fuel pump a few times before stating it up by turning the key to start for a few seconds?

 

Kris,

Yes, I have. Thank you for the suggestion.

PA, Do you mean I SHOULD HAVE diagnosed the problem first? or SHOULD NOT HAVE?
most of the parts that I listed, the cap, rotor, plugs, wires, valve cover seals/gaskets, cleaning of senors...were just things that needed to be done I was told anyway..
The ignition switch had been replaced about 6 months ago, I just took it to NAPA and they swapped it out free of charge for a new one.
The fuel pump definitely was not needed I'm almost sure and of course it was the most expensive cause my fiances family was convinced to take it a "professional" mechanic..they took it to him and he ripped us for 300 bucks and 3 days for a fuel pump that is loud as heck..NEVER again.
The ICM was like 60 bucks w/ a good warranty so that I just threw at it to eliminate. The soldering of the relay that I was gonna do was free as is the valve adjustment so I was just trying to do what I could that was any possibility considering all current and past symptoms(slight rough/sporadic idle).

Will do. Thank you again for all of the help man. Wouldn't spraying carb cleaner directly into the throttle body AND starting fluid once eliminate the fuel filter? I mean if only for a second? Aren't I bypassing the fuel filter by spraying directly into the Tbody?

I'll have them scan for codes too...will their tool show more codes than tripping the little connector with a paper clip?

Thanks so much,

Donnie