bad neutral safety switch?
 

ok, so when my car is in park and i turn the key, it takes 3-6 seconds to fire up the motor, but the car in neutral... it starts up as soon as i turn the key. what is causing this? this is the last issue on this car i need to fix, any help would be apreciated.

When you first turn the key all the way to start, does the starter immediately start working? Is there a delay in the starter? Or does the starter work the whole time, but it takes longer to fire up (where you release the key)?

EDIT: What other work and maintenance have you done are your car?

when i turn the key while it is in park it tries to start up right away with no delay, it just take several seconds to actually turn the motor over. while as in neutral, as soon as a turn the key, the car fires up. when i first got the delay in the starting the car i changed the battery. as far as i can tell all my other issues have been resolved and this is the last one.

The terminology when talking about starting the car can get vague. Here is how I describe starting the car.

1. Turn key to the start position
2. The starter spins the engine
3. The engine fires up (this is when I release the key, because the engine is running on its own).

So after you turn the key...is there a delay for the starter to spin the engine, or a delay when the engine fires up?

in park there is a delay when the engine starts up, the starter goes to work right away, the but actual engine takes a few seconds to start up, in neutral the starter kicks in, and the engine starts up like it would normally.

What year make, model accord do you have? Put that information in your signature, so we can always look at it quickly.

How many miles are on the spark plugs? What brand did you use?

Try this, turn the key to the II position, but do not immediately try to start the car. Wait for the check engine light to do the bulb check (turns on for about two seconds). Then try starting the car. Let us know what happens.

it's a 98 accord DX, ill try that out here in a few. it's starting to get late.

PA - the OP has a video in another thread.

This is the "Water Damage" thread.

so if i put the car in the II position and wait for the bulb check then try to start the car, it fires right up. what exactly does that mean

This may or may not go back to a problem due to the "water" thread.

• I had previously suggested cleaning the battery ground wire contact areas due to the water (e.g., remove bolts holding battery ground cable, clean chassis ground area with sand paper and wire connector, etc.). In one of the attached pictures, it shows the battery ground wire connectors to the car's chassis. The ECU (car's computer) ground is G101 (shown in another attached pic.); this ground connector to the ECU is also relying on the battery ground wire connections at the other parts of the chassis. You may want to clean the battery ground wire connections, battery terminal posts, and possibly ground G101; and ensure all these connections are tight.

• a main relay problem. The car not starting immediately could also be a main relay problem. See these links:

How the Main Relay works

Honda Acura Starting Problems Repair Guide, Main Relay Locations

This other link shows the main relay location for a V6 in your model year; but, it should be similar for your L4 model. I also attached a pic. showing the location.

DIY, Replacing Main Relay (AV6) - V6 Performance.net Forums

• or even something else.