Fuel Pressure Regulator ?
 

Hi here is some background info..

2006 Honda Accord V6 - 20K Miles on it 36K km..
All maintenance done in the dealer
have changed all the belts, spark plugs, engine oil, transmisson oil..

On the last week (it's not winter in Brazil ) instead of just turning the key and firing up, the car started requiring that I keep the key turned on for 4-5 seconds before the engine fires up..

After firing up the engine is perfect.. No rpm, changes, accel is normal, no codes or anything else unusual. Only unusual thing is that the car is taking more time to fire. I initially though that it was a "not so strong" battery cause 1 month ago I left a door open and the battery drained but the motor that cranks the engine was strong.. To rule this out I connected my battery to a montero I own and but the same sympton showed up..

On the volvos I had it was common to have a FPR problem when it was the 1st start of the day and the suggestion was to replace one.. I read most of this forum but could not find any issues or mentions to Fuel pressure regulators. Also I tried to find the fuel filter to replace it but it seems that this car does not have one...

Anyone has suggestions on how to better diagnose this?

When you try to start the car, does the starter spin the engine at the normal rate?

Hi PAHonda, yes, the starter spins at the normal rate.. It seems like there was no gasoline on the system. Funny is that this happens even if I stop minutes only ( for example) to refuel at a gas station..

The spark plugs should last up to around 100K miles on your accord if they are like the US ones.

Try turning the key to the II position but do not try to start the car. The fuel pump should turn on for about two seconds while the check engine light does the bulb check. The fuel pump sound is a faint buzzing/whirling sound that comes from the back seat, so turn off the radio, blower, etc.. and listen carefully.

Sorry for taking so long to answer but was on a trip.. I noticed that the buzz sometimes is more audible and sometimes not so much.. It seemed that the times it takes more the buzz is not so audible.

When the noise is "not there", does the cel go out?

Hi Poorman 212..
answering your question, CEL always goes out.. Check engine has never been. It passess all the checks..

Comment
I called a "very known mechanic" here, he prepares hondas for races. He said this is a "known problem on the 2006 V6" , it seems that the rotation sensor ( sorry do not know the part name in English" does not read accordingly. It is a bug on the ECU and he recommends having the ECU reset/reprogrammed.. I have read a lot about hondas lately but never seen this one..

What you guy think ? Trying to reset the ECU does not harm right ?

Resetting the ECU won't harm anything. The solution you reference will require you to go to a honda dealership and have them update the software.

Ok. Today I went to this Honda Expert ( If you like Hondas that was a very interessinting Place - he was race preparing Preludes, CRXs, a 1988 Civic and other cars), he also has an Accord.

Goint to there in the Morning the car fired up extremely well. When I arrived there I was 100% sure the car would fire right away. When he asked me to show how the car was starting I turned it off and it took a while to fire up again.. It seems that when the engine is warm the problem is more proeminent..

He did reset the ECU by taking a fuse ( blue one ) in the engine compartment and another one near the dirver's left foot . Unfortunately did not helped much cause the symptons remained. He gave up asking me to go to the dealer...
He also checked the Fuel Pump . Although he did not measured it he told me "by the sound it was doing" it was fine.

Now I am curious.. It seems that it happens more when the engine is warm, any knows suspects here ? A visit to the dealer is already scheduled, but I would like to have some clues before going there..

I do appreciate any help here and wish Merry xmas for everyone.

My 03 V6 would take very long to start sometimes, and the dealership did change the fuel pressure regulator. It still takes a few more turns to fire up, but not nearly as much as it used to before. It used to take two or three tries, and now it might take a little while, but it starts on the first try.