Hey guys,
I'm (maybe) buying a 92 accord of a friend of mine who drove it daily until about 6 mos. ago. Since then the car was driven once a week to keeps things from settling. Well he went out 2 weeks ago and had a hard time starting it....... after he finally got it started it made it 2 blocks and died.
I went to check out 3 days ago and the engine would crank but it wouldn't fire up. I went back today and tried to start it and it won't turn over. It makes an extremely loud and fast tapping noise. I've heard the sound of a bad starter before but never this loud.
I've never owned a honda before........ are their bad starters real loud?
The battery is known to be good, the fuel pump is priming and fuel is getting to the rail.
The distributor, plugs, and wires have all been changed recently. He had the timing belt done approx. 60K miles ago.

I tried to read up a little and found the main relay to be a big problem but usually in hot weather, right? It's definately not been hot here yet.

Anyone have any ideas for me?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

Sounds like dead or low battery. Maybe the battery terminals are dirty. My accord sounded the same way awhile ago, I cleaned them and it started right up.

 

Thanks for the reply......
I checked for voltage on the posts and all around the terminals and cables as well and got good readings throughout. I also tried to jump it to no avail. The lights and everything else work fine.
However; I will clean up the terminals real good tomorrow and give it a go.
Thanks again

 

Proper voltage will show on a meter through dirty connections. It's the amps required to start the car that can't make it through the dirty connection.
Good luck

 

A lack of fuel or spark will cause a no-start. If you hear the fuel pump prime, then the MFR is not the problem. Is the check engine light on? You can short the service connector and count any flashes by the ECU. Follow directions in checking CEL at this site. http://www.dhost.info/accordinfo/

Try to start the car with a spare plug in one of the wires and ground the threads to the engine block (or you can pick up a spark tester at autozone and keep the plugs in the engine). Have someone try to start the car and look at the spark. It should be bright and a blue/white color with the proper gap. If you see no or weak spark, then the coil, ICM, or ignition switch is bad. There is a writeup in the DIY section on how to determine if the coil or ICM are bad. If you pull the plug to the distributor and turn the key to the II position, the yel/blk wire should have 12V to ground. If not the electrical portion of the ignition switch is bad.

Good Luck.

 

Okay...... new battery, new terminals, clean cables, still no start.
I will move on to the other tests tomorrow if I find time.
The check engine light goes off with the dinger after ignition is hit.
Thanks again for the help guys

 

Okay, I was going to attempt the coil and ICM testing but I'm not sure which 'wire to the ICM' I'm looking for. I have two plugs which sit right next to the distributor. As for the ICM, I don't even know where that is........ I've read a few posts which say it's inside the distibutor, and I've also been told that it's the silver box with grooves that looks like a small stereo amplifier.
In other words, I'm lost!!
Is this the ICM?


Thanks

 

That picture looks like your injector resistor box. The ignition control module is #7 in the picture below in the distributor. There are four wires that plug on to it. www.hondapartsdeals.com has these types of pictures. I don't know if your accord is a DX, LX, or EX. The pic below is for the EX.

[IMG]local://upfiles/5767/FBBBE23F54C640F7B7198B02FC4CBF73.gif[/IMG]

 

So do I have to take the distributor apart to test the voltage to it?

Thanks

 

I see that you live in indiana. O'Reillys can test ignition control modules at the store near me. You can call one near you and ask if they are able to test the control module for your car.