i must start by saying my apology as my car is honda civic si 2004. but its still a honda and i really need the help.



my car has been giving difficulty to start when the engine is cold, or actually by the time it cools down(even 20 - 30 minutes after parking at times). upon trying to start the vehicle, the battery is strong, it turns over strongly but refuses to start until atleast 3 attempts, sometimes with the help of pressing the gas pedal.

ive brought the vehicle to now 3 reputable mechanics including the honda dealership here in jamaica. the vehicle had stayed there for 3 days, after which the problem occured only once, they did compression testing and other types and said all was ok, they had just changed the plugs and it seemed to have started to work. by the following day the problem actaully started again. they also said upon doing a diagnostic test the Electronic load detector(ELD) shows up.

i brought the car now to another reputable car parts/service provider of genuine honda parts. they did fuel pressure testing/cleaned the injectors and found no problem.

i now replaced the ELD, problem still exists, does any one have any suggestions???? this problem has been going on for quite some 3 months or more by now, and is very frustrating.

no check engine lights or indicators are showing a problem other than the eld which was replaced, but not yet tested to see if its still a problem. it was replaced yesterday actually and the problem continued this morning.

Brief history on the vehicle

about roughly 3-4 months before this starting problem started, the vehicle was driven into a large mass of water during the hurricane season and was immediatley shut off.
i attempted to start the vehicle, and it didnt fully turn-over. after a few attempts the car started and i left it to throttle for about 10-15 minutes and tried to drive the vehicle but it shut off. i then had the vehicle towed back to home, where the oil was changed immediately, to have the vehicle in a driving condition and had a full service done the next day, everything was changed excepting the gas filter.
water got in the oil pan, thats why the car was shut off and a a result it picked up a oil leak and i noticed after awhile whenever the oil level got low the car started giving difficulty to start, and then now, the oil leak is fixed but still having the problem

 

if it sits overnight, does it start?

 

First can I assume you've changed the fuel filter?? Secondly, when you turn the ignition key to the "on" position do you hear the fuel pump hum for approximately 2 seconds to prime the fuel system? I ask this because you state that the car is hard starting after it cools down. If your "fuel pump relay" is faulty the car will turn over an excessive amount of time before it starts, but will then start right up again because you have fuel pressure when the engine is warm. Then as the car cools it will lose the pressure in the fuel system and become hard starting again without that 2 second prime. The pressure test they did might have been done when the car was warm. I would also question the results of the psi of the fuel pump test and replace the pump if it on the low end of acceptable. I would first listen for the 2 sec prime. Good Luck

 

thanks for the response

actually i changed the gas filter over the weekend and same problem and i do hear the pump when i turn the ignition on, however im getting another pump to borrow so that i can test it between today and weekend. i will let u know the results, this thing is really getting the best of me.

Thanks again.

 

not necessarily overnight, but maybe 2 nights then it usually does start

 

ok, a friend of mine has a 2002 Integra type R dc-5 and lent me a spare fuel pump he had. and of course this did not solve my starting problem, however ive noticed that since ive changed the gas filter, when starting the car if i gas a lil bit it starts alot easier.

still confused and really dont know what to do at this point????????

 

I'm not sure if this relates or not but I have a 1996 Jeep no start then it would start drove me crazy til I figured it out. It was corrosion on the prongs of the Fuel Pump Relay. Cleaned it up,inserted in and out several times into fuse box.Fixed.Could also check starter relay,ASD,etc.

 

You need to determine if the problem is spark or fuel related.

If you have a timing light, hook it up to each wire. Try to start the car. If you have enough spark, the timing light should flash.

Spray starter fluid or throttle body cleaner into the throttle body while cranking engine. If engine starts and runs momentarily, then fuel supply is the problem and not spark. If it won't kick over at all, then spark is either missing or inadequate to light off fuel.

 

Silly question.....but are you sure you have the filter point in the right way, since they are directional

 

honestly, no question can be silly at this point. but im assuming its correct, it was placed the same way as the one that was there before and it used to work fine with that one before the problem.