Hondadude, are you saying that the needle point plug was causing the cold start problem? My car is doing the same thing in the morning I have to wait after I turn the key before the car will start. It is like the fuel line has to pressurize itself all over again. The car came with platinum needle tip Denso plugs. What is the theory behind the no start in the morning?

 

Yes I've had this problem drive me nuts chasing my tail in circles. After the first few years,I came up with thetheory that the plugs are getting flooded from low fuel pressure drizzle if you just jump in and start cranking the engine.
When you let the pressure build the injector puts out a fine mist that is easy to ignite, and the engine fires off and runs.
When you jump in and crank awaythe injector sort of drizzles out gas in droplets, the engine chugs stalls and then won't want to restart.
One thing I know with out a doubt is that cars with 'needle point' spark plugs are very prone to cold start problems and drilling in standard tip plugs has solved the problem at least 90% of the time; maybe 10% had other issues, fuel pressure regulators, IACV,etc.

 

Thanks Hondadude! I replaced those needle point plugs with normal tip plugs and the car starts up without having to wait a few secs. for the fuel system to pressurize. Who would have thought that the root cause was the spark plugs.

 

That's one of those fixes that only time and experience can teach you.... glad you got it fixed and a big thanks to Hondadude for the education....

 

Guess what I am having the same cold start problem as before. Jumped in my car this past weekend and turned the key - No Start. I turned the ignition off and tried again started right away. It seems that when the car is left overnight it will not start on the 1st try. What I have to do is turn the ignition off and try again. I have replaced the main relay a common problem with this model. As posted in an earlier post the needle point plugs were replaced with regular platinum AC Delcos and it worked fine for about 3 weeks. I do not smell gas or see any leaking around the injectors. I will have to go back to basics and check for spark the next time to be sure it is not causing the problem. Will keep you posted on what I find.

 

Junk those ac delco and install a set of NGK ZFR5F-11 , to start with

 

I would agree 100%, toss those AC Delco's out the window and just install a standard set of NGK's, that may fix your issue.... let us know!

 

I just replaced my spark plugs tooem NGK ZFR5F-11's and the problem is still there. In the morning when I first start the car it doesn't start up right away. Engine will crank and after about 6 or 7 secs. it starts. What I have to do is turn on the ignition and wait 5 -7 secs. then start the car. I followed Sir Nasty's advice and replaced the original needle point denso platinum plugs with some Autolite not Delco's as previously posted and it worked fine for about a month. I am now back to the original problem no cold start. Fuel filter ,wires, plugs, cap, and rotor are all new.

 

hook up a fuel pressure gauge overnite and see what the pressure is first thing in the morning when you first crank it over,,,,it might be a bad fuel relief pressure valve in the fuel pump..

 

Is there any other way to check the fuel pump pressure? I do not have access to a fuel pressure gauge.