First off, I have a 1999 Honda Accord EX, 5 speed, 2.3L.

My first instance of issues was about 2 months ago. I went to start my car after driving it to the store, and nothing. No lights came on, no cranking, no turning over, no clicking noise. Absolutely nothing. After a few minutes I tried it again, and it started cranking, but dying. Finally I turned the key to the on position, and waited for the lights on the dash to stay lit up, and tried turning it over, and it started. I had no issues with it from that day on until this past Friday.

I drove it a short distance to the store, came back out, and it wouldn't start. When I tried to start it I heard the motor trying to start but extremely struggling, a repeated clicking noise, and then nothing. I kept trying to turn it, with it doing that repeatedly. Finally I gave it some gas and it would turn on then die. As long as I kept giving it gas it would stay on.

I managed to get the car home. Everyone I talked to thought it was either my battery, starter, or alternator. The battery and the starter have been replaced. The clicking noise stopped, it turns over now with no issues, but won't stay running now. As long as I push the accelerator down and keep it above 1000 rpms it'll stay running. It drives fine aside from not being able to idle. Also, when you turn the key to the on position you don't hear the fuel pump priming. There is also no CEL, so no codes for me to check.

When I let it go down to 1000 the needle immediately drops to 0, the battery light, oil light, all the car door lights, brakelamp light, seatbelt light, and brake light stay lit on the dash. The green key light will still light and flash 4 or 5 times when I turn it off.

I looked and saw that some of the 1999 Honda Accords had recalls on the ignition switch, but when I called Honda of America they stated the only thing is that something emissions related needed to be updated. No ignition switch recall for my car specifically.

I haven't checked fuel or spark yet since it's been super rainy the past few days, but considering I don't hear the fuel pump coming on I'm probably going to start in that area.

I've looked up what could possibly be wrong, and always see either distributor, ignition switch, vacuum hose leak, fuel pump, then I see IAC, MAP (i think thats the one) sensor, and the list goes on.

One of my questions is if the ignition switch is faulty, can it prevent the fuel pump relay from working? Has anyone had any personal experience that resembles this situation, because I haven't been able to find something that seems to almost identically match my situation.

 

The fuel pump and ignition switch are probably fine. 6th Gen cars have a combined idle air control valve/fast idle valve which rarely cause problems or need maintenance. Check carefully for vacuum leaks. If it's a high mileage car it may be that the throttle body needs to be removed and cleaned. There are air passages in the throttle body that can get clogged and keep the engine from idling.

 

I forgot to add it is up there in miles. It has around 260K miles. I don't know how well maintained it was before I bought it, but definitely trying to keep it well maintained now. I'll probably do that on my day off since it can't hurt.

 

Not the throttle body, still have to search to see if I have a vacuum leak. This is beyond frustrating. I just want my car to work lol.

 

Just me but I wouldn't worry with checking for a vac leak.

My question, when was the last time the cap, rotor, plugs were replaced....Inspect the wires as well.

Next question, key to on/pos II - the cel should come on for ~2 sec (bulb check) and then go off. Does it?

 

First, I dont care what other people say, I would check the idle air bypass valve. This being a Honda I am sure the wording of the part needs to be changed a little, but definitely check that part, it is a huge deal with bad idle problems. Generally speaking, I have found that the Vtec engines( which I have, not sure if you do) have trouble idling in drive, but not in neutral and park.

Secondly, I would certainly check to see if you Honda has a fuel filter separate from the fuel pump( erg. not in the 'sock') If yours does change it. Relatively, easy fix and your car may run because it may be clogged and not providing the necessary fuel you need.

Thirdly, check you engines ground wires! This is a huge lesson I just learned from my Accord and it personally cost me about $700.00 to figure it out!

Fourthly, if you-like me- have a carabiner key chain with lots of keys- like I do- stop letting it hang in the ignition because it will eventually cause problems, your car has 260,000 miles. It could cause some wear over time!

Finally, god forbid it come to this but try and check your connections and all electrical connections to your cars ECU. That is the main problem that cause me to spend that $700.00 that I was telling you about. The ground wire on my throttle body was loose and it grounded the ECU from allowing the car to crank because it wasn't communicating to the car- it would turn over strong but not crank. Similar to your situation, but my fuel pump would turn on and holding down my gas pedal did zero to help my car crank or stay running.

I dont know as much about Honda's as others do, and by my user name you can get how much I really like them too! LOL But I will say this, Hondas generally get great mileage out of them, so dont get too worked up over it, stay patient, and keep calm if you think logically and follow the train of operation you'll find your problem. Good Luck and I hope this helps!

 

The cap, rotor, plugs were replaced just over a year ago.

And yes the cel comes on then goes off.

 

Lol your screen name reminds me of my bf. He said I should just get a newer one with less miles.

I saw that in my manual about the idle air bypass valve and thought about checking it.

My gut feeling is I'm having an electrical problem. I just remembered my car threw a cel code 2xs and it went away but it threw it 2 different times about 3 and 2 months ago. It was p1259. Not sure if its related or not though.

Nah I don't have a crap ton of keys and keychains on my ring. When I learned it can mess things up I never kept more than neccessary. I keep my car, keyless entry, and house key

 

I'm going to buy a multimeter on payday and start checking my connections, and possibly change one or two things which could be ideal canidates lol.

 

That's cool, good luck! The p1259 code is a vtec malfunction code that could also be simply low oil pressure. I would check to see if you have an oil leak because of the screen mesh in the solenoid gasket being clogged up. If your oil changes havent been regular, that is going to be a definite. From the looks of it, the p1259 code could be telling you that this is your idling problem, if all bolts arent tight or the wiring is messed up.
this is a great video on how to replace the gasket on the Vtec solenoid gasket, its for the fifth generation Accord, but the work was easier on my seventh generation Accord because my solenoid was on the back of my engine without stuff being in the way. I would check everything you can about this part- grounds, wires, pressure switch, solenoid, gasket, oil leaks? anything revolving around this and it may fix your problem!
Another detail on this problem is from this website.https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...code-52497/--- please let me know how the problem worked out for you after you fix it! I am very curious.
By the way, changing the gasket on my Vtec solenoid took roughly 45 minutes because it was difficult to reach and I was gentle not to break the bolts! It cost me less than $20 and the fix cleared my low oil pressure code. Just do the research before you dive in,
Good Luck!