hard to start

the car has 102000 miles and the other day my mom left the inside light on all night and i thought the battery would be dead but it started it took a while thou when i turned the ignition it sounded like it was dead but i kept trying and it started. today it did the same thing but it clicks kinda like when the starter is bad but feels like its not charging i changed out the starter and still doing the same thing. any ideas?

Hi jerrymaister,

Check the battery voltage in the morning. The battery could be failing and not retaining sufficient charge when left overnight.

1982 honda slight backfire while driving and hard starting after a short trip

Have the ignitin timing and spark plug related components checked. Could also be a failing ignition coil.

Hard Start When Hot. Plenty of crank seems like not getting fuel. Drops rpm with slight acceleration to maintain speed. (70 mph @ 3,000rpm's, slight acceleration and drops to 2,900rpm then picks up, when it decides, to 3,200 rpm's.)

Items Replaced:
Distributor '05.
Wiring harness, plugs and PCV Valve, Recent.
Timing Belt '05.
Fuel Pump replaced '05.
Fuel Filter last week along with Fuel Injector cleaning.
Fuel Pump checks out okay.
Vacuum checks out okay.
Timing checks out okay.
Ignition checks out okay.

Any clues?
Thanks

Hi rdtintx,

Try checking the main relay.

I have a 1991 honda and sometimes it doesn't start, when it does this the green "S" light comes on. The owners manual says the light is the sport mode, but it doubles as a service transmission indicator. I have checked the power supply and the starter. When it does it and I can go back within an hour and it starts right up. I have had it in the shop and they ran a diognostic, but could not make the problem occur and found nothing wrong. All they did was give me a full transmission service. I have also checked the fuel pump. What is the problem?

Hi daniel.jourdan, Thank you for the donation. The problem is usually caused a faulty PGM-FI main relay. It is known to intermittently cause non starting as the fuel pump is not getting the power to work. Remove the relay and check the circuit board for cracked soldered joints. Resoldering of the circuit board, especially the cracked joints would make the relay work as well if not better than a replacement part.

When i start my car it starts hard and sounds like its choking out. It will start then smokes a little and I can smell gas. After that it runs great

Check the fuel pressure and comback with the readings we start here.

I recently replaced my battery and alternator due to my rpms bouncing and my car jerking slightly. That didn't fix the problem so I took it to a shop and they found out my ignition module was cracked and I had that replaced. My car is still running sluggish and my rpms have bounced a few times but not like they used to. Now my car acted like it didn't want to start buy did. On my way to work my car started to shake and then finnaly died. Since then I can start my car but as soon as I put it into drive it will die and it smells like gas and the exhaust is smoking. Other people have said it's a sensor or something computerized or my fuel filter. I don't know what to do. I just need to find out the problem and fix it intead of just guessing what it could be. It is also going through gas fast, but why would my rpms bounce and drive sluggish? I need help fast.

Hi Chelsjess,

You replaced the ICM or ignition coil?

I'm not sure which one it was they just refered to it as the ignition module. It looks like it plugs into something and it has a cord on one end that can plug into something else.

Is it a small rectangular and flat piece with a few terminals? If yes then it is the ICM.

The ignitin coil would be a larger black item, almost square with a protruding point.

When rpm jumps, the most common fault is a faulty ignition coil, not the ICM.

So I should have the ignition coil replaced also? And also why would my car die once heated as soon as it's put into drive? I'm having trouble determining on the problem being my o2 sensor or fuel pump. Because when my car is heated and you rev it it smells like gas and white smoke comes from the exhaust. I'm so confused.

A bad ignition coil would fail when it is heated up.

Since it is most likely to be faulty, get it replaced first and test if the stalling still occurs.

Also is putting a gas treatment in my gas tank a bad idea if I have bad gas or gas that has been in my car for over a month?

Need some advice, I'm the original owner of this 1990 Honda Accord. It has 153,000 on it and when it runs it runs great. Well maintained.

My problem is that it starts hard from time to time. Engine trurns good but just won't start right off. sounds like fuel or spark? It eventually will start and run great.

I changed the plugs, fuel filter and the igniter was changed several month ago when it just stopped.

I'm trying to develop a pattern to the problem ie, when it happens like fuel level, temp. etc

Appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Carl Cioppa

Carl

Start with the coolant temperature sensor test it cold and warm normally about 100K ohms cold and drops to 700 ohms when hot and also check the fuel pressure

If the gas is bad, adding some treatment is ok.

HI Carl Cioppa,

I suspect it is fuel related and would suggest replacing the main relay.

in the mornings my car has a hard time starting. it usually starts after i pump the throttle and turn the ignition for a while. Now it just started shutting off while im driving acting like the battery was unplugged. I've checked the terminales for corrosion, tightened the terminales. I've left the positve terminal off over night to see if battery would drain but it didn't. I noticed when it does it the clock remains the correct time. I'm thinking an electrical problem, but im not sure where to start. I dont have any money for fanzy equipment or a mechanic. Any suggestion or solutions would be wonderful. Thank you.

Hi jthomas123,

When you mentioned hard time starting, is it cranking and not catching or not cranking at all?

Does the CEL come on and goes off after 2 seconds?

If the vehicle stalled while driving, does the dash indicator lights indicates? If not, the most likely fault would be the ignition switch.

Im not sure of the issue but about a couple of months ago my blower motor stop working in my car. I'd say this problem started in the first week of November 08.

The blower motor would work for a while but when i started having hard start in the morning, the blower motor began to hesitate to start or cut on in the evening, sometimes not for a few days.

About a week before christmas of this year, I started having issues with my car starting. At first when I crank the engine, it would turn for a while before it would start. Each time with the hard start the blower motor would stop working.

It would start after sitting for awhile but most of the time the engine will just turn and the car will not start.

And at this moment the car will not start at all, the engine will turn with no problem but no start.

Hi nutsege32,

There are a few possibilities for the problem of difficult or non starting and since the blower motor is suspected to be related, we shall go on this direction first.

Ignition switch. Slowly turn ignition switch to ON position, all the while watching the dash lights. They should stay steady when turned on.
Slowly turn to START position, dash lights should not flicker and stay on while cranking.

If the above shows flickering or dash lights going out, the ignition switch is bad.

Thanks for the reply, I did check the dash lights while turning the car on. The battery light did flicker when trying to start the engine.

I will have the Ignition switch replaced and see what happens from there. Thanks again..

Nathan

When it rains my car won't start. It won't turn over. The last time this happened, my brother in-law took a blow dryer and dried a part behind the distributer and a box with wires in it to the left of the distributer. Just wondering if this is something that might be easy to fix. It seems like every time I take my car to a garage, I am overcharged.
Thanks.

Sounds as though you need to replace a few items so that they are sealed up better. For instance, the replacement of the distributor cap should seal out moisture, new plug wires should help as well. Other connections are often lubricated and sealed with a silicone. Can't respond on overcharging.

[quote:3d1e98bca4="Bruce Hunt"]Sounds as though you need to replace a few items so that they are sealed up better. For instance, the replacement of the distributor cap should seal out moisture, new plug wires should help as well. Other connections are often lubricated and sealed with a silicone. Can't respond on overcharging.[/quote:3d1e98bca4]
Thank you for your advice. The distributor is brand new, paid $500 to have it replaced. There is something behind the distributer that was dried out and the car started right away. A core pac or something like that?

Greetings,

We're the original owners of a '93 SE and until last May never had this happen before. The car has trouble starting, but only first thing in the morning, not when it's warmed up.

It will crank for up to 10-15 seconds, not slowly but won't turn over either. If I stop after a few seconds, turn the ignition off and try again, it will light right up. In fact, the rest of the day it starts normally without issue.

We took it to an independent Honda mechanic and it was first diagnosed with a possible bad main relay. This was replaced but did not resolve the issue. BTW, after replacing the relay, he performed a "soak down test" but it didn't help.

Plugs, wires, cap, rotor were in good shape and ruled out as well. Finally, the mechanic diagnosed the root cause as a failing fuel pump.

Replacing the fuel pump would have run about $600 which was more money than we wanted to spend. Since I have more time than money right now I thought I'd give it a shot.

With the aid of my 1993 Accord Helm manual I successfully replaced the fuel pump with a new Honda OEM unit I purchased online for about $150.

After the replacement, the car returned to normal and started just like new. However, within the past few months the problem has reoccurred same as before.

I'd appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer.

Thanks

Hi hiptech,

I would suggest checking the fuel pressure regulator and Engine Coolant Temperature sensor.

Before starting, turn ignition switch ON for 2 seconds, turn off and on again for another 2 seconds and then start. If process makes the starting easier, the fuel pressure regulator might be faulty or the fuel pump is not pressuring the system sufficiently.

Check for leakages to the fuel supply line.

If it is not the fuel pressure problem then the ECT might be out of specs resulting in the hard starting.

Transmission problem
1994 Honda Accord 4 cyl Automatic

Sometimes my car starts and sometimes it doesn't... When it doesn't start, usually during the day, the "D4" light flashes and the engine will not turn over... it wants to, but doesn't. When I do finally get the car to start, usually at night, it starts as if there is no problem... I looked through the manual and checked the fuses and the trans dip stick, but nothing is burnt out or low on fluid... Am I missing something?? Why does my car start in the early morning or late at night and not during the day?? Can anyone help me??

Hi DanLop785, This is a common problem for models of that era. It is caused by an intermittently failing PGM-FI main relay and resoldering the circuit board would solve the problem.

Electrical problem
1993 Honda Accord 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 280k miles
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sometimes turn key- nothing.turn lights on for aminute and then the car starts, battery strong???

To get that battery juice to the ignition switch-battery has to be in good shape 12.4 volts before you crank engine over, also with clean terminals and properly tighten also at the starter end.

Try this look for power at starter solenoid small terminal-no power there while key is in start position-backtrack it to the clutch and ignition switch.

1994 Honda Accord 185000 miles

the engine is doing this weird fast then slow then fast then slow idle when in park. Also, after driving and turning off the engine (like to fuel up), when I try to restart the car it refuses to start until it has cooled off some -- ususally 20 minutes or so. That's very inconvenient. We have replaced the "idle air control valve" but that didn't help the problem. I see where you have recommended to others to check the "fast idle valve". is that something different?

Check the fuel pressure and EGR valve/Vacuum leaks

cold no problem after warm or hot 5 to15 sec. tostart

This could be a couple different things. First, when it is warm or hot, check fuel pump pressure to see if it is within the manufacturer's specs.