I've got a 2001 Accord V6 with 88k. Last night it cut off while idling in the driveway and I haven't been able to start it since. The starter cranks the engine just fine, but it just doesn't catch. I know it's not out of gas and it's not a dead battery. One thing I can think of is the timing belt, but the car didn't make any strange noises when it cut off. I would think a broken timing belt would be accompanied by some pretty awful noises since it's an interference engine. I also thought it might be plugs or plug wires, but usually when those go bad the car idles rough for a while before it shuts off altogether.

Any ideas or experience with this problem are appreciated. I've searched the forum but it's difficult to search for a string like "won't start" or "cut off."

Dave

 

Did you remove a spark plug to check if there are sparks?

 

automatic or manual?


maybe the starter is stuck?

 

Before you go crazy trying to figure out the problem... it definitely wasn't your starter!!!

It could be your immobilizer... Try a different Key and let us know if it starts. IT could have simply been a bad key transponder chip.

Other than that, a bad fuel pump or distributor / ignition module.

 

check and see if the green immobiler light is blinking also see if other lights like oil,battery lights are on , as you could have a bad ignition switch

 

It could also be your coil. It is inside the distributor on the the 4 cyl models and I would assume it is the same on the six. Pull a plug wire and stick a skrewdriver in the wire where it clips to the plug. Hold the haft of the screwdriver close (1/4-1/2 inch) to something grounded (e.g. alternator bracket) and watch for spark. Do this with two more plug wires. If there is no spark at three cylinders then it is probably your coil or distrtibutor. If there is spark it may be your fuel pump. In accords they work or don't work, there is no in-between. The six will run on four cylinders so it is probably not an internal problem (other than possibly t-belt like you said).