i have a 97 accord coupe that is having a starting problem,maybe a tech guru can help me out here. i read all the posts on the no-start problem and have been going over all the typical things relating to the problem.car has had the timing belt and waterpump replaced.i recently cleaned the iac valve,throttle body,replaced the tps switch,battery,ground cable,terminals,coil,cap,rotor,plugs,and fuel filter.car had the up/down idle problem and cleaning the iac seemed to help.the main problem is the car will start and run perfect (slightly high idle 1k rpm).i'll drive the car around and get it up to temp still no problem.i'll shut it off and immediately restart -still no problem.let it sit maybe an hour and it will just crank and seem like its trying to fire,just sputtering.i smell fuel when this is happening.and have also tested for spark while this is happening and i have spark.i checked the computer for codes -no codes or engine light.i talked to a tech and he suggested possibly a leaking injector flooding the engine.i have yet to pull the main relay if i can find it,but i hear the fuel pump working and have fuel at the rail.any help would be appreciated.

 

Raised idle above 1k is normal when engine is cold.

Because of the age, if you know that's the original main relay, I might consider either re-flowing it's solder or just replacing it if I was in your position. It's not super expensive, is fairly easy to replace, and it will almost certainly need to be replaced eventually anyway. If you search around you'll find a pic or walk-through to help locate the relay, otherwise a service manual is a good thing to have.

You say you have spark, but I'm not sure if - depending on how/when you checked for it - you actually do at the times the car doesn't want to start. If I'm not mistaken that model has a distributor (not coil-over-plug w/ the indiv. coils) so it could possibly be the ignitor a.k.a. ignition module that is acting up randomly when underhood temps. are warm enough - could also be the connections on the ignitor possibly being loose or not connected properly(in your case I doubt that b/c it always starts when cold).

As for the injector issue, that might be it, not sure. You could try something that will not only clean but lube the fuel system like seafoam/lucas upper cylinder lube/marvel mystery oil. Seafoam might do more to clean, marvel more to lube. Marvel is the cheapest, lucas is good stuff but expensive. If you added MMO to the tank a few times and noticed the problem went away for example, you could lean towards an injector that was leaking, if it does absolutely nothing (entirely possible) than you're only out $4 or less for the MMO.

 

thanks for the reply.i forgot to mention the engine is a non v-tech,it has the tec external coil.i pulled the relay yesterday and re-soldered the pins.car is still not starting at all just sputtering.i checked for spark while this was happening and i had spark but- it could be weak.plugs were fouled with gas so i removed them and let it air out overnight.i put a set of new ngk's in yesterday.i did ohm test the injectors and they were ok.i 'm waiting on a used TD76U dist.to come in the mail.i'm hoping that its the ignitor.

 

i doubt thats its a leaky injector. within the time frame you mentioned, your car should still start even if your injectors are leaky.

u mentioned you got spark too but the car does not start up still, u mentioned you also have fuel so you got everything u need there.

i believe your cars problem is just very basic.


check the battery, clean top posts and terminal, take the ground cable out and with a sand paper, clean the chassis and then attaach the ground cable again.


i think its main relay too.

or maybe there are some other info that you forgot to tell us.

 

i put in a brand new battery,replaced the main ground cable to the engine,sanded the spot on the block,put on new new battery terminals.as far as the relay:i read the post on the relay and re-soldered all the pins.i hear the fuel pump working when the key is in pre-start and while cranking.maybe the relay is bad but everything i've read said you would't get fuel or the relay would not click.i assumed re-flowing the solder would fix the relay problem.

 

It should. I doubt it's the relay after that. Could be the ignitor

 

you smell fuel because the fuel is not burning. so i think what you are missing is the spark.
i know it has something to do electronically that when it heats up, thats when everything acts up.

since theres no check engine light, i would change the distributor if it has one since it has the coil and the igniter built in it.

or if it has coil near plugs or coil on plugs, ill do a resistance check on them and hope something shows up.

 

From what I understand the ignition systems on this car are pretty suspect. I understand this cause my ignition coil went haywire midway through a trip to tallahassee. not fun with a category 3 hurricane an hour behind you. LOL

 

check the map and tps socket might be you switch

 

hi, new update.i got a used dist. and changed out the ignitor. it started and ran fine.shut it down let it cool and restarted it.i did this 3 times that evening.i go to start it the next morning and a faint sputter is back with the smell of fuel and some exhaust smoke.it starts and i let it warm to temp,shut it down and it re-started fine no sputter.so i let it cool off again for a good few hours and tried to start it and the sputter got worse.i tried it this morning 60+ degrees and humid,engine sputter was there then high idle kicked in.i drove the car around for 20 minutes it ran fine,plenty of power.pulled it in and immediately restarted it no problem.apparently it's a cold start problem now.what shoud i continue to look for?