I checked all of the fuses and cleaned the battery connections, still no start. I’m going to check the power going to the fuel pump later today. Anybody have an idea on the wiring for the harness? I need to know which color supplies power/ground/etc. I can access it pump harness from the trunk and there is a connector there.
That engine is turning over way too slowly. I think I’d pull the starter off and have it tested. The computer probably limits the amount of fuel that is injected with it turning over (and the ignition firing) that slowly. Still, you should get some amount of fuel and I’d think you’d be able to hear the pump prime when you first turn on the ignition. Can you access a test port on the fuel rail and see if you’re getting any amount of fuel?
I’m assuming this car was known to run relatively well before it was parked?
The Fuel pump is definitely not running…barring an electrical issue I haven’t diagnosed yet, I’m assuming the pump is bad.
Regarding the starter, how can I test it without a lift or jacking the car up? From what I understand the car was running well with that last repair being the starter replaced.
The last repair was the starter was replaced and then they left it sitting? Maybe the starter wasn’t the issue and they left it sitting because replacing the starter didn’t fix the problem…?
I’m not sure how to test the starter without removing it. Someone else here might know.
If the battery and starter are good, it should turn over faster than it is in that video. With or without getting fuel. So that’s what has me concerned.
There may be a Schrader valve (like a valve stem) on the fuel rail. If there is, you can press it in the center and see if ANY fuel comes out after you’ve tried to start it. If you don’t get any fuel at all, I’d replace the fuel pump relay first. Or swap it with a like relay under the hood.
The slow turning over reminds me of an engine out of time, a dragging starter (maybe), or something… It doesn’t SOUND like it would start if it had fuel. But I may be wrong.
Yes it sounds like the starter was replaced and then it sat.
I replaced the main/fuel relay but being that I’m still not hearing any buzz from the pump, it must be bad in addition to the starting issue.
Would an ignition distributor going bad cause it to start like that? Though I did check one of the plugs for spark, I did not check the remaining three.
Check all plugs for spark. I’m thinking they’ll all fire. Slowly. If all plugs are firing, no need to suspect a bad distributor. Has the distributor been messed with previously? Like I said, the engine sounds out of time to me. But there are others here that know more than I do.
Either that or the starter is dragging. Is the car an auto or manual trans? If manual, might could bump start it to rule out or confirm starter. That works on an older vehicle, but your vehicle may have safety features that won’t let you do that. Others here will know if a manual 95 Accord can be bump started or “pushed off” as they say.
No the distributor hasn’t been touch that I know of, but when I first looked at the car, all but one of the plug wires were damaged, so I replaced all of them plus the spark plugs.
It’s an automatic.
I just looked up how to change out the starter so I should be able to swap it out if need be. Just hoping to rule it out before doing so.
Check all of the plugs for spark. If it’s getting fuel, you should be able to verify it. ANY fuel. The chain auto parts stores will test your starter for free, I believe. But you do have to remove it from the car for them to do so.
BTW, how were the plug wires damaged? Rats eating them?
Checked each wire this evening and they all sparked.
I guess whoever the owner had last look at it didn’t know what they were doing and forced out the wires and the metal braces inside the wires were still stuck to the spark plugs. Probably the heat endured while the car sat for so long made them hard to pull out.
I took another video from under the hood for reference to hear the sound closer:
Would a bad ECU cause similar starting issues?
Maybe, but I think there’d be several other things to rule out first. Unless the computer is known to be bad. It wouldn’t be my first suspect…
Ok, I guess I’ll just need to focus on taking the starter off because I can’t find any loose or bad connections. I was trying to remove it as a last resort.
I did verify for sure though that there is no power to the fuel pump/harness. But there is power to the main relay.
If the spark plug wires were not in the correct position, would that cause this starting issue?
Certainly. So can a dist cap put on 1/2 turn off kilter. Any idea how I know this?
Good luck and please keep us informed.
The most common reasons for an Accord not to start are as follows. Faulty main Pgm/fi relay or “main relay” and the Distributor… They are well known culprits in this vehicle (I’ve owned several btw)
When you turn the key to the run position…look at your dash, all the lights should illuminate and you will hear the gentle rush of the 2 second prime on the fuel pump…then the pump shuts off and waits for a tach signal to run constant…this comes from the distributor.
Having spark is good…but having strong BLUE spark you can actually hear is what she needs. If your spark at the plugs is decidedly Yellow or Orange its No Bueno…trust me on this. If it is Orange its the distributor…more specifically the ignitor …and possibly the coil, but usually the ignitor.
When diagnosing these vehicles, (and I cannot count that number anymore) I would always have a known good distributor in my kit… Swap it in… and boom…they come back to life so long as the main relay is doing its job.
Your no start lies somewhere in this area… that is of course after you verify your battery power is in order…do not continue to diagnose until the battery is sorted and tested to be good and you get a good normal turn over speed out of the starter. After that… You are quickly on the road to a new distributor (super common in this exact vehicle)
Just my 2 cents…
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When I checked for spark, I put a screw driver in the wire and near a ground to generate the spark, are you referring to the color of that spark?
Ok, so I may have found another issue. So I tried to use the process for reading ODB1 codes via jumping the ODB1 harness and counting the CEL blinking light. Well, it didn’t blink at all, so I decided to open up the ECU and noticed these discolorations on the board…would this mean the ECU is shot?
Picked up an ECU at a salvage yard for $27. Tested it and it worked, I now have power to the fuel pump, but the pump assembly appears to be clogged so I don’t think it can get fuel out.
Also I was able to get a code: 16 (Fuel Injector)
Hillbilly here, not sure if it is wise or not, but to test the starter I would use a pair of jumper cables from a good car. make sure the jumper has a good ground then hit the positive stud on the starter motor with the positive jumper cable, caution sparks may fly, if it cranks normally, then disconnect the negative jumper cable, if it cranks slowly you have a bad ground connection, if it cranks normally you have a bad positive connection. Are shims needed for getting a honda starter to sit right?
Please all, if this is not a good idea, let him know!
I miss what you are seeing in pic 1, pic 2 the tall black thing is a capacitor. Is the top of it flat or swollen? Looks like the capacitor blew out the bottom, if you are any good at soldering, I would try replacing the capacitor if it was blown, a couple of bucks. I would think what you see is cosmetic and not actual circuit board damage.