Sure… again…ez to check. Id resolve the plug well theory first…since its SO so common I cant even begin to tell you. Too common…but many valve covers fail in that manner so…whatev it is what it is.
All ez things to check
Blackbird
I think in all the discussion of crop dusting with oil smoke we’re forgetting that the thing isn’t starting at all, so there won’t be any burning of anything including oil.
OP, are you absolutely sure it’s oil? Could it possibly be gasoline that’s making the plugs look wet? Because if you have a no-spark condition, you’d dump a bunch of fuel into the cylinders that wouldn’t get burned.
I’m also suspicious of your dealership’s initial diagnosis. The first places I look when I have a suspected timing issue do not include the ECU. Beyond that, how did the dealership diagnose your timing problem? Just seeing carbon on the spark plugs is not sufficient to make that diagnosis. There are probably 10 causes of plug fouling that you’d look at first before you looked at timing.
First I want to say thanks for all the input everybody. To answer a few questions:
a) I’m sure it’s not oil in the spark plug wells. In working on this thing, testing different stuff, I’ve taken them out and put them back in many times. Always clean in the wells.
b) why isn’t there lots of smoke? This is a very good question. Mystifies me a bit. Here’s my best hypothesis: before the car would run when I had cleaned the plugs, but would stall out after a bit, and when I checked the electrodes, they had a hard carbon build-up. What’s happening now is I’m not getting a start at all, and there’s a thick WET build up. So something has changed. Maybe there was a slower oil leak before (so I didn’t get much smoke, there could have been some but I didn’t notice it), but now that leak has opened up.
And good call on charging the battery. I’ve misplaced my darn trickle charger, need to find that thing.
What I think I’ll do is drain all the oil and put it through a filter, see if I can see any metal or plastic bits in there.
Oh and the compression test: I probably should do it again, but before I was getting consistent numbers across all 4 cylinders, about 150 for dry and 160 for wet, if I recall correctly.
If it’s not starting, are you sure it’s oil, and not gas, on the plugs? For the plugs to be oiled from just cranking the engine would surprise me.
Well, it’s black.
It could be black from the carbon fouling getting cleaned off a bit by the gas - this would turn the gas black. Rub some on the pad of your thumb, then rub your thumb against your forefinger. If it’s slick, it’s oil, but if it’s not, it’s gas.
Sounds like its time for a new ignitor inside the distributor to ensure you are getting a HOT spark…and not drowning the plugs out with fuel. Another super common part failure on that Accord
Blackbird
Let’s properly diagnose the problem before we start throwing parts at it.
OK, interesting results.
I checked all 4 plugs, and #s 1-3 definitely feel like gas. #4 cylinder has some oily slipperiness in it, but still, also gas. Damn. Sure looks like oil. But you’re absolutely right. I know what gas feels like, and what oil feels like, and it’s gas.
Also, looking down onto the pistons with a flashlight, they look pretty good. (I did flood it and let it sit overnight, but cranked it a bit in flood mode this morning.) After cranking it, didn’t see any oil residue.
That’s good news, so now it’s an ignition or fuel issue. Any hint of starting? Since you seem to have fuel, maybe @“Honda Blackbird” 's igniter idea might be a quick fix. How much are those?
Ok, thanks. Reading up on how to test an igniter now. Will report back.
@texases 53 bucks plus shipping at Rockauto. While he’s in there he should replace the coil too because… He’s in there, and the coil is an extra $13.
That said, I’m still not entirely convinced that the igniter should be replaced at this point. This could be a simple matter of a bad distributor cap, or bad timing. If those old 4 banger Honda engines get off in timing even as little as can be adjusted by rotating the distributor, they won’t start.
I’m highly suspicious of the new ECU. I don’t see why the old ECU needed to be replaced, and I suspect that a mechanic who thought it did might be dippy enough to screw up the replacement work such that the new ECU isn’t hooked up right, or is the wrong ECU, etc.
My first step if I were OP would be to put the old ECU back in, if he still has it.
My second step would be to verify whether or not the plugs are sparking at all.
If they are, I’d try jumping the timing circuit and then rotating the distributor to different positions to see if I could get it to start that way. If they aren’t, I’d first look at the cap and make sure it’s not busted, and then do a coil test.
You’re right, start with steps 1,2,3, not 10.
Re-checked spark with my spark tester, and have spark at all 4 wires. Shocked myself once and can report it’s a very strong spark!
The distributor on this car doesn’t really rotate. Looking at the distributor you’d think it would: the back bolt hole is slotted so that it looks like it would rotate, but…it just doesn’t wiggle. (I tried this only after this latest no-start issue.) I can adjust the distributor maybe 1 degree.
I did the ECU swap myself (very easy on this car. 2 bolts and 4 wire harnesses that are each unique and so can’t be switched), but the new one IS from a scrap yard. But the weird thing is I DID get this car to run after the swap. But just a little, drove it just for a minute or two, before it died and hasn’t started since. I’ve been looking for anything that might have shaken loose (wires, relays, switches) but haven’t found anything yet. I should re-check all the fuses.
Maybe plugged up fuel system (from age)? Have you checked fuel pressure?
You have to loosen all of the distributor bolts in order to rotate it, not just the one with the slotted hole. There will be two that you can easily see, and a third that’s hiding underneath. It won’t rotate much even after you loosen all of them, but it will adjust the timing considerably when you do.
Swap that old ECU back in and tell us what happens.
I think I’m following Honda on this one. I wouldn’t think oil fouling would happen with just cranking and not cause starting problems. Seems gas starvation is not an issue either since the plugs are wet? I guess a shot of starting fluid would verify the fuel issue. So now we have spark? What’s left? Timing?
Tried starting fluid, hasn’t worked. I can’t test actual fuel pressure because on this car that requires special tools I don’t have. I do know I have fuel, and that if I loosen the fuel bolt without depressurizing the system that it squirts pretty good.
So…timing? That’s what Honda said the original problem was, and the specifically said it was electronic, not manual. I can’t test it with a timing gun because the engine won’t run.
I could bite the bullet and buy a brand new ecu.
I don’t know how the ignition timing can change without someone tampering.
If the exhaust system is restricted the spark plug will foul with gasoline. Check that there are pulses of air from the tail pipe when cranking the engine. If there is no air from the tail pipe remove the front oxygen sensor from the exhaust manifold and try to start the engine.