OKAY, I have here a 1995 Honda Accord that i got about 2 years ago. This car is the only Honda I have ever known of that was built by the devil himself. It has been a constant battle since about 3 months into it. I will start with the most recent things to see if I can get advice from anyone that thinks they can solve this puzzle.
Since right before Easter 2013 the car started puttering and then shutting down while driving along and on some days would randomly just not start up without alot of trying for 10ish minutes then would run great until it decided to shut down with no warning and take a few more minutes to start. Since this time it has spent well over a month going in and out of shops for days at a time and even once for a week. This car has been through about 15 mechanics and the only thing that is different is it doesn’t shut down while driving that much until this morning. YES! all the other problems are still here with me and my devil-car. I have spent more then the car is worth since Easter and no one can figure this out! I am at my wits end with this. We have replaced so much and everyone says it should start and run great but it doesn’t after i leave the shop. Since we have got the car this is what we have done to it in no certain order.
New Motor
Rebuilt Transmission
2 Main Relays (when all this started, after market and Honda part) a few months after this is when all my troubles really started
New Fuel Pump
New Distributor and Cap
New Ignitor
New Computer
New Electronic Ignition (latest thing)
I’m sure there is more that I can not think of right now but will as people try to help with this puzzle. Now the way the car does now i can take a paper clip and jump the main relay to kick in the fuel pump and “MOST” times it fires right up and I’m on the way. I stopped to get new brake lamp at parts store the other night and met a young kid who seems to have lots of knowledge on 95 honda accords being as how he has an almost identical one that he loves. After talking for a few I popped the hood and he took a look and seems to think the new motor isnt a 95 but instead a 96 or 97 since it is a v-tec motor. He wanted to hook up the tester to it but they have the plug in like everywhere has nowadays and all my car has is a little wire with a double plug that you can use to jump with a paper-clip to make the check engine light flash codes. He is sure it should have other kind of plug due to the motor and seems to think that maybe the wrong computer was placed in my car due to mismatching year/parts. Can there be truth to this? I am no mechanic and can only do minor repairs and upkeep. If shown I am able to figure most things out but diagnostics is not my strong point at all.
CAN ANYONE PLEASE OFFER ANY HELP OR ADVICE! I AM BROKE AND CAN NOT AFFORD TO SPEND ANY MORE TAKING THIS DEVIL CAR BACK TO A SHOP! I DON’T WANT TO CUSS ANYONE OUT FOR CHARGING ME MORE SINCE I HAVE PAID TIME AFTER TIME TO GET IT FIXED AND THEY HAVE FAILED BUT THAT IS THE POINT WHERE I’M AT! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!
If you’re in doubt as to what motor you got, you’ll have to look at the motor identification number.
Once you have that, somebody will be able to decipher what you have.
There comes a point where exorcism is the best option rather than continuing to dance with the devil. A Honda is no different than any other car so don’t expect miracles from it.
I bet you’re having several problems. You being able to start the car by shorting the contacts of the main relay points to the main relay as being one of the problems.
Here’s how to check and fix it: http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/startproblems.html#mainrelay
Then move on to problem 2.
Then start looking for chickenblood and virgins to follow @bing’s advice.
The Honda Accord is essentially the same from 94 to 97. The engines are the same but the computer was changed to OBDII in 96. All Accord EX models came with the V-TEC (F22B1) engine, the DX and LX had the non V-TEC (F22B2) engine.
The computer in the 96-97 models retained the two pin reading of the codes but added the 16 pin OBDII connector, so codes could be pulled either way. In fact, there are a few non OBDII required codes that can only be read this way, even the factory scanner doesn’t read them.
If you have an Accord EX, you should not have a problem with having a V-TEC motor. If it is another model, then I do not know if the computer is programmed differently between the two motors or not, but there is a wire from the computer that has to be connected to the V-TEC valve, if it is not, the engine will have problems running above 4000 RPMs.
Of all the things you have replaced, one thing that has been known to be problematic in this model but I don’t see on the list is the ignition switch. It wasn’t a real big problem like the main relay, but it certainly has been less reliable than the computer, distributor, ignitor or electronic ignition(?). It’s a lot cheaper than any of those too, except its a real *itch to change, at least it has been on some Accords, never did one on this gen Accord.
BTW, not sure why the kid at the parts store is sure you have a V-TEC motor, but if your “new” motor is a remanufactured motor, the only difference between the V-TEC and the non V-TEC engines are the camshaft and the rocker arm assembly. You could have an engine rebuilt to non-V-TEC specs but with a V-TEC valve cover on it. You would have to remove the valve cover to be sure.
Since some remans don’t come with a valve cover, and if you have an EX model accord, it is also possible that you have a non-V-TEC motor with the original valve cover from your car on it. It would be worth looking into.