# Wants to but can't please help **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [December 9, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595 "2013-12-09T14:30:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hondakid1993](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@hondakid1993](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hondakid1993)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/1 "2013-12-09T14:30:52Z")
Ok so my 1993 Honda accord sat for 2 days then we had a really bad ice and snow storm went out to start it after that and it cranks and wants to start but no cigar so we tried to jump it when we jumped it, it got a little closer to starting but not much any suggestions ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/2 "2013-12-09T18:09:22Z")
The first step is to determine if the engine is getting fuel and if the engine is getting spark. Let us know if you don’t know how to do this. ---
**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/3 "2013-12-09T18:18:11Z")
These are tough “moisture” conditions. What is the maintenance history of the car, with respect to ignition parts - spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor (if it has them). Old plugs, wires, and cap are all affected by extremes in moisture and cold. You’ve had both recently. ---
**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/4 "2013-12-09T18:46:08Z")
Good suggestions already and I’ll add one more. Make sure the “main fuel pump relay” is functioning. When it fails you will have no fuel pressure. Hondas of this era have bad/intermittent main fuel relay problems. ---
**Author:** ![hondakid1993](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@hondakid1993](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hondakid1993)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/5 "2013-12-09T22:23:16Z")
I know it’s getting fuel because it backfired on me yesterday and u can smell the gas so my original thought was it was getting any spark ---
**Author:** ![jesmed1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jesmed1/32/2097_2.png) [@jesmed1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jesmed1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/6 "2013-12-09T23:03:32Z")
Verify spark by taking a new or used spare spark plug, disconnecting one plug wire, inserting spark plug, and laying it on engine metal so it’s grounded. Have someone else crank the engine while you watch for spark. Do this in sequence for all cylinders. Using a spare plug saves having to pull each existing plug out of the engine. ---
**Author:** ![hondakid1993](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@hondakid1993](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hondakid1993)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/7 "2013-12-10T00:00:39Z")
Thanks guys I fixed it. I do have another problem with the transmission the forum is called “my 1993 Honda accord is kicking In and out of overdrive at highway speeds” ---
**Author:** ![knfenimore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9fc348/32.png) [@knfenimore](https://community.cartalk.com/u/knfenimore)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/8 "2013-12-10T00:09:27Z")
What fixed it. ---
**Author:** ![hondakid1993](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/898d66/32.png) [@hondakid1993](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hondakid1993)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/9 "2013-12-12T05:09:28Z")
I’m not sure honestly I just walked out there and it fired right up and I haven’t had any problems out of it since ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/10 "2013-12-12T06:50:28Z")
Some kind of icing problem maybe, an actuator or relay might have been frozen solid and couldn’t move. There was a post here several years ago – I’m not recommending this mind you !! – the poster had to put newspapers under the hood and light a small fire to warm things up before the engine would start. Edit: Also, with this symptom, it would be a good idea to check your coolant for proper freeze protection for your climate. It might be that sometime over the summer some work on the cooling system you have forgotten about resulted in diluted coolant, so it might be forming slush. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 9:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/11 "2013-12-12T09:49:39Z")
@GeorgeSanJose Maybe this is a myth . . . but I hear that truckers in Siberia either keep the vehicles running 24/7 (because they might not restart) and also light fires under the engine if the thing has been sitting I’m assuming the winters in Siberia are the extremely inhospitable for any kind of motor vehicle ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/12 "2013-12-12T10:28:35Z")
Diesels don’t like cold temperatures and in Siberia -40 is normal in winter. In North America trucker often keep their engines idling overnight as well. Locomotive diesels are seldom shut off. ---
**Author:** ![oblivion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ab097/32.png) [@oblivion](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oblivion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/13 "2013-12-12T16:13:10Z")
I saw a documentary on the building of the Alaska highway. This was decades ago, but pretty much they had to leave all of their equipment running all the time for fear of not being able to revive it. It doesn’t help that diesels just don’t generate as much waste heat as gas engines. Hence the radiator covers you see all the time on big rigs in the winter. ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/14 "2013-12-12T19:40:05Z")
> I'm assuming the winters in Siberia are the extremely inhospitable for any kind of motor vehicle I don’t think there is any assumption at all, just good old facts. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/15 "2013-12-12T19:48:28Z")
> Maybe this is a myth . . . but I hear that truckers in Siberia either keep the vehicles running 24/7 (because they might not restart) May not be a myth. I saw it on Ice-Road-Truckers. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/16 "2013-12-12T20:24:32Z")
@MikeInNH Right. I’ve been on those ice roads, and at -60 or so you don’t even want to attempt to start a diesel. Most Northern areas have plug-ins for the people who live there. A Northern trucker wants to keep his rig idling when parked, even when he is sleeping in the motel. This typoe of thing is against the law in Southern areas, but in the far North a couple of trucks idling does not significantly add to air polution. The local police do the same thing with their cruisers when they stop for lunch. There is a large diesel train freight yard near here, and the locomotives are seldom shut off. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/wants-to-but-cant-please-help/82595/17 "2013-12-13T06:07:56Z")
You’d think they’d come up w/a gadget in these cold environments so you woulnd’t have to burn all that diesel fuel. A gadget that would periodically start the engine all by itself. Run it at idle for say 15 minutes say to it could heat up, then wait for an hour before starting it again.