Engine will not start up?

Hello, I'm Danny,

I would check the fuel pump cut off relay. I've attached a tutorial showing how to test.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-an-electrical-relay-and-wiring-control-circuit

This guide can help as well

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Please run down these guides and report back.

I've also attached a picture of where it's located. Hope this helps and thanks for using 2CarPros.
Danny-

Engine Mechanical problem
1986 Honda Accord 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual
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I bought this honda from a roomate and it ran well but he said the sparkplugs had to be replaced, after doing so it ran better but the car kinda ran funny; i would have it almost floored and i would think that it was going as fast as it could and then all of a sudden it felt like the fuel injectors or something would become cleared and the car would jerk forward with more power-this only happened occasionally but it concerned me.
After a while i noticed the exaust gasket blew out, i replaced it as soon as i noticed i don't know if maybe the heat that was blown on the engine during this time may have done something to the engine internally...
Anyways I was driving the car on the highway at about 65-70mph and all of a sudden it started feeling like it was possesed-it would sputter and cut out and then it would do the jerking with power thing back and forth so naturally, i pulled over to see if i could figure it out and i didn't see anything obvious wrong..

once i got it home, i replaced the fuel filter, distributor car, rotor, spark plug wires, cleaned the spark plugs, and replaced the coil. then finally i replaced the coil and coil wire.Someone at autozone said if i sprayed eather into the air cleaner it would "prime" the fuel system and the car would start, this made the car run for about 5 seconds but since then it has not started and the more fluid i spray into it the more i worry im flooding it.
someone said the timing might be off but they never looked at the car, just guessed from what i described..

also my friend said you could make the car display a code on the dash of what was wrong by doing something to it but i dont know what.

finally my father said the "reluctor gap" inside the distributor could be adjusted but the book doesnt say what it should be set to..

Hi,

Whatever you sprayed into the air cleaner might have caused the problem.

Take the spark plugs out and crank the engine for 2 or 3 seconds. Put the spark plugs back and try again.

Only fuel injected models have ECU codes and for early models, they are blinking led lights at the ECU. If yours is a carburetted version, DO NOT press the accelerator repeatly, it would flood the carburettor.

Are you sure you have installed the plug wire correctly to each cylinder? Are there any sparks from plug or coil cable?

i accessed the ECU last night and did everything the book said, turned the key and watched for any codes-it didn't display any.
I'm pretty sure the spark plug wires are on securely.

i'll take out the plugs tonight and crank it over a few turns to see if that helps.

do you think the timing might be off?
is that a possibility from what i described was occouring when it was running?

Hi brand0mustdie,

I mean the plug cable firing order, are they correct?

Have you checked the fuel pressure and presence of ignition sparks?

Is yours a PGM-carb or full PGM-FI model?

If it is anything to do with the timing, then most probably there is something wrong with the timing belt.

thefiring order is right i checked wih the book to be sure.
there is fuel pressure when i open the bleeder valve
but i'm not sure how much is suposed to be in there.
my car is fuel-injected.

i took out the plugs, they were a little black so i cleaned them and checked the gaps before putting them back, but now the car sounds less like it is trying to start....?

Hi brand0nmustdie,

Check the sparking and see if the are strong. Attach a plug to 1 of the cable and crank. The spark should be bright blue and not reddish. Try replacing the plugs.

is it possible for the reluctor gap to be off inside the distributor?
if so how would i fix this?

Hi brand0nmustdie,

If no repair was done to the distributor, then the gap should not have goone out of spec, unless the bearing is worn.

To adjust the reluctor gap, just unloosen the 2 screws holding the pick-up coil and adjust the protruding point with the reluctor lobe at its highest point.

Anyway I seem to have missed out on the igniter unit.

what is the igniter unit?

i've looked in the book and called as many auto parts stores i could find but no one knows how much of a gap there is supposed to be...?

how do I know when it's adjusted properly?

Hi brand0nmustdie,

Igniter unit is the ICM (Ignition control module)

The reluctor gap should be about .20 to .30 mm.

You need to remove the distributor to adjust it. After adjustment, turn the distributor by hand to ensure that the gap is sufficient.

do i need to remove the distributor completely?

Hi brand0nmustdie,

You need to take out the distributor but there is no need to dismantle anything.

Only remove the rotor and the cover and you can do the adjustment.

The radiator cap blew off while I was driving it. Car stopped...all the fluids drained out. Now the car won't start. I don't know whats wrong now....did I blow the head on it? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Remove all the sparkplugs and check if there's coolant in the cylinders if so could be the headgasket, cracked head or block-get it block and pressure tested.

Engine Mechanical problem
1987 Honda Accord 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic
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I have 1987 honda accord I have change the fuel pump and strainer,I have check main fuel relay switch
I have check the fuel rail and cleaned it. However i still have trouble cranking car it starts sometimes but won`t start once I turn car off. could the Dist. be faulty? please advise

hi Brown4330,

When it cannot start, check the spark at plugs. If there are not bluish, it could be a weak coil.

If spark is present and looks strong, spray some carb cleaner into throttle body and crank. If it starts, it should be a fuel problem.

my car wont start when it gets wet. is there a dirstibutor cap that might be the culpret?

Hi nsff2001,

The distributor is protected from the rain and should not be giving any problem unless you wash the engine. If water had gone into the distributor, it would takes ages before it dries up as it is sealed.

What are the sypmtoms when it can't start?

Car cranks fine and start 4 out of 5 times. But the other time it cranks and doesn't start. Mechanic changed plug, wires, oxygen sensor, new distributor cap, fuel/induction cleaning, new front and read fuel filters,new air filter. What up now? 1987 honda lx ..has carburetor.....Any suggestions?

Thanks

Hi mitchcohen,

If adding starting fluid to the carb starts, it could be the idling circuit causing the problem.

Can you see the fuel level iin carb sight glass and is it correct?

Hi!
Got a 86 honda accord that wont start. Replaced plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Timing belt looks good, fuel pump is fine, fuel filters clean. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Does the engine rotate/crank but not catching?

Check the coil, and clean the EGR valve the crank angle sensor.

engine cranks but not catching, yes

Hi estorm,

Carburetted of injection model?
Are there sparks at the end of plug cables?

carborated-and testing for spark today...thanks!!!

So how is the result of the spark test?

I have a 1986 honda accord lxi hatchback. While coming to a stop sign my car cut off, I tried to start if but it would not start. It will turn over but will not start. I checked all fuses, and the starter coil and there is fire going to the distriutor but no fire going to the spark plugs. I broke right now so I cannot lease a good cause donation, but will appreciate it if you can help me out. Oh when i read the codes it read # 6 which was coolant temperture. Please help me.

P.S. If the ignition control module goes bad will that cause the car to die and wont start?

did that already did not work need more suggestions

change the wire from the coil to the distributor, also change the distributor cap and rotor. if that does not help verify that the coil is sparking for sure.

I had this auto given to me, an old gentelman was placed in a nursing facility and his car has sat for 2 years. He parked it there before he got sick and hasn't started it since. Is there anything I need to do before I try to start it? I was told to drain all the fuel there was a drain plug on the fuel tank underneath, but I do not see one.

The fuel is the main concern. You can siphon the fuel out of the tank and then once the tank is very low pull off the fuel filter and let the car pump the rest out when the switch is activated. Replace the fuel filter and add fresh fuel. See how she goes.

If the car dies for any reason right after starting it won't start again for 1/2 an hour. It turns over just fine, but makes no attempt to start. It runs great.
Thanks.

Hi jst4kxs,

Most probably the problem is caused by the main fuel pump relay. It sometimes fails intermittently.

My PGMFI light has been coming on when I try to start my car in the past week. It usually does it when it rains and it hasn't been raining lately. I don't know if it's my fuel injectors or my computer. I have recently replaced alot of things on my car and it has been running fine. How do I get the codes from it?

Hi chantelle,

There is a window for you to check the codes with ignition switch turned on.

If it is a single LED, it will blink, count the blinks.
Older models have 4 LED in binary layout so you need to check the code by binary display.

I was driving and my engine just shut off, the car will turnover but not start, I'm getting no spark, I replaced the distributor and the coil and it still wont start what could be wrong. The car has 180,000 miles on it.

That could be a cam or crank position sensor. Is there 12 volts to the coil? Is the coil kicking out any voltage?

my car won't start or run if all four plug wires are attached. If I detach the plug wire for the first cylinder, the car will start and run, albeit a little roughly. The same does not occur with any of the other cylinders. I've tried changing plugs and plug wires but nothing helps. I've also changed the ignition coil. With the number one plug wire off of the plug and the car running, I can see that it emits a spark.

Never seen this before-Okay put engine no. 1 piston on its compression stroke-set timing marks at the vibration damper to TDC/0 deg. Now open up the distributor cap-where is the ignition rotor pointing at???? It suppose to be pointing at the no.1 cap tower is it???

thanks for the suggestion, but timing is not the problem. Any other possibilities?