Denning12591

hey yall. first off i wanna say im new here but have been combing this site for info for days! first issue im having.. i need a new starter. im seeing there is mitsuba and denso starters. im pretty sure my car has a mitsuba but how do i know this for sure?ive actually ordered 2 starters now and have both had problems. both from rock auto. one was a reman and it had an awul grinding noise. the other was new and it wouldnt do anything when i turned the key. i heard the relay click but no starter spinning. i jumpered a wire from the hot to the signal wire. it spun but wasnt engaging the starter half the time. i thought my ignition switch was bad and swapped it. still nothing. so when i thought all hope was lost i decided to try my old starter. it worked was just starting to lock up. i had to hit it with a breaker bar most of the time for it to work. well by this time i had the new starter out and still hooked up but out so i could see what it was doing. when i turned the key forward the starter would spin so slowly but the gear wouldnt extend. when jumpered it it extended and spun like it should though. so i decided ill try my old starter and see if this starter is just bad. well hooked the old starter up and what do you know it engaged and worked like it should when i turned the key. i sent that starter back today and am going to try another new one. thats the first dillema. secondly my d4 light flashes and when i go to take off i have to give the car some gas and it takes like 3 seconds for it to engage then it takes off. if im on any kind of hill i have to give more gas before it engages. it seems like it engages good if i had just reversed then go to drive. i have looked around and maybe trans control unit? any way to bipass this because the part is $200+ other than that it seems like the car has a little idle problem. sometimes its kinda high like maybe 1300rpms and other times its low like 400rpms. and other times its at a good idle around 800rpms. my check engine light is always on and idk what codes its throwing. is there a way to read these without a scanner? i dont know much about this car other than its supposedly supposed to have a motor out of a prelude in it. so far all the parts for an accord have matched up. it seems like it has hardly any acceleration tho. but is getting around 20mpg. thanks in advance for any advice

Denning12591

oh yea i forgot to add my biggest problem. every time i start the car for the first time of the day it takes forever. itll crank over for a while and itll sound like it starts and dies a couple times before it finally starts. and when it does itll usually die the first time or 2. itll run real bad for a few seconds like its bogged down. but after that itll start easy and fast the rest of the day. i have new plugs wires and distributor cap and rotor on it. it has to be a sensor somewhere i think. i also have replaced the small temp sensor by the starter.

91ACCORD4GLX

For ur first problem check all ur grond and poitive connections check your fuses and see if you have the right amperage fuse for your starter same with the relays, for your other problems it sounds like a fuel pressure issue

MAD_MIKE

Just because the relay clicks does not mean the contacts are still good. Verify voltage through the relay contacts.

As for the D4 light blinking, jump the blue connector and retrieve any and all codes.

Denning12591

Thanks ima see what I can do today. I thought about the grounds myself but I have looked and they look terrible but they are still there and should be making a good connection. And I am going to jumper that connector today and see what it does. How will I know the code? Will the check engine light flash?

91ACCORD4GLX

Google 93 accord check engine codes or go buy a chilton

MAD_MIKE

All your base belong to techauto...
http://techauto.tripod.com

Have fun troubleshooting.

Denning12591

Ok guys I got another question. I got my ignition switch back in and such and I was looking under the dash on the drivers side. There is a box with 2 switches. One says beep on and off. The other says disarm valet and normal. Wtf is this? The switch on the beep side will switch either way. The switch on the other will stay on normal but won't stay on disarm valet it'll go back to normal.

Denning12591

And also is the connector your talking about a 2 wire blue connector? Has a orange and red wire and a green and white wire in the back and it's a male connector?

Denning12591

Well when I jumpered it I got 6 flashes. But I had had my battery out

Denning12591

6 quick flashes is the ect sensor right?

holmesnmanny

Yes, normally the only time that code comes up is when the connector is busted, the pins on the sensor are busted or there's an open in the wire.

That sensor is the two prong sensor under the distributor. Take the connector off and inspect it and the connector pins. If it checks out, replace the sensor. This is called the engine coolant temperature sensor.

Denning12591

Alright thanks. I noticed this sensor already. I've had trouble getting the connector to stay plugged in because it seems like the wire isn't Long enough. Could this sensor cause the car to take longer to start than normal? And I do also have some idle problems occasionally. This sensor is located right above the starter right?

MAD_MIKE

That seems like an aftermarket alarm system. Not Honda.
Where the wires plug in its female. A paper clip will stick into two holes to 'jump' the wire and when you turn the car to ON the check engine light on the dash will blink. If the D4(for automatics) or ABS(for anti-lock) blinks then those are the codes for those respective systems.
If your battery was out you would not get any codes without power. Did you read the code from the dash Check Engine light or were these codes from elsewhere?

I don't see how a water temperature sensor would cause hard starting.
Can you take a picture of that alarm you found? I would remove it if you do not have any keys or remotes for it.

Denning12591

Alright thanks. The battery was out but I put it back in to read the codes. And yes I can take a pic of the alarm. And I have read that a bad etc sensor could tell te engine it's cold and cause it to run rich therefore making it hard to start, poor idle, poor gas mileage and so on. I figured I am getting about 20 mpg is this normal?

holmesnmanny

How were you getting flashes with your battery out of the car ?

Denning12591

I put the battery back in then jumpered the wires then turned the key to the on position. I meant the battery was out as in I had read that that would clear all the codes that it was showing. But when I hooked the battery back up I still got that code

Denning12591

Ok guys what could cause me to have high idle? I checked the adjustment by the throttle cable and it isn't pulling it at all. Also the adjustment on the throttle body is screwed all the way in. I'm starting to think iac valve now

Denning12591

When I unplug the iac it idles fine but is not drive able

MAD_MIKE

The FAQ at the top of the page has the procedure to clean the IAC.
But, if the water temperture sensor is faulty or has the ECU thinking it is colder than actual, the ECU will raise the idle speed.

Fix the ECT sensor or wiring before attacking the IAC.

Denning12591

I bought a new etc sensor and put it in and I am still getting the code 6. Is there another way to test to see if I'm getting power to the sensor or if I have a wiring issue

Denning12591

And also I looked at the FAQ and cannot find the procedure for cleaning the iac.

Denning12591

Anyone?

holmesnmanny

Turn the ignition on without starting the car. Take off the connector going to the ect sensor and check for voltage one one of the pins. Should be around 4.5-5 volts. You may get ground on the other pin and you may not. If you don't get 4.5-5 volts on one of the pins then you have an open. Report back.

holmesnmanny

it's usually referred to as the iacv

take off the two bolts going to the iacv without disconnecting the coolant lines...use carb cleaner to spray out the metal filter piece...most people suggest to clean out the inside but I've found that this causes more problems than it solves. Just clean out that metal filter thing and put it back on. Be careful not to lose the o-ring gasket when you remove the iacv from the intake manifold. It's easy to lose and will be hard to find.