crankedarrow

1998 Honda Accord 2.3L 4cyl Auto w/ 182,000 miles

Sat parked for 6 months. Right before being parked the car would start up fine but the engine would run very rough (like a misfire). RPM’s were steady & no starting issues. Fast forward 6 months and the car cranks but won’t start. Got towed to mechanic and the following information. Mechanic is Indy and not the best I admit. He’s basically throwing parts at the car.

1. NO CEL codes (even when the car was running rough 6mo ago)
2. Main Relay (under dash/steering) was inspected & clicks & seems visually fine
3. Brand new fuel pump/strainer was installed
4. Brand new (well, reman) distributor was installed
5. Brand new distributor cap was installed
6. Brand new coolant temp sensor was installed.
7. Brand new spark plugs installed
8. Old gasoline was extracted and new gasoline was put in.
9. Battery is old (and dying) but has been charged up to provide adequate power
10. All fuses (by driver door, and in engine compartment) are intact
11. Green key indicator on dash goes out a few secs after turn IG to “ON”
12. NO aftermarket alarm system

Mechanic called and is saying he’s out of ideas and to take it to someone else. He says old spark plugs had orange spark but after changing spark plugs/distributor cap sparks is now bluish-white. Also every time car is being cranked, the spark plugs are getting doused/fouled with gasoline. According to him, all 4 cylinders have spark & fuel.

Parts that have NOT been thrown at this yet.

1. Starter Motor (I doubt this is it; motor sounds great)
2. ECU
3. Crankshaft Position Sensor
4. Actual fuel PRESSURE has not been measured
5. Cylinder compression test has not been measured
6. Timing has not been measured (with a timing measurement light?)
7. Fuel Injectors (EXPENSIVE!)
8. Spark Plug Wires

From my searching, I gather timing belt may have skipped a tooth. If that was the case car should still start but run pretty rough? Also mechanic visually inspected t-belt and said it was tight and structurally fine.

I am at my wits end.

holmesnmanny

First thing to do is check for fuel. Then you check for spark. If you have both you need to check compression to see if something is wrong with the engine itself or the timing jumped a tooth.

UtzChips

This is why Apollo 13 made it home......it didn't have as many working parts.

crankedarrow

Thank you for the responses.

@holmesmanny: I wholly agree. I'm saying there is fuel as the plugs are wet after a crank/no-start attempt. Also, fuel line at intake manifold was disconnected and fuel sprays out when car is turned to "ON". I'm saying there is spark because all four plugs were pulled, grounded and they have bluish-white spark. I will look to see if I can check compression and timing asap. However wouldn't a slightly incorrect timing (ie a tooth jump) still make the engine work (except very rough/uneven)? Along the same lines, wouldn't a total loss of compression in one cylinder still cause the engine to start (except very rough/uneven)?

@UtzChips: I know what you mean! But these 90-02 Accords are nothing compared to most other (higher end) current vehicles like a S-Class or a 7-Series as far as components go!

crankedarrow

Figured it out finally. Replaced crankshaft position sensor and engine fired right up. Still had rough idle issue. One of the spark plug wires had somehow gone bad. Replaced spark plug wires and engine runs perfect now. Compression test registered good compression in all cylinders.

Admin: I would like to edit thread topic as SOLVED. Can OP do this or only admins?

cptbarkey

good job, and thanks for updating the final resolution.