J.R

my 99 Honda Prelude SH, 5 speed won't start.
It was cold tonight, around 30 degrees, but the battery cranked the motor ok.

It just doesn't want to start running, and I could smell something, probably fuel.

What do I do?

holmesnmanny

check for spark and check for any stored codes

J.R

A friend checked it and said it's a very faint spark.
He thinks I need a new distributor cap and plugs.

Would that do it? What else could it be?
Could it be the ignition module? Does my car have one?

prelude h22a4

Weak spark more than likely is your dizzy. If you dont have $ for new cap and button take some fine grit sand paper and clean you contact points on you button and take a knife and scrape off the ones in the cap. That may help some anyway. You coil could also be going bad.

J.R

Ok,well I bought a new distributor cap and plugs.
It took my friend 3 hours to get it started though. He said it was flooded.
By the third hour I think he took the fuel pump fuse out and finally it started after almost an hour of trying. He kept pouring some used motor oil into the cylinders, he said it was for compression.

I just don't see why the spark plugs wouldn't burn all that fuel and start running.
Is it really that bad to start a Prelude when it's flooded?

prelude h22a4

I think all gas moters are hard to start when flooded lol. I used to do a lil trick on dirtbikes that were flooded when i was younger. Id pull the plug wire off the plug and hold throttle wide open a crank moter for a few turns ( like 8 or 10 kicks on kickstarter) then put plug wire back on and they would usually start. I guess it might work for car also. Holding throttle open allows alot of air to rush into the cylinder to dry out the excess fuel. Anybody else ever did this?

prelude h22a4

You said you replaced distributer cap and plugs didnt you also put new roter button in while u had cap off?

J.R

No I didn't have enough money for the rotor. My friend mostly complained about the cap and the plugs.
They had corrosion and carbon I think.

Should I still get the rotor button soon?

holmesnmanny

Sounds like either your coil or icm is probably bad, more than likely your coil.

Check for stored codes first.

kluder96

i had this same problem and went through everything . cap and rotor icm 4 new plugs . turns out it was the ect sensor stuck open . cost $ 30 for the sensor and 30 minutes of my time to change it .

good luck with the fix !

J.R

What is the ECT Sensor?
Does this situation cause a stored code? Because I only had an EGR flow code, no others.

kluder96

engine coolant temp sensor and i was the same it only threw codes for evap but when i tested the sensor it remained stuck at -40

holmesnmanny

The sensor can not test for negative ohms.

kluder96

-40 degrees my bad

J.R

Ok, my Prelude is flooding real easy.
It's hard to start and it floods right away.
A couple times I was able to start it by cranking the motor without the fuel pump fuse to clear it out and then trying with the fuse back on.

But now it doesn't want to start at all.
Could it be that the timing needs to be advanced?

holmesnmanny

Ok, let's test the ect sensor. With the car cold, take off the ect sensor connector and test the sensor for ohms. It should be around 2000-2500 ohms.

It's the two prong sensor under the distributor.

Also, with the distributor replaced you still have an external coil. You should retest for spark. Perhaps the coil is bad. This would prevent strong spark or possibly spark at all, which would make it look like you are flooding but it's simply that the gas isn't being ignited.

prelude h22a4

Like the last guy said test your spark. Pull one of your plugs (dosent matter which one) make sure it grounded good on the threads or above where your socket screwes it in and have someone crank it. You should have a nice strong spark. If not more than likely your coil is shot. Good luck... let me know what ye get

J.R

ever since my friend put the new distributor cap and spark plugs he hasnt checked the spark any more, so I think the spark may be good.

It starts right now, but it was slightly hesitant and took its time to finally start.

Then I put premium gas in it, I had about a quarter tank of 87 octane left in it. But Ever since I put $20 of premium it seems to be starting a little bit better.

Could the cheap gas be the reason?
Do you all put premium in the Preludes?
The Dashboard gauge does state to use premium fuel only.

holmesnmanny

lol hilarious .. simply hilarious

J.R

Is it absolutely necessary to run only premium fuel in the Preludes?

J.R

It's not starting, once again.
This morning it was a little bit cold outside, and it failed to start right away.

If it doesn't start right away then it floods and then it's messed up worse.

So I pulled the fuse to the fuel pump and cranked the engine, then replaced the fuse and cranked the engine again. But it still doesn't want to start right away.

What could cause it to not start right away, with a lot of cranking?
Could the ignition module be doing this?

VeeSykkz

test your spark again. You never replaced the rotor, an integral part in spark. Test your coil. test your ECT. Premium not NECESSARY, but it will absolutely affect performance. Gas is not the problem here. Do the tests they keep repeating for you to do, and maybe replace the entire distributor or coil. it contains sensors you can swap individually.