BillLen

The number one cylinder in my 1996 Accord (DX, 4 cylinder, non-Vtec, automatic) floods at start up. It happens about half the time, is completely random and it generally takes from several seconds up to 15 seconds for the cylinder to clear and the car to run smoothly. Wires, plugs, cap and rotor, as well as the injector for that cylinder have been replaced. Compression checked out at 105-115 lbs and the block test was negative, as was the pressure test of radiator. No check engine lights (no codes) and the gas mileage is where you would expect it to be. The car has 310,000 miles, has been very well maintained and runs great except for this recent problem.



Any ideas as to where to look for a possible cause/fix would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

GhostAccord

Possibly a short in the ground wire between the ECU and the No.1 injector or maybe a faulty circuit in the ECU? Bad engine coolant temp sensor......

How did you come to the conclusion that it is the no.1 cylinder that is flooding?

I'm not sure that I understand what your issue is, it floods but it will still run? What do you mean when you say that it takes 15 seconds for it to clear? it runs rough for 15 seconds and then idles fine?

Engine coolant temp sensor

Did you do a compression test on all 4 cylinders?

have you had your battery cranking capacity tested?

BillLen

Thank you for your response.

I determined it was the number one cylinder by shutting the car off (when I knew it was not starting smartly (...it runs rough), and pulling the four plugs. I did this several times and each time it was the plug in the number one cylinder that was fouled with gasoline. And yes, after the cylinder clears (2-15 seconds) the car runs just fine.

The puzzling part is how random the problem is. First thing in the morning it will start just fine; the next day the problem is there.

I did check the compression of all four cylinders (105-115lbs with the offending cylinder coming in at 110lbs.)

Have not checked the cranking capacity of the battery. It is less than two years old, but easy enough to check.

You say: Possibly a short in the ground wire between the ECU and the No.1 injector or maybe a faulty circuit in the ECU? Bad engine coolant temp sensor......

How would you suggest checking for these? I checked my records and I did replace the temperature sending unit less than two years ago. Also, it does seem like more of a timing problem (but only at start up) rather than a fuel problem per se.

Thanks again.

holmesnmanny

It's possible the injector is leaking. Pull the injector and swap it with the number 4 cylinder. See if the 4th cylinder starts having issues.

BillLen

Thanks, but in order to eliminate the possibility of it being a leaky or bad injector, I swapped out the new injector I had put in cylinder #1 at the beginning of this process (see my original post) with the one in cylinder #2. Unfortunately, cylinder #1 continued to flood, but at least I know now that it not that.

fcm

It sounds like what GhostAccord mentioned, either an intermittent short in the injector control lead between the injector and the ECU, or a problem in the ECU itself.

Install a known working ECU to see if problem goes away, or at first run a temp. control lead from the ECU to the injector. 94