Joe Njoroge

I recently installed a used tranny in my 1994 accord, but the vehicle would not start even though it would crank. At first i realized I had not spark, even after replacing spark plugs, wire cables, rotor, rotor cap , and a new coil. Engine light would stay on once I turned the key to the "ON" position.


I removed the main relay and re-soldered all the connections . I now have spark and the engine light goes off after 2 seconds with the key in the "ON" position and also the fuel pump kicks in. I've tested the fuel pressure and all is OK, but the car will not start despite having spark and fuel pressure. I also have a new battery. What could be the problem? ECU maybe? Thanks and any help would be appreciated.

DannyBoy310

maybe the engine got flooded. take off the oil cap and try to turn the car on (dont give it gas). If it starts, quickly put the cap back on.

Joe Njoroge

The engine is not flooded. I made sure to unplug the fuel pump fuse in order to avoid flooding the engine.

Joe Njoroge

Could it be a ground issue?

Joe Njoroge

checked all the grounds and everything looks fine. Just baffled by this issue. Anyone?

gesford

Check your timing, if you got spark and fuel, only thing else it needs is timing and compression.

dglassmyer

Ehh I know you said your sure about spark but double check the G101 engine ground on the passenger side of the intake manifold.

Oh and I should mention you cannot "flood" one of our engines.
These are modern fuel injected engines, not lawnmowers.
They do not have carburetors and have a constant supply of fuel under pressure supplying injectors that only pulse open in response to the ECU.

And holy jeez the thing about the oil cap...what in the world are we doing here people.

Joe Njoroge

Double checked the G101 engine ground engine ground and it looks fine. Still will not start. Didn't understand the oil cap thing either.

dglassmyer

OK, you said you replaced the plug wires, are you sure they went back on in the correct order?

Joe Njoroge

The wires are in correct order.

DannyBoy310

I know it sounds silly but it has worked for me

Joe Njoroge

Update:

So after double checking everything with no success in the starting my 94 LX, today I decided to go to my local LKQ junk yard and see if I could find another ECU and swap it for the one in the car. All the accords in the yard had their ECUs yanked out and missing but only one. It was a 1997 Accord EX with a vtec, mine is a 94 LX none vetc. Checked the ports to see if the match my ECU and they did. So I paid $50 for it, figured if it wasn’t the problem I’d just bring it back and get my money back so I had nothing to lose.

Came home swapped it, turned the key, lo and behold the car fired up. I was very excited to know that I at least tracked the problem to a faulty ECU. But I have some issues though. There is a check engine light and so I pulled out the code P1253 (Vetc system malfunction). My 1994 accord LX is a none vtec.

The car does run but idles at high RPM and when it calms down the RPMs keep fluctuating up and down. Also the the car is overheating and the fans do not kick in. Could it be that the 2 ECUs (94 LX none vtec and 1997 EX vetc) are not compatible. At least that’s what I think, and if that is the case, then I could just get an ECU that’s exactly as my 1994 LX. Could someone confirm this for me please? Again thanks for the help.

dglassmyer

Lol, yes of course that's the problem.
A vtec ecu is not going to run a non-vtec engine properly.
Your ecu is trying to find the vtec solenoid and pressure switch but cannot because they're obviously not there, hence the DTC.

As long as your car is an auto you should be looking for a POB-A51, something like this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-1995-Ho...ea6f01&vxp=mtr

Joe Njoroge

I kinda figured out too that the vtec thing was the problem since mine is none vtec. I appreciate your confirmation on this issue, but I was also glad to narrow down my non-start problem to the ECU.

So my ECU Part# is 37820-P0J-L61. The car has an automatic transmission. What other ECU #s are compatible with mine, or does the part # on my next ECU that i purchase has match exact # as mine?

dglassmyer

Whoa whoa, hang on here.
I just realized you took an ECU from a 97 accord.
That shouldn't even work if your car is a 94.
Ok, 1994-1995 accords are obd1, 1996-1997 are obd2, the two systems are incompatible.
The pinout locations are completely different, you can't take an obd1 harness and plug it into an obd2 ecu without a conversion harness.
Are you sure of the year of your car?

If your car is a 1994 you need the ECU I linked to you above.

Joe Njoroge

Ok, I feel like a fool and I apologize for the misinformation. When the tranny went out my dad had only had the car for 3 weeks. He had bought the vehicle for $500 from one of his co-workers. So he pulled the transmission off a 1994 accord and told me that this accord am working on is a 94 too, and so I believed him. I was sure of the year of the ECU donor car since I even took pictures of it.

After reading your post, I ran to the garage and and checked the manufacture date on the car, only to realize that it was manufactured on 10/96 which means its a 1997. So I ran back upstairs and asked my dad what year was the accord, and he was sure it was a 94. So we checked the title and it sure said 1997 ACCORD. All this time I had been working on the car I thought it was a 1994 like my dad had told me Lol. If it wasn't for you dglassmyer, I'd have never realized, probably until inspection time or time to renew my registration. Sorry bout the misinformation. Its actually a 97 LX non vtec. I wish I new how to edit the title.

dglassmyer

Wow, that certainly clears a few things up!!
Ok in that case you will need an obd2 1996-1997 Accord Auto ECU/PCM such as this one.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/pts/2921876285.html

Oh and btw thats actually my Craigslist ad and my ECU so if you want to buy it send me a PM and we can work out the details away from the forum so I don't get jumped on for selling my goods on here.

Joe Njoroge

Update:
I’ve been away for a while and wasn’t able to work on the accord. Now that am back I started working on it and it turned out my ECU was tossed. Called up a local yard and they had one that matched the exact part # as mine. Went up there picked it up for $80, came home installed it, and the vehicle fired right up with no issues at all. So all that headache was caused by a bad ECU.

Now another issue came up. It also turned out that the used tranny that I installed was bad too. So I went back to my local LKQ pulled out another one and installed it.

Once I was done, I tried to start the car and it wouldn’t start. It cranks all day but will not start. The issue is similar to the 1st issue I had of it not starting and after I checked and verified everything was in working order, I figured out I might try and installing other ECU since that was the problem the first time this happened. So I got another used ECU, installed it with no success. It still will not start.

I have no clue what’s wrong. I have fuel pressure, verified that the fuel infectors are spitting out fuel, and I also have spark. The car cranks all day but will not start.

Could a bad Mainshaft Speed Sensor cause the car not to start?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

bennettnet

i have a 94 accord lx non-vtech that will turn over but not crank when it is very hot out. i have replaced the ignition switch and the fuel pump relay. could it be the key switch or something else?

bennettnet

i have a 94 accord lx non vtech motor. when the weather is hot it will turn over but not crank. if i play with the key it will crank. i have replaced the ignition switch and the fuel pump relay. could the key switch be going bad or is it something else?

accordturb96

make your own thread

accordturb96

another issue I have seen is when you re install the dizzy it will not allow the car to start if the rotor is flipped 180 degrees

bennettnet

Huh??!?!?!? (the distributor has not been touched.)

accordturb96

It was just a thought due to you swapping the tranny out, It makes life easier when its out of the way

bennettnet

I'm not associated with the guy that did the transmission. My accord just won't start up on occasion.