mmmbobby

i have a 93 prelude vtec and i'm posting here because no one on the prelude forum will answer my question. it takes my car about 7-10 turns on the starter to get the thing started in the mornings on cold starts. i recently replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor, and when it is warm and started it runs fine. every once in a while i will start to drive after i have just started it and it will sputter like it is about to die and kindof jerk then it will go back to normal after a couple seconds.
battery and starter have both been replaced recently. the timing belt has also been replaced about two years ago. the fuel filter has also been replaced about a year ago, and they checked the injectors and said they were fine, but i don't really know because when i replaced the filter, the guy said that that was the original one that came on the car.... he dumped a bunch of dirt out of it lol. so i would think that the injectors would be a little clogged...
anybody have any opinions???

mmmbobby

nobody?

R,coustoms

it sounds like is your fuel pump ihad the same problem. couple months later my fuel pump die .also check inside dizzy for dirt. good luck

Former User

Dirty/faulty fast idle thermo valve on the throttle body?

mmmbobby

well it has done this for a long time now and i just replaced the dizzy, so i don't know... what i do know is that i was just outside, and i checked the plugs and there were massive amounts of oil in cylinders 2 and 3 where the plugs are. gaskets are bad. do you think this could be my problem? oil is there when starting, so not getting a good spark, and when it's hot the oil is all burned up? sounds reasonable to me let me know what you guys think thanks

Hriday

Listen for the main relay to click when you turn the key to the on position. Do you have fuel pressure, spark, ect?? Back probe the injectors for power too. If you have the key in the on position, take your test light and connect it to a good ground and check the injector clip for power. One of the wires will be hot and the other wire is the ground circuit pulled closed by the ecu. If you have no power with the key in the on position, check for a bad fuse. If you do have power, trace the problem back to the ecu and look around for inputs that the computer needs in order to close that ground circuit...i.e....map sensor input, water temp input, air intake temp input, ect....all ecus need some sort of inputs from other sensors in order to fire the injectors. Most overlooked no start problem I've seen techs miss.

mmmbobby

what do you think about the spark plug gaskets though? do you think this could cause hard starts?

Hriday

Also wouldn't be a bad idea to check your coil and igniter in the distributor. Very common honda problem. Put a spark tester in line and check the brightness of your spark. Bad Pickup coil or bad igniter will give you no spark at all.

Hriday

What do you mean by spark plug gasket? The tube seals in the valve cover? You said that you have new plugs right?

mmmbobby

yeah i have new plugs but when i take the wires out of the holes, when the motor is cold, oil goes everywhere, and when i pull the plugs out, they are covered in oil.

Hriday

That is just the tube seals in the valve cover. Once you remove the cover and flip it upside down, you will see the 4 tube seals and valve cover gasket. Not too pricey from the dealer. The felpro kit does't always have the nicest fit so I always go OEM. Just make sure you put some honda bond (liquid gasket) on the flat spot corners near the cam seals.

Let's not get off subject....Have you looked into the things I mentioned above?

mmmbobby

i have power, and wouldn't all of these things that you are mentioning cause my car to not start at all? if my injectors had no power or i had no spark due to a bad coil or ignitor, it wouldn't start at all right? and what does it sound like when the main relay clicks? where is the main relay? pics would be awesome
i really appreciate it by the way

Hriday

Yes you could have a no start with a dead coil or igniter, you could have a hard start if it is just weak. The main relay is located under the steering column by the fuse box. It will be a gray box kinda rectangular shaped with a red bottom where the clip pulgs in. When you turn your key from off to on, listen close for it to click twice. It's actually a dual relay powering up both the ecu and the fuel pump circuit. If it clicks, then it is probably working. My guess is a weak spark caused by a bad coil.

Good Luck!!

mmmbobby

thanks. sorry, but do you know where i can get a main relay or if it has another name? i'm looking at honda part sites and i am not seeing it.

Hriday

Call honda and ask for a main relay...That's what it's called.