Okay my 91 Accord ex is pure stock. I took the car out on a cold rainy day to go to my friend's party. Went home..blah blah... Woke up the next day and start the car and it wont start. the car made that sound as if it wanted to start. so i guess the starter is okay.I took the battery to the autostore and they said it was good. I found that my distributor cap had a loose screw on the bottom, so does that mean moisture got through? If so, does that mean why my car wont start? Any suggestion on how i can solve this problem. Also, if its not the distributor, what might be a potential problem? the car has 125,000 as of now. thank u

 

So it is trying to turn over?

Maybe see if you can get the distributor replaced, you just need to find out how long it's been that way, hopefully no moisture got anywhere else.

 

As far as I know, you can still drive your car with a failed distributor. You just can never let your rpm drop below 1000 or something. However, this is not your distributor. If it was, your car WOULD start, but only for a second, then it would stall. Your ECU might need to be reset, as did mine after I shorted a wire while installing a front strut tower bar. This could be a multitute of problems. Take it to a mechanic.

 

actually your car would not necessarily start with a wet distributor, spray some ether or wd-40 in it and try again
can you smell fuel when turning it over? when turning does it turn over with consistently and with the same amount of power?

 

if you are looking for some cheap replacement parts, i have a 90 ex motor sitting around with various accessories if you would like to buy them - after you get it checked out to find out what is wrong with it. you can email me at crxplus@hotmail.com if you are interested.

just fyi.

 

yes i do smell gas burning after turning it over..... R U sure u can spray wd 40 inside the distributor???

 

yes, I used to powerwash my engine when I I lived on a dirt road and it would get the inside of the distributor wet, ether is better though
they displace the water then burn away once the spark comes, do not use very much at all though

smelling fuel is good, that means it is your ignition

try messing with your distributor, it hasn't changed position has it?

 

dont spray your dist., if you have fire from the dist. and it acts like it wants to start hold your foot to the floor as starting it.may be flooded.

 

the postion of the rotor changed...inside the distributor cap

 

I'm gonna place my money on "you need a new distributor cap." This is a common problem with older Hondas. My mother's '89 Accord has done this more than once, and a new cap has always solved the problem.

Also, has it rained recently in your area?


[Modified by Mike P., 12:54 AM 1/11/2002]

 

when u say distributor cap, is the like the whole entire block? also, do u think the wires gone bad or the spark plugg?

 

yeah the whole entire block, your timing could be way to retarded
I would go with Mike P.s suggestion and just buy a new cap and see what happens

 

Where can i get the distributor cap and how much does it cost?

 

crxplus sounds like he may have one for sale, look at his post above

your local car parts should carry it or junkyard or here:
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...1%29+%28TEC%29

shouldn't cost more than $60

 

I would think that any auto parts store, such as Napa or Pep Boys would have 'em. Also, you can't go wrong with OEM Honda.

This same type of situation happened to me once, except that it was a gunky throttle body that was the culpret. The car wanted to start but just quite couldn't. I sprayed some gumout in the throttle body and cleaned it out really well, and the car now cranks just fine.

However, I believe the problem might in fact be distributer/ignition related, but check the throttle body just to make sure.

 

last month, I had a problem with my 93 ex. The day before, I had been driving alot (but less than I usually drive in a day). My car seemed to want to stall sometimes, but then would go away. Anyway, I get home and park the car. The next day, it won't start. The car tries to turn over, but it won't start up.

In a problem like this, the problem usually is that the engine is either not getting enough fuel or spark. We checked the fuel system...and fuel was reaching the rails. We then checked the spark (stick a screw driver in the spark plug wire and put the other end of the screwdriver near my strut bar). We saw the spark was weak.

We replaced the ignition coil, rotor, and distributor cap. No luck. Then we replaced the igniter, and it worked. (please don't buy parts and install them just to see if it works...ie: trial and error. It cost me around $300. Now i have an extra coil, rotor, and cap).

Interesting enough, I was reading through old magazines (import tuner, super street, and sport compact cars). I found a tech article that said that in honda's, the igniter usually goes bad before the dist. cap and ignition coils.

anyway, just thought i'd put in my 2 cents and say it might be an igniter problem

 

I had the same problem with my 90 accord, and I know some other people that have had the same problem. On the drivers side of your dash behind the coin holder is a brown box, this is the main relay(it even says main relay), you have to remove it from the bottom. This is the ignition main relay, the contacts inside get dirty and it stops working, you can pull it apart and clean it or buy one from a junkyard or dealer.

 

if you are going to replace the distributor cap, go to your local parts store and get one there. if it cost you anywhere near 60 bucks, you are being totally ripped off. you should be able to get the cap for less than 20. you might be closer to 30 - i don't remember how much they go for.

 

Modified by CardDealer at 3:28 PM 11/16/2006