the car ran smoothly when i first got it, aside from the occasional no-start from being too hot, which is apparently common in cars of this make. however, several months after i got it the car began to need many tries to start. sometimes i would try it intermittently for hours before it would work. after the car was stranded at a friend's house for a full week without starting, we managed to get it to start once and drove it into our driveway at home, where it has been since. the car has not started since then, even when we duplicate what we did to start it at my friend's house (which was to wiggle the wires in one of the connectors near the distributor cap around). it's possible that that start was a fluke.

this is not a hot weather problem: this car will not start hot or cold, rain or shine.

what we know:
-spark plugs have spark
-air filter is clean
-starter motor is fine
-battery is fine
-car has gas in it
-no smell of gas after trying to start for long periods of time, car will not flood.

Any ideas?

 

Check all ignition part,Honda only like factory honda part, no aftermarket

 

I'll borrow a trick from desertHonda's bag o' tricks and suggest this:

Remove the large diameter air pipe from the throttlebody, spray some carburetor cleaning fluid into the throttlebody and try starting the engine.
If it tries to start, chances are your problem is fuel related (no pump operation, pressure or other).
If no fuel pressure, I'd first look at the Main Relay. They have a less than sterling record for causing trouble.

P

 

checked fuel pump yet?

 

Yes we have same car in the shop now with same problems. Guy was using starting fluid to start car now no. 3 plug has about 1/2 quart of oil in it.

Anyway, if you turn the key to on listen near the gas cap and you should hear fuel pump run for 2 seconds. If not then it is not working. First I would DEFINATELY check the PGM-FI before replacing fuel pump. That is what is wrong with the car in our shop.
Also you could try and check fuel pressure to see if you are getting fuel. If you are but it is low then could be bad fuel pump or clogged fuel filter.

Good luck

 

starting fluid sucks and stinks , that is why i always advise and use carb cleaner just a few sprays does the trick, if it wont start than u know it is not fuel related ,by trying this it will save a **** load of diagnostic time .

to foul the plug that bad this guy must have really poured it on

 

Excellent point, Starting fluid can be some nasty s(tuff) if not used sparingly. Either (the main ingredient in Starting fluid) is potent enough to start a diesel with no more than spraying a mist over the air inlet because of it's ability to self ignite.
Please stay with carb cleaner. It's more stable.

P

 

Another thing you could try is to unhook gas line before the pressure regulator and pump some gas into a glass cup or metal can and let it sit. This way you can check your gas and see if there is any debris that might be clogging your injectors. You could have fuel pressure but not get it through.

Just a suggestion as bad gas comes in many different varieties.