I was driving down I-10 west of Jacksonville, FL yesterday on cruise control at about 80 mph. There was a sudden deceleration and turning off cruise control did not rectify the problem and the accelerator was useless. I was towed to the local mechanic from the highway where they worked on the car for about 4 hours. My spark plugs were covered in oil, so those were replaced along with the spark wires and new gasketing to keep the oil out. Replacing these components did not solve the problem, however, as the car turns over but does not start up. The mechanic said that I had all of the necessary components of a start up after he did a series of tests. I have fuel, I have spark, I have compression (although it is low), I have flow through the muffler, but the car will not start. He said he hadn't seen a car he couldn't diagnose in over 10 years, so I'm turning to anyone and everyone for help. The car is still with them at the shop. They tried replacing the ignition coil, but that did not solve the problem. I'm pretty sure this was only done as a last resort, as the old coil is now back in the car and producing spark. He even drained all of my fuel and put new gas in the car in case that was the issue, but again, no start up. Anyone ever had a problem similar to this and if so, what kind of things did you have to check? The car is a 1994 Honda Accord with 123,000 miles on it. I've had the car since 2003 when I bought it as my first car, and am not ready to part with it yet. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks for your time in reading this!

Also, when he gave me the compression numbers, I think it was sitting at about 110 (ksi/psi?), which is less than what Mitchell1 had listed as a minimum, but they were gettin 110 from every cylinder. The mech said he checked the timing and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. They even threw it out 180 to check. Hope this helps...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jrunyon2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> . The mech said he checked the timing and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. They even threw it out 180 to check. Hope this helps...

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wow,, DID not think there was anything wrong ?? he has to make sure ,, if cam timing is off is very easy to tell and a tech should know for sure and not just ( did not think ) also they put it 180 degree to chk it ?? what do you mean they put it 180 degree to chk it ?? is it getting good spark ?? fuel pressure around 40 psi ? chk engine lite comes on when you turn key on and then goes off?? any codes stored in ecu ?

Since you get spark and fuel .. i was going to suggest to have them chk the cam timing just in case it jumped a tooth or 2 .,

with crank pulley aligned with the white mark on the lower t-belt cover, cam pulley notches should line up parallel to the head and the up mark in the up position ( top dead # 1 ) , if it lines up ,there is nothing to ( think ) it is timed properly,, if marks do not line up cam timing is off,
I would make sure that timing is correct ..compression sounds too low

 

Your sure the timing is On. I would have someone check you timming belt. If you have spark and fuel, the only other thing is the timing. Good luck

 

They told me that they did a check of top dead center on the first piston, and the cam and crank lined up. I'll be sure to ask about the timing belt. I feel like I'm beatin my head against a wall trying to figure this out, so I can't imagine what the mech is thinkin right now. Do any of you know if it could possibly be in the wiring somewhere? I know it might be a stretch, but I'm trying to exhaust all options. Spark and fuel usually means combusion, right? ...Not this time...

 

If they could see the cam and crank the timing belt is obviously OK. One common mistake is lining up the cam timing mark perpendicular to the valve cover, you have to line it up perpendicular to the ground for the timing to be set properly. With the lower compression numbers I'm thinking blown head gasket or cracked head, did they check the oil for antifreeze at all?

Tell the shop to use an inductive timing light, I'm assuming they have one. Maybe the dizzy could be the problem also, I'd check to make sure you're getting the correct voltage to your sparkplugs, a weak spark could result in what you're describing (incomplete combustion)

 

How about the ignition switch?

 

so, was this car ever able to start again?!?!

because im having a similiar problem wid mine now.

 

The compression numbers will be low if the engine is cold!!!
Any way did they try a new distributor? Mine 92 accord would be running fine then die. It was the distributor.