So i fire up old dependable and drive a few miles to the library. Engine ran smooth and idle was good on the way there. The car won't start when I attempt the return trip. The starter motor turns the engine but the engine does not fire. I wear down the battery. The wife comes and I use a portable start kit to jump the car and it fires up quickly, runs smooth and I get it home. As soon as I kill the engine in the drive, I try and restart the car and it turns over fine but will not start.

The D4 light on the dash curiously blinks even though the car is in park. (???) I move the auto shifter through it's travel many times thinking somehow it has a saftey. I get out of the car and move it back and forth trying to get the D4 light to go off. No start or change.

While my wife brings some tools and the jump start kit I pull and check any fuse that I think may cause the car to not start (ECU, Fuel pump, ignition, etc.) No blown fuse found.

I hook up the jump kit and the engine spins over fast and the car fires easily.

Once again, I got home and the car would not start again. The D4 light was blinking again. Battery spun the engine over. It was dark so I waited until today to work on the car.

The speedo does not work most of the time but this has never given us a problem. Sticks on 20 mph when the key is on.

Any help appreciated as I am stumped how to diagnose this one.

Thanks,
Tom Graham

 

Sorry wrong car place it belongs in the Civic. Maybe you got a bad alternator. Its probably draining your battery and causing massive/not enough power to the motor causing it to not start everytime. Currently fixing a car like that too.Its sitting in my garage waiting for the alternator to be rebuilt.

 

You will have to pull the code from the ECU, your tranny has a problem. The blinking D4 is there to alert of this. The car probably has trouble starting because of your trans, and not your starter or battery.
I would suggest starting there, do a search if you need info on how to pull codes.

 

didn't they make a 1994 accord ex?

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...h+Images&gbv=2

rahhhhhhhh the OP never said once the car was a civic. reading ownz you :-)

sorry im not any help to the OP i dont know much about accords or automatics.

cars need only a few things to start though...

is it getting gas?

spark?

really i would just start looking at this as a no-start and see what comes from that. the d4 though... ehh thats where it kinda throws me off. i would just ignore that for the moment and figure out what is causing your car not to start. it might be related or it might be two different problems.

 

Will the car start up the next day easily or do you have to jump it everytime now. You seem to have a hot soak problem if it starts fine after a long cool down period.

If you have a speedo issue then the D4 light could be pointing you to a bad VSS now??? The D4 light flashes saying you have a code in the TCM so get the code the usual way by shorting out the two pin connector under the dash.

I will wait till you answer about a cold soak starting good or not.

How far are you from Hebron, Buckeye Lake, Newark area??? National Trails Dragstrip on Hwy 40 (Spring Nationals)?

 

Opps I think I was just up too early thats why. LOL Stupid me Reading Ownz me today. lol

 

I read the D4 codes.
#1
#7
#8
#13
#14
There were no engine codes.
The D4 light was not blinking so I tried to start the car. She fired right up as she has for 15 years.

???????,
Tom

 

I do not trust when many codes are stored, clear them and recheck them daily to see which ones come back. Some times folks create codes by unplugging things while they are troubleshooting. Other times a poor ground can make things go crazy.

DOES ANYONE HAVE A LIST OF TCU CODES, I STILL HAVE NOT SEEN AN OBDI LISTING.

 

I stole this from Hondadude;

 

check your TCU and alternator. may have a bad ground or like me on my alt., my connector plug was loose, car wouldnt start and lights all over dimmed.

 

To follow up: I cleared the codes after reading them, pulled battery cable. I'm hoping this is one of the anomolies that happen with modern ECU controlled systems but I've been too chicken to drive the car to see if it fixed itself. I did give the battery a good reviving soak with a battery charger hoping to keep it in top charge. I'll be checking codes after I drive it for a while to see if any come back.

I did a search of the site for like problems and did find a few. At least one thread had the same multiple transmission codes set but the thread stopped and it was no help. Another fixed the problem with a new distributor. No logic, that I could follow, was given why the distributor fixed a no-start transmission code problem.

Thanks for everyones help.
Tom Graham

 

sounds like insufficient battery voltage. When you hook up the jumppack it fires right up with the voltage from the pack. The d4 light blinks due to a transmission problem. One of the solenoids is probably sticking. sounds like you have multiple problems. Im an ASE certified technician and honda fanatic.