Ok the car in question here is a 1997 Accord LX with the 2.2 Non-VTEC with a 5-speed manual.


1.) When the Temperature gets into the single digits and lower my car does not want to start. It cranks but it takes at least 5 seconds of cranking to start up. If i leave it out in the cold for a couple days it will just keep cranking until the battery dies.

2.) SOLVED Next, after the car gets warmed up it will idle at 750 RPMs or a little lower but if i tap the gas pedal the the RPMs will drop and to 500 or below and the lights will dim and the car seems like its gonna die but it goes back up to 750. I work on bikes a lot and when i tune carbs that usually means that i am running rich, but I dont know about these Fuel Injection systems too much.

3.)SOLVED Lastly, my temp gauge for my car never quite hits the middle way mark. When the car warms up the needle sits about 1/8" under the halfway mark. In the summer it sits dead on the halfway mark. I dont know if this is a problem or has anything to do with my problems.

4.) I have just noticed I also have an issue with the cruise control. When I set the cruise the car starts accelerating and never stays at the speed I set it at.



Replaced
-Distributor cap/rotor
-Wires
-Spark Plugs(NGK V-Powers)
-Swapped out the old 525 CCA battery for an 800 CCA battery with 700 CCA 0 degrees (Just swapped, havent tested it starting the car cold)

Checked/Cleaned
-Cleaned IACV
-Checked Fuses
-Cleaned EGR



-Checking/bleeding the cooling system
-Checking the TPS(Dont know how to do yet]
-Checking Grounds

-Check Vacuum Lines (Need a Diagram)



If you guys know anything that i am missing or anything i still need help with please post it up. I will not stop until i fix this issue. There are way too many threads about cold starts but they all seem to lead to dead ends because nobody bothers to come back and post what solved their issue.

 

In for results.

 

also what is the recommended CCA's for a battery for these accords?

 

3) The car's temp needle should NEVER go to the halfway mark for the temperature, it should sit between the 1/4 to 1/3 area from the bottom going around.

Check to see if your fans work, check the coolant and you may want to flush it out and change it. There are plenty of FAQ's on how to do this

1) What battery do you have in there? You may just have a craptastic/dying battery I would suggest changing it

 

the battery i have is a Fleet Farm generic battery that is rated for 525 CCA's.. that seems a little low for me seeing the battery is probably way less than that because i dont know how old it is. i could not find a date stamped on it.

 

If you're in single digit weather too that does sound really low, I think the drycell battery I had was like 600CCA? (And that was in avg ~50-90 degree climate)

 

ok well i have a new battery in a truck im parting that i will try in my honda. i think its rated for like 765 CCA's at 0 degrees.

im going to go do that now.

i will let you gusy know the results

 

Taking 5 seconds to start is normal. I live in IL and its been roughly -15 w/ the wind chill.

The battery might just be getting old. It can be fine in the summer but the cold weather shows the true condition of a battery.

MuffinMan is correct about the temp. It should never reach half. It should be about
~1.5-2 cm away or so from the 1/2 way mark.

 

ok so i swapped in the 800 CCA battery and it seems to have cleaned the idle up. When i rev it it doesnt bog down at all. Im just letting my car cool down for a few hours so i can see if it helped my cold start.

Oh and when i was putting the new battery in i was looking down the negative battery cable and where it connects to something under the engine there is about 6 inches of bare wire. like the rubber coating just wore off. Looks that that could be a problem so i am going to upgrade my battery cables most likely tomorrow. i would like to get a little extra slack in them too because this new battery is a little taller



19Accord97 - 2 cm is about an inch.. That would put the temp sensor in the blue..... lol. (i had to just give ya some ****)

 

-Park your car in the cold at night.
-Pull your spark plugs out at 5AM in single digit temperature.
-Pour a tsp of oil in each cylinder.
-Put plugs back in.
-Start car.

Did it start right up?

If it starts right up, go out the next morning at 5AM and turn key on til fuel pump primes, then off, then on again. Do this five times, but wait about 2 seconds after priming each time, then start. Does it start right up?

 

[QUOTE=J




19Accord97 - 2 cm is about an inch.. That would put the temp sensor in the blue..... lol. (i had to just give ya some ****)[/QUOTE]

meh....close enough! 1 cm then! and 3cm is almost an inch!

 

Ok the battery doesn't help the cold start issue but it seemed to fix my idle. I have done the fuel pump test and it didn't help at all so I don't think my fuel pump is on the fritz. I will try the tsp of oil in the cylinders.. What exactly does that test for?

I'm going to try and get to my cooling system tomorrow, I looked at the resevoir and it looked pretty empty...

 

Your cooling system is empty?!

You need to fill that to the line w/ a 50/50 mix asap. I have a small leak and always check the level of the fluid. If your car starts sucking in air you are going to warp your head which will cost $$$$$$ to fix. A $9 gallon of antifreeze and checking that regularly can save you money.

 

Have you checked your grounds? Make sure they're all touching bare metal. This is often overlooked. Maybe this is alternator related?

Everyone is right about the temp gauge. It shouldn't be half way on these cars.

 

alright thanks. like i said the ground on the negative battery cables has like 6 inches of exposed metal... i will try to replace that today

 

how many grounds have you found? I forget how many there are, but I just want to make sure you look at all of them.

 

Not many but I haven't looked much. What is the best wire to use for grounds and battery cables.

I also just added issue 4 to my original post which has to do about the cruise control.

 

Have you thought about switching to synthetic oil, or using 5w20. It should help.

 

I don't think this is oil related unless he's using a very high winter number haha

 

i was thinking about switching to amsoil synthetic but right now im just running valvoline maxlife 10w40 because the spark plug hole gaskets are leaking like crazy. im leaving for florida tomorrow morning so im going to replace those gaskets then go full synthetic.

i also dont think its anything oil related. it cranks fine just doesnt want to start right up

 

Some people say the seals will swell and leak others wont.

I'd still be nervous about switching to synthetic so quickly. If it were me, I would do an oil change or 2 with a synthetic blend before going all out.

 

the seals wont swell and leak... the reason they leak after you switch to synthetic is because synthetic has more detergents and breaks down the sludge... you get leaks when the sludge breaks down that was sort of like covering old leaks. If i get leaks im just going to replace the seals that are leaking. its not the end of the world.