My wife's '00 Accord EX has become hard to start in the last 4-5 months. We have had the fuel pump and starter replaced. It has 115K miles on the V6.

I've read the thread by Miroslav Djuric AKA Mad Medicine and I have a question about the testing procedure he mentions. When it talks about continuity between 1,4 & 5 in the Start position does he mean when the key is being held in the starting position. I hope someone can answer this for me.

Also if anyone has any ideas here are my symptoms:

First attempt car turns over but never fires when car has been running that day. It will sometimes start the first time for the day but it takes a long time, 10-15 seconds. If I turn the key all the way off and try it again it starts right up whether for the first time or the tenth time.

I do hear the fuel pump relay when I turn the key on all the time.

Thanks

 

Call the dealer, give them your VIN number, and ask them if there was a recall on your ignition switch and whether or not it has been fixed already.

 

Thanks slomofo. I have checked with the dealer on recalls since the SRS light is also on. We bought this car 3 years ago and we are told the recalls were all up to date on the car, not sure what that meant. The SRS light was one issue they mentioned. I replaced the ignition switch over the weekend and the car starts much better when it is cold. When the engine is hot the starting is still hard. It does start and runs great, no stalling, or hesitating, etc... It used to start much better when the engine was hot and so far it seems a process of repairs since each one does improve the situation at some point.

Are there any common starting issues with engines that are hot? The car has individual coils for each cylinder/sparkplug. Are these known to have issues after 10+ years?

Thanks for your help.

 

Do you own a pair of safety glasses? If not, then I'd suggest picking up a pair for what I'm about to ask you to do.

First, I'd suggest doing this on your day off. Drive the car around until it's hot enough to cause the no start issue, then immediately after shutting the car off, put your safety glasses on and pull the fuel pressure regulator off. If you see fuel boiling, you've found your problem. If the fuel isn't boiing, then I don't know what the problem is with your car. If the fuel is boiling, then you have two options.

Option 1: http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/ac..._heat_soak.pdf

Option 2: Tough it out and wait for warmer weather.


Don't forget the safety glasses.
Don't forget the safety glasses.
Don't forget the safety glasses.

Sorry, I had to repeat it a couple times because most people don't listen to me when I say this. I almost never wear safety glasses, but there's times when they're an absolute must and this is one of those times.