Its been a week since the car last started i got the alternator checked as well as the battery and they were both good. Got new battery cables and it sounded like it made a difference. At first the car only clicked...after the new wires the car cranks but wont start up. Any other things i should check or know. Car has 123,xxx miles on it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBUYs539cy4

 

Found that fuel is reaching the fuel rail...checked the wires for spark with a tester and spark was an orangish color. Other than this the starter itself makes a loud sort of scratching sound...made the same sound at autozone when i tested it. What other possiblities could it be? Maybe the plugs themselves. And thanks for the video i really appreciate it.

 

Did you check all your engine grounds

 

I believe that orange spark is a weak ignition. I'd throw on a new cap and rotor and if that doesn't work then I'd source another dizzy from the junkyard.

 

Where would i find the grounds? I saw one on the mount on the right side near the belt...any other ones?

 

the drivers side of the intake manifold by the brake master cylinder is where the ecu grounds at. there is a wire that comes up from under the intake manifold and bolts to the side of it. the second ground is a transmission to frame ground that also connects to the negative battery terminal, unless your battery has been moved to the trunk. the third ground goes from the (drivers side) valve cover, power steering mount to engine mount. make suire the battery ground is also in good condition
remove the ground clean them throughly and clean where they connect to also.

so that starter is now cranking the engine and it wont start or the starter is barely cranking or just clicking? ignition switch is going out on my prelude. i get the click all the time

 

Could always try a different starter just to rule that out.

 

Is it a manual?

If so try to roll start it to rule out the starting system.

 

Unfortunately its not manual...and the starter makes a grinding/screeching sound....its the actual starter because its the noise it made at autozone.

 

Rewired everything and got the ground wires goin as well except for the ecu one couldnt locate it. Then charged up the battery....almost started. Tried jumping it...nothing just cranks but faster than before. Also noticed the volts on the battery progressively decrease from 12.6 to about 12.0...when i try cranking it volts go to 10.5-11.5 same goes for when the accessories are turned on. Alternator? Battery? Or should those be ruled out since it cranks.

 

Also popped the oil fill cap off and the cam is moving so does that rule out a timing belt?

 

After looking around some more i see that the auto trans solenoid wont plug into the connector....it seems that the two connections do not fit...does that have any affect on anything

 

the ecu ground is located just left of the brake master cylinder. it bolts onto the side of the upper intake manifold. if its not there is probably hanging under the manifold somewhere

the auto trans connectors should plug up. have you tried switching them or maybe you have them upside down. you could check a junkyard to see if they are the correct ones though i dont see how they wouldn't be

 

I'd suspect starter contacts first at 123k miles. I replaced mine around 140k when I had a 96 accord.

 

Did you ever get the spark issue resolved? A normal spark should be blueish white, not orange. Read through this link http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignition.html
A main relay with worn or bad contacts may seem to work but may not allow full voltage to the sub systems.
If while cranking the voltage drops that is expected. But if the battery is quickly draining down after a few cranks then the battery may not be up to snuff. It will drain down if you keep cranking with no starting or charger/booster aid.
It rules out that the belt is on. But it doesn't mean anything of the belt was installed incorrectly or the tensioner was loosened.
Which connector are you speaking of? With out the NM/NC or shift solenoids connected the transmission will simply not shift. You may be able to manually shift into R, D1 and D2, but OD and lockup will not function.

otgarza since all of your posts have been in this thread, can we have a better understanding of the car? Whats the back story on it?
and...
These two nuggets of info have me wondering if you just acquired the car and are going off a POs line of ' it ran last week'. Help us help you.

 

Got the car over the summer. Everything seemed fine then. No hesitation or starting problems car ran great. Was about to get an oil change and thats when the car decided to die on me. The morning it died it was in the high 30s and it turned on just fine...then it started shaking like it wanted to stall out. Rpms were fluctuating and the car was never moved. All of a sudden i get in the car and it turns off and i hear a faint pop sound in the engine compartment. And since then i get nothing. Plugs were replaced before buying the car...not sure about the wires. Today i changed the wires as well as the rotor and the cap on the distributor. Still has weak spark. Distributor was kinda rusty on the inside any input? also hooked up another battery and let it sit for awhile. Same deal just sounded a little stronger and the volts rose right back up nothing like the other battery which would just decrease down to 12 volts. Maybe not enough cca? Anything i could check to make sure its the

 

...distributor. I really appreciate all the time and help you guys are giving thank you

 

Could it be the icm or the coil? How do i go about testing?

 

If you can pull the ICM and the coil and take them to a place like Autozone they should be able to test them for you. They can't test all ICMs but they can on my 96 accord so probably can for your 94 as well.

 

Was told the distributor is worn by another source. Going to look for one and see what happens from there. Any opinions?