When it is cold, my Accord has trouble starting. The engine will turn over many times before actually starting. Could this be dirty fuel rail/injectors, or could there be a pressure problem somewhere? Any other suggestions?

 

You could try replacing the fuel filter, cap, rotor, wires, plugs and air filter. Also check how clean the intake manifold and IACV are. How does it run when it runs?


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I've replaced the fuel filter, plugs, and air filter.
When it runs, it runs like new....well, aside from a slight lack of power in the first portion of acceleration at each gear...if that makes sense.

 

Try replacing the fuel filter on the fuel pump. While your in there it wouldn't hurt to replace the fuel pump as well, especially with that many miles on it.


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Or at least because it is so old i assume it has over 200,000 miles on it


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yes, 220+k miles. Is the pump accessible through the trunk?

 

I'm not sure on the 4th gen. Usually it's under the back seat


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Fuel pump is a laborious and costly job trying to fix hard starts in cold. Especially if your fuel pumps works well once the engine starts. I think you need to look at spark.

The couple of times my Accord has been hard to start after sitting overnight in bitter cold weather, it was the Ignition Module (ignitor) that was bad or going bad. A failing ignitor can deliver the spark to ignite combustion in moderate weather, but not in bitter cold temps when the module has gotten completely cold. After multiple tries it will start. That's because the ignitor warms a tiny bit on each attempt and finally produces enough spark to get combustion going.

Testing your battery to make sure it's winter-worthy is also smart. Battery has to be able to deliver juice from bone cold or the whole ignition process isn't right. If you don't have a tester, any auto parts store will test it for you and let you witness the reading they get.

Back to the ignitor; it too can be tested, but it's more involved because the thing is inside the distributor and even with the cap and cover removed, the wires are still not easy to get to.

Some years ago, I used a trick to confirm a problem with mine. I kept the bitterest air off of the distributor by simply wrapping a towel around it while it was still warm the night before. I wrapped it around the cap and the distributor itself and tucked it down in there. Next morning, removed the towel and engine started right up. Left the towel off the next night and sure as **** had problems starting the next morning. Apparently it only take a few temperature degrees to make all the difference with ignitor function. I put in a fresh ignitor and had no more trouble. I even started her up one morning when it was 0º outside.

 

I posted another topic regarding a power issue with my car (https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/loud-clanging-now-loss-power-w-cel-3114505/) and I wonder if it could be related to this problem.
Brakedrum - you mentioned the possibility of an ignition problem, do you think these could be related?

 

Possibly, but probably not. Cars, especially Honda's develop their own characteristic noises. Metals change depending on whether its hot or cold, and some parts just don't like being forced to move when they are frozen cold. Sometimes it's something problematic, but most times it's just the way parts have aged, or even normal sounds. I remember when my Accord was new, I thought characteristic whine of the ABS system priming and self-checking was the noise of doom. Nearly 20 years later, I still hear it and have never had a minutes trouble because of it.

Just a word of advice, don't go off in too many directions on your car. Diagnose and fix the problem at hand. Once done, just drive and don't worry.

 

Update: the car is sold. Thanks for the tips, though!