Let me start by saying, I have searched. I swear. The point of this thread is to collect information before I get under the hood.

We lost the trans on our '04 Odyssey this week, so I picked up a '93 Accord until I can find the trans for the Odyssey. I'm no stranger to working on cars, just a noob when it comes to this particular car. I don't know what engine is in it, but I think it's a 2.2L. It has a five speed trans.

Here's the problem(s). When the car is cold, or if it has sat for several hours, it is hard to start. It takes a lot of cranking. At first, it just cranks with no evidence of a spark. Then, after a few attempts, it will catch every so often but not start. Eventually, it will start. Once it starts, it runs great. No check engine light, no issues. Well, other than a surging idle that may be FITV related. However, once the car has started, had a chance to warm up, and shut off (like if you drove to the grocery store), if you start it again within an hour or two, the check engine light comes on a second after cranking and the engine fires right up. When the CEL is on, the engine still runs good but will not rev over 3500 RPM. It doesn't pop or sputter, that I've noticed. It's just like it has a rev limiter set to 3500 RPM.

I haven't owned the car long enough to be sure if the hard start is temperature related or time related. I haven't checked the CEL code yet either. Tomorrow is Saturday so I'm hoping to get under the hood then. The car is supposed to have just had a new IACV put on last week before I bought it. My plan is to check that the IACV is indeed new, check the fuel pressure regulator, check the spark plugs holes for leaks, check the fuel pressure, and pull the codes to see what I'm dealing with. Where's the fuel filter on this thing? Anything else I should look at while I'm in there?

 

I checked the VIN and determined that it's a 2.2L SOHC engine.

 

pull the cel

 

I'll try. I don't know if I'll be able to though. It clears as soon as the engine is shut off. Like I said, sometimes it doesn't come on at all. Other times, it comes on as I'm cranking the engine. Every single time, I can turn the key to ON and wait a second and the light will click off.

 

I have a little more info to add to the pot. When the engine is hot, even if the CEL was on when I shut the car off, it starts right away and the CEL doesn't come back on. It does seem to be heat related, which makes me think vacuum leak, or electrical. I'm heading out right now to see if it's storing any codes when it throws the CEL. Stay tuned.

 

There are no codes to be pulled when the blue plug is jumpered. Looks like I might be on my own here.

 

the next time the cel comes on dont turn the car off...immediately pull the cel

 

I can do it with the engine running? Cool.

 

I pulled the code this morning. Of course, it hasn't run for 7 hours and the CEL came right on, which goes against the "no cel when cold" theory that I had.

At any rate, the only code was a 4. 4 brief flashes. Nothing else.

 

Pull a junkyard distributor and swap it in. It will need to be from a '92 or '93 Accord.

You will need to set the ignition timing after installing it. There are several videos on youtube that show how to do this. Just search youtube for "how to set ignition timing Honda"

 

Thanks, I went to two different junkyards yesterday, found three potential donors. One was missing the distributor, the other two had an internal coil and I need one for an external coil (TD-52U). Found one on eBay local. I'm gonna send him an offer and see if I can pick it up.

 

Sorry this has been left hanging. I pulled a junkyard distributor that matched mine, installed it and set the timing just to have the same problem. It did not fix it. I wound up giving the car to a buddy of mine. It has since died on him. It will crank but not start. We've towed it to another buddy's shop and they've started tearing into it. I'll update if we figure anything out.

 

Must be a wire issue.

 

I got a look at it briefly today for the first time since it died. This is what I know so far. I didn't have a lot of time, I was on my lunch hour and it's pretty hot outside.

It has 12V at the coil when the key is in the ON position. I haven't pulled the cap to see if the rotor is spinning while the engine is cranking.

The fuel pump primes when the key is turned to ON and there is fuel in the rail. I don't know if the injectors are pulsing. I will have to build a test light and check them. If they are, does this rule out the Crank Sensor?

The engine cranks very slow, with what seems to be a lot of effort. This happens with two different batteries. Is there a way to check if the timing belt jumped without going through all the work to get the cover off?

 

Its not a lot of work, its just 8 10mm nuts.

Check the distributor connectors for loose wires or connections.

Is it still throwing a code 4 ?

Try testing the engine coolant temperature sensor across the two pins when the car is cold. Its the two pin sensor under the distributor. It should be 2000-2500 ohms when the car is completely cold and 180-250 when the car is fully warmed up.

 

I don't know. The car is at my buddy's shop. He works on a tugboat and leaves for work tomorrow for three weeks. I'm hoping to get the car over here tonight so I can have easy access to it. I'll post more as I figure it out. Thanks for helping, by the way.