I have a '96 Accord. The other day about a mile from my destination, the radiator hose blew. I reached my house, bought a new hose, replaced it and drove it the same night. The next day, it wouldn't start. When I turn the lights on without keys, I get a very quiet warning beep, but that is the only sign of power I get out of the car. This suggests to me a very weak intermittent connection somewhere. It doesn't even try to start.

The battery is new and at full capacity. A jump-start isn't needed and does nothing anyway.

I figure something got wet overnight as antifreeze just took a while to seep into something critical. When I popped the hood after the blow, everything was very wet.

Collateral damage like this is probably relatively common and something cheap and mundane has probably been affected--I just don't know what. I admit I only signed up to bring my problem to you, but I'm quite desperate and don't want to have to get it towed an hour away from town...

Anyone seen this before? Any ideas, or further troubleshooting steps I should take in order to supply you with more info? Cars are not my forte...

 

Start pulling connectors apart in the area that was wet. Clean them with electronic cleaner spray, which you can get at AutoZone or other parts store, and get some dielectric grease while you're there too. Dry the inside of the connectors if they are wet, clean with electronic cleaner, especially in the female ends where moisture can hide for a long time, and then put a pea size ball of dielectric grease in the connection and plug it back together. I would personally let it dry for a couple of days before trying to start it again. You may be shorting something out through the liquid when you are trying to start it. While you have the hood up take all the fuses out and check them to see if any is already blown. You can also check for parasitic drain and/or ground shorts with the engine off - watch some YouTube videos and you'll see how to do this. If the starter isn't moving when you turn the key, then I would start with the connections to it.

 

Check the distributor/cap/rotor/coil were flooded.

Did you properly bleed the system via the air bleed nipple on the thermostat housing? Make sure you have purged all the air out or you will overheat/blow a head gasket.

 

I didn't know about that, MAD_MIKE. Thanks! I've watched some videos and will properly top off the coolant and bleed the air once I get the car starting again.

Thanks to both of you. These ideas should hopefully lead to a working car soon.

 

Cleaned out all connections in the neighborhood (5), and some more distant connections, adding grease after drying with Qtips and duster. No change. I feel like if it was just the starter connection(s) the headlights would probably work? I get warning beeps for leaving the keys in the ignition, but that is all.

Checked all fuses and all are good. From the outside I don't see where anything could have gotten into the distrubutor. It looks sealed up tight.

Also thought I'd add I didn't lose that much coolant, so maybe it was okay I didn't bleed air after topping it off. In any case I will do it right and go through the whole process if this old car ever starts again...

Does it sound like the distributor could be flooded if I can't even get power to the headlights?

 

Watch some Scotty Kilmer YouTube videos on cars that won't start. (Ericthecarguy, Nutzaboutbolts and Schrodinger's Box are additional YouTubers that I would suggest checking out.) If you want a quick idea, you can buy some wires with clips on them and take power directly from the battery to the starter. If it doesn't budge at all (you don't actually need the car to start, just turn over), it is a bad starter and if you are even a little bit handy you can probably replace it yourself with the help of guys at AutoZone or other local parts store. If it does budge, then there is not a problem with the starter, but there is a problem somewhere between the battery and the starter, probably in the connection to the starter or another connection in the wiring to the starter, and you may have to buy some equipment like a PowerProbe or a multi-meter to continue trying to troubleshoot it, or have it towed to a mechanic. There is also a possibility that trying to start it while it was still wet caused a short that has damaged the main computer (ECU). If you come to the conclusion that it is most likely the ECU, you can get a replacement ECU from the junkyard and try that. Ericthecarguy has a video on "pulling a Honda computer"

 

scotty kilmer is a joke, he explains absolutely nothing and it's on cars that most people don't drive. one of his videos is like this: How to replace engine : first remove it. ..... remove the engine, thanks

 

Thanks again for your help. I had a feeling this was going to be something trivial, and sure enough, it looks that way. I took the dash fuse box out to see if perhaps the ignition switch was faulty. Before even testing the switch, I noticed the white 12v wire was supplying 0v.

I think this has to mean the problem is with the wire going to the ignition harness, right? Or is there something between the wire going from the positive terminal of the battery and the ignition that I need to check out as well?

For what it's worth, I have three leads going off the the positive terminal of the battery. I think that's one more than normal? One goes straight to the hood fuse box I think and the others I'll track once the weather is nicer. One of the leads is a flimsy piece of solid wire which looks totally unsuited for the outdoor elements...

Edit: The car didn't fail electrically till the day after I replaced the hose... On that day my dad already tried the obvious stuff like reconnecting the battery and told me the terminals were fine. Well, I just redid them again, and that was the problem. Embarrassing. Anyway, I properly bled the air from the system, then noted one of the radiator fans was dead and ordered another, so I suppose some good came of this.