Hey Guys,
I have a 2010 2.4 Accord Auto for about a year now. I was having intermittent starter issues since I purchased the car, but just got around to replacing the starter last week. Before I did any real work, I disconnected the negative battery cable. I then removed the throttle body and intake, and then
replaced the starter. I used new gaskets for the intake and TB and torqued everything to spec. The job went well, and there have been no starter issues to date. However, I have noticed a longer crank time when the engine is warmed up (going into a store and coming back to car within 10-15 min.). The warm start takes about 4-5 seconds, whereas cold starts are and always have been the usual 1-2 seconds. The warm start just doesn't feel right. like long enough that I don't think it's going to fire up and then I will have to try again. I will say that there are no idle/rpm issues, although the FSM says that any time the TB is removed to do an idle relearn, but I disconnected the battery before the job. I also put new spark plugs in about 2k miles ago, and the air filter looks clean. I've been working on stuff for over 20 years and know what I'm doing, but this has me stumped. Since I'm a Honda newbie, I thought I would get some advice from people who know these cars. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Mark

 

I have a 2008 Accord 2.4L vti & also have a spasmodic cranking issue.It began 2 years ago when the starter motor started having issues & so a local mechanic replaced it with an after market starter (cheaper than the Honda branded). The extra cranking started the very next day. To cut a long story short - after multiple mechanics, auto electricians & quite a few replaced parts including sensors (some replaced to attempt to fix the issue, some replaced because it was good preventative practice considering the kms & hoping it would fix the issue), I still have the intermittent problem. AND the after market starter motor is still in place. All mechanics & electricians 'felt' it wasnt the after market starter motor that might actually be the problem. (I'm still scratching my head over this & am now considering forking out $$ for either a 2nd hand Honda starter or a brand new one ($$$$$) just to satisfy myself that it is/isnt the possibly faulty/incorrect model afrer market part.
I have heard, from both Honda & honda experienced mechanics that Hondas generally prefer OEM parts for major components.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Are you having warm start issues as well? If so, it just doesn't make sense that even with an aftermarket starter, the motor will start up as usual when cold but take more time to crank and then start when warm. Even when I try to start it warm, the starter itself never delays in cranking the motor, it just doesn't fire up as quickly when the motor is cold. That suggests to me that something is out of spec when the engine is warmed up (to date, I'm not sure what that is). I was thinking something ignition or fuel related, but I can't pin it down just yet, I will say that I have observed when I run it, turn it off, and try to restart it after about 30 min., there is no issue. It's just trying to restart it after 5-10 min the cranking time is about double. Did you ever change the coolant temp. sensor?

 

The overcranking is very intermittent. can happen cold or warm or hot start. Having said that......if I let the car idle for say 10-20 seconds before turning off, more often than not it starts fine after that - when engine is both hot or cold. We also looked at fuel & perhaps it wasnt getting through when pump was primed before ignition, & installed a good quality stronger pump.
One of the other ways I tend to have a higher success rate for a normal start is if I turn ignition to on position, wait for all dash lights to 'do their thing' with system checks etc (I usually count to 20), & then attempt start. I have a higher success rate for a normal start when this is done.

 

Hi Mark
Did you ever find the source of the problem?

Also, I noticed a question you asked about replacing the coolant sensor. I believe no one has done that yet! So will look into it.

I found an older mechanic who knows Hondas & he told me Hondas have multiple earths. He checked mine & found some disconnected/missing so fixed that. It didnt fix my problem tho.....bummer.
Toni